Holidays in Great Britain and in the USA

 

There are fewer public holidays in Great Britain than in other European countries. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year`s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday and Summer Bank Holiday. Public holidays in Britain are called bank holidays, because the banks as well as most of the offices and shops are closed.

The most popular holiday is Christmas. Every year the people of Norway give the city of London a present. It`s a big Christmas tree and it stands in Trafalgar Square. Central streets are beautifully decorated.

Before Christmas, groups of singers go from house to house. They collect money for charity and sing carols, traditional Christmas songs. Many churches hold a carol service on the Sunday before Christmas.

The fun starts the night before, on the 24th of December. Traditionally this is the day when people decorate their trees. Children hang stockings at the end of their beds, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and fill them with toys and sweets.

Christmas is a family holiday. Relatives usually meet for the big Christmas dinner of turkey and Christmas pudding. And everyone gives and receives presents. The 26th of December, Boxing Day, is an extra holiday after Christmas Day. This is the time to visit friends and relatives or perhaps sit at home and watch football.

New Year`s Day is less popular in Britain than Christmas. But in Scotland, Hogmanay is the biggest festival of the year.

Besides public holidays there are some special festivals in Great Britain. One of them takes place on the 5th of November. On that day, in 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. He didn't succeed. The King`s men found the bomb, took Guy Fawkes to the Tower and cut off his head.

Since that day the British celebrate the 5th of November. They burn a dummy, made of straw and old clothes, on a bonfire and let off fireworks. This dummy is called a “guy” (like Guy Fawkes) and children can often be seen in the streets before the 5th of November saying, “Penny for the guy”. If they collect enough money they can buy some fireworks.

There are also smaller, local festivals in Britain.

As for holidays in the United States of America, there are no national holi­days provided by the USA constitution. Each state has the right to decide which holiday to observe. Many states have holidays of their own, but there are also major holidays observed in nearly all the states.

The main holiday in the USA is Independence Day, celebrated on the fourth of July. On that day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted. It is a patriotic holiday, celebrated with the firing of guns, and fireworks, parades and open-air meetings.

Another traditionally American holiday is Thanksgiving Day which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. It has been celeb­rated since the 17th century, when the English colonists decid­ed to celebrate the end of their first year in America and to give thanks to God. It is a family holiday with a large traditional din­ner including turkey and pumpkin pie.

There are other holidays in the USA besides Christmas, New Year and Easter, which are popular all round the world. 34 of the 50 states observe Columbus Day on October 12. It commemorates the discovery of America. Labour Day on the first Monday of September marks the end of the summer and of the vacations. Veterans` Day on the 11th November is dedicated to the end of the First World War. There is also Memorial Day or Decoration Day observed on the 30th of May when Americans honour the servicemen who gave their lives in all the past wars and hold memorial services.

 

Questions:

1. Are there many holidays in Great Britain?

2. What is a “bank holiday”?

3. What is the most popular holiday in Great Britain?

4. When is Christmas celebrated?

5. What are traditional Christmas songs called in Britain?

6. What do children leave at the end of their beds? Why?

7. What do the British do on Boxing Day?

8. What is the name of New Year`s Eve in Scotland?

9. When is Guy Fawkes Night celebrated?

10. What do you know about Guy Fawkes?

11. What is the main holiday in the USA?

 

Vocabulary (transcribe the words, learn them by heart):

bomb – бомба

bonfire – костер

Boxing Day – второй день Рождества, день рождественских подарков (в этот день принято дарить подарки)

carol – кэрол (рождественская песня религиозного содержания, славящая рожде­ние Христа)

charity – благотворительность

chimney – труба

Christmas Day – Рождество (25 декабря)

Christmas pudding – рождественский пудинг (с изюмом, цукатами и пряностями)

Christmas tree – рождественская (новогодняя елка)

discovery – открытие

dummy – кукла, чучело, манекен

Easter Monday – первый понедельник после Пасхи

Father Christmas – Рождественский дед, Дед Мороз

festival – празднество, праздник

Good Friday – Великая пятница (пятница на страстной неделе)

Guy Fawkes – Гай Фокс (глава Порохового заговора)

Hogmanay – хогманей, канун Нового года

King James I – Джеймс I (король Англии с 1603 по 1625 г.)

local – местный

May Day – майский праздник, праздник вес­ны (отмечается в первое воскресенье мая)

New Year`s Day – Новый год

Norway – Норвегия

penny – пенни, пенс

pumpkin pie – тыквенный пирог

relative – родственник

service – служба (церковная)

Spring Bank Holiday – весенний день отдыха (в мае или начале июня)

stocking – чулок

straw – солома

Summer Bank Holiday – летний день отдыха (в августе или сентябре)

Thanksgiving Day – День Благода­рения

the Houses of Parliament – здание английского парламента

the Tower – Тауэр

to adopt – принять, утверждать

to blow up – взорвать

to burn – жечь, сжигать

to celebrate – праздновать, торже­ственно отмечать

to commemorate – праздновать, отмечать, чтить

to cut off smb`s head – отрубить кому-либо го­лову

to decorate – украшать

to hang (hung, hung) – развешивать

to let off fireworks – устроить фейер­верк

to observe – праздновать, отмечать

to succeed – достигнуть цели, добить­ся

Trafalgar Square – Трафаль­гарская площадь

turkey – индейка

 

Exercises

I. Compose your own sentences with the following words:

bonfire, charity, discovery, dummy, festival, local, relative, to adopt, to blow up, to celebrate, to cut off smb`s head, to decorate, to let off fireworks, to observe, to succeed.