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Holidays in Great Britain

British holidays are strikingly different in origin and show surprising similarities in the manner of their celebration. As you know, the holidays' origin may be different, but they all seem to be the same thing. A holiday is simply a day off from work. But we must remember that some holidays still keep their peculiarities.

Most of British holidays are of religious origin. Most of public holidays are movable, that means that they do not fall on the same day each year.

The British share some holidays such as Easter, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, St. Valentine's Day and Halloween with other countries of the world. But there are many holidays which are celebrated only by the British. They are Spring and Summer Bank Holidays, Remembrance Day, Good Friday and Guy Fawkes Night. Public holidays in Britain are called bank holidays because the banks as well as most of offices and shops are closed.

The first holiday of the year is New Year's Day. In England it is a family holiday. People in Scotland go outside and meet New Year in squares singing and dancing. The only tradition connected with this holiday is "firs foot." The first person who comes to your place in a new year bring you bad or good luck. A good luck is brought by a man with dark or fair hair, especially if he comes with a piece of bread and coal. Bread symbolizes wealth and coal symbolizes warmth. Bad luck is brought by a man with red hair or a woman.

St. Valentine's Day is the second holiday which is celebrated on the 14th of February. It is not a national holiday. Schools, offices and banks do not close. This holiday is celebrated by people of all ages. They exchange "valentines". A "valentine" may be a special greeting card or a small present.

The next holiday I want to speak about is Easter. It is a religious holiday celebrated in spring. Many churches have an outdoor sunrise service. Just before Easter the schools and colleges usually close. The pupils have a week or ten days of spring vacation. Easter marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. People celebrate the festival to honour the awakening of new life in nature and give each other presents of coloured or even decorated eggs.

In GB the 31st of October is traditionally marked as Halloween. It is the day or evening before All Saints' Day. On this day children dress up with special costumes and go out into the streets to beg. They go from house to house and say, "Treat or trick!" meaning "Give me a treat or T shall play a trick on you." People give them sweets, fruits and biscuits.

A favourite custom is to make a "jack-o'-lantern". Children scrape out a pumpkin and make holes for eyes, a nose and a mouth in it. They light a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends.

Besides public holidays, there are some special festivals in GB. 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 did not 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.



November the 11-th is Remembrance Day. It commemorates British soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives in the two World Wars. Special services are held and wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph. It is a war memorial at Whitehall. The members of Royal Family and the Queen, members of the government and guests from other countries take part in this ceremony. Thousands of tourists observe the two-minute silence and take part in the remembrance ceremony. Similar ceremonies are held throughout the country.

Christmas is a great British and American holiday, which is marked on the 25th of December. It is very rich in customs and traditions with Father Christmas, the decorating of the Christmas Tree, of card sending and gift giving. It is celebrated as the birthday of Christ. It is a family holiday. Everybody tries to come home for Christmas. Before this holiday groups of singers go from house to house to collect money for charity and sing carols, traditional Christmas songs. On Christmas day 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.

As you know, the next day is Boxing Day. This is the time to visit friends and give presents. In big cities and towns there is a tradition to stage pantomime at the Cathedral (it is a traditional English entertainment). And that is why the holiday was named Boxing Day. When people went to a church, they had to put some money to a "poor box".

I think that holidays are very good and interesting days for everybody, because they give us rest, fun and happiness. Besides, they help us to meet our best friends and talk to them and so enjoy our life.


Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1460


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