Тема / Топик по английскому языку:
Holidays and Celebrations in the United Kingdom
Besides public holidays, there are other festivals, anniversaries and simply days, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a Sunday, they are ordinary working days. Here are some examples.
February 14 is St. Valentine’s Day; it is a day for choosing sweethearts and exchanging love-tokens. Generations of young people have considered St. Valentine to be the friend and patron of lovers and have sent gifts and band-made valentines to their sweethearts. Valentine was a colourful card with a short love verse composed by the sender. Now thousands of ready-made valentines are sent through the post every year. They are complete with ready-made sentiments and decorations, brightly coloured and gilded, and sometimes perfumed and packed into a neat box.
Pancake Day is a popular name for Shrove Tuesday - the last day of enjoyment before the fasting of Lent. On Shrove Tuesday Christians confessed their sins to a priest. Many people still traditionally eat pancakes on that day. One of the main events of Shrove Tuesday is the pancake race at Olney in Buckinghamshire. The competitors in the race are housewives from Olney; they have to make their pancakes and run from the village square to the church.
The fourth Sunday in Lent is Mothering Sunday - a day of small family reunions. On this day absent sons and daughters return to their homes and gifts are made to mothers by their children of all ages.
April, 1 is known in Britain as April Fool’s Day - the day when practical jokes are played. Any person, young or old, important or not, may be made an April Fool between the hours of midnight and noon. Children are, of course, very keen supporters of the traditions. Most of their tricks have now become traditional. One is to tell someone that his shoe-lace is undone, when in fact all is in order. On the first of April you can step in the basin of water, or receive a letter with a deceiving message or invitation. You can have your sleeve or trousers-leg sewn. If you are young and innocent, you can be sent to fetch some non-existing thing like pigeon’s milk.
Another popular British tradition is Halloween, celebrated on October 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day. Halloween customs date back to a time when people believed in devils, witches and ghosts. They thought that they could do all kinds of damage to property. Some people tried to ward off witches by painting magic signs or nailing a horseshoe. Now most people do not believe in evil spirits. Today the day is usually marked by costume balls or fancy-dress parties and is a popular tradition with young people and children.
On the night of Halloween children or grown-ups visit houses and ask the residents if they want «trick» or «treat». If the people in the house give the children a «treat» (usually money or sweets), then the children will not play a trick on them. Another Halloween custom is to scrape out a pumpkin, cutting eyes, nose and mouth in its side and lighting a candle inside, this is made to scare their friends.
Topical Vocabulary
Answer the questions:
- What are other British holidays, except bank holidays?
- How is St. Valentine’s Day celebrated?
- What is Pancake Day?
- How is Mothering Sunday marked?
- What kind of practical jokes are played on April Fool’s Day?
- What were the old Halloween traditions?
- How is Halloween marked today?
Translate into English:
- В День святого Валентина, друга и покровителя влюбленных, люди обмениваются символами любви.
- Самодельные валентинки содержали стишок любовного содержания, написанный ее автором.
- Готовые валентинки содержат готовые пожелания и украшения, часто позолочены и ароматизированы.
- В Страстной вторник христиане исповедовались в своих грехах священнику.
- День матерей - это день, когда собирается вся семья, когда дети всех возрастов возвращаются домой и дарят подарки матерям.
- День смеха - день шуток и проделок.
- Традиционные шутки в этот день - отправить фальшивое сообщение или приглашение, послать кого-либо за птичьим молоком.
- Обычаи Хэллоуина, праздника накануне Дня всех святых, восходят к временам, когда люди верили в злых духов.
- Люди верили, что черти, ведьмы и привидения могут нанести вред их имуществу, и пытались их отпугнуть.
- В ночь Хэллоуина дети и взрослые стучатся в двери домов и просят их обитателей дать им угощение.
- Если они его не получают, они могут сыграть с их обитателями злую шутку.
Посмотреть ответы
2. Hand-made valentines contained a love verse composed by the sender.
3. Ready-made valentines contain ready-made sentiments and decorations; they are often gilded and perfumed.
4. On Shrove Tuesday Christians used to confess their sins to a priest.
5. Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday) is a day of small family reunions, when children of all ages return to their homes and make gifts to their mothers.
6. April Fool’s Day is a day of jokes and tricks (practical jokes).
7. Traditional tricks on this day are to send a deceiving message or invitation, to send somebody to fetch pigeon’s milk.
8. Halloween customs, the holiday on the eve of All Saints’ Day, date back to a time when people believed in evil spirits.
9. People believed that they could do all kinds of damage to property and tried to ward them off.
10. On the night of Halloween children and grown-ups knock at the doors of houses and ask the residents to give them a treat.
11. If they don’t get it, they can play a trick on their inhabitants.