Téma: Holidays and Festivals
Predmet: Angličtina
Zaslal(a): Katerina Baronova
International holidays
January 1st – celebration of a New Year for countries and cultures who follow a Gregorian calendar (most of the world, not Chinese or Vietnamese). People all over the world go out to clubs or organize parties at their own home. Typical thing for the New Year is a firework. You shouldn´t eat fish on this day because your luck could swim away.
St. Valentines Day – is celebrated on the 14th of February. It’s named after a Christian martyr who had died because he had wedded couples when it was forbidden. People give presents to people they love. They can also write a little love cards or notes, often signed „Your Valentine“.
St. Patrick´s Day – it´s a typical Irish holiday now celebrated all over the world on the 17th of March. People are dressed in green, there is a music so people are dancing and of course drinking. Even the beer is green. Cloverleaf is the symbol – it is the Irish national flower and symbol of luck.
Easter –it is very important holiday for Christian based countries, but today it is celebrated by non-christian families too. I tis celebrated on the 1st Sunday after the full moon in spring, but it actually starts on Ash Wednesday 40 days before Easter when Christian start Lent.
In world –the most common in the world is an Egg Hunt. Parents usually prepare Egg Hunt for their children in the morning before the kids wake up. They hide chocolate eggs and kids go looking for them.
April Fool´s Day – it is a very weird one. It´s celebrated on the 1st of April and you are allowed to pull jokes and pranks on other people.
Labour Day – on the first of May, to celebrate the achievements of workers – especially the eight hour movement (8 hours for work, 8 for recreation and 8 for sleep).
Mother´s Day – is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The tradition started in America but today on this day mothers all over the world receive from their children a little gifts such as drawings or flowers
Christmas – typically people decorate their houses weeks before the actual holiday with wreath, chains, lights and candles. Children write letters with their wishes to someone – it depends on the country they live in. In SR little kids write to Little Jesus, in USA they write to Santa Claus and in UK they write to Father Christmas.
In UK and USA is Christmas a bit different. On the Christmas´ Eve are shops open until late hours so people can buy presents. At night Father Christmas or Santa Claus comes and brings them present. Kids leave cookies and milk for them. In the morning of 25th December (it´s called a Christmas Day) they open stockings for smaller presents and under the Christmas tree they unpack bigger presents. For dinner the eat roosted turkey with Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce. British also eat the infamous Christmas pudding. On this day queen Elizabeth II. and Donald Trump have a speech on TV. The 26th December is known as Boxing Day in the UK. People used to give small present to their servants in boxes. It it a huge shopping attraction nowadays.
Other British Holiday
Guy Fawkes´ Night (=Bonfire Night) – it is celebrated on the 5th of November. Guy Fawke attempted to blow up a British parliament and King unsuccessfully. It´s celebrated with fireworks our burning figures of Guy Fawkes at the stakes.
Other American Holiday
Martin Luther King Day – it´s celebrated on the third Monday in January.
President´s Day – Americans celebrate birthday of all American presidents
Independence Day – 4th of July. It´s a celebration of a victory over Britain in the American civil war and the signing of Declaration of Independence in 1776. It´s a day of picnics, parades, fireworks, barbecues and concerts.
Halloween – is celebrated on the 31 of October. Kids are dressed in costumes and go trick or treating. In the history people were wearing costumes to protect themselves from evil ghosts.
Thanksgiving Day – it´s celebrated on the last Thursday of November. Pilgrim Fathers settled in America in 1620, but they weren´t used to American weather conditions. Indians helped them and next year they celebrated together a good harvest. Today families are together and have a typical food- turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes.