Transcript British holidays and festivals

British holidays and
festivals
Работа
Мидуковой Ольги
Павловны,
учителя
английского
языка МОУ «СОШ
№6» г. Шумерля
Many festivals and holidays in Britain are
centuries old. Every town and village has its
own traditions. My work contains the most
important and popular events in Britain .
The calendar of the British holidays
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January - New Year’s Day ( Bank holiday/Public holiday)
14 February - Valentine’s Day
1 March - St David's Day (Wales National Day)
17 March - St. Patrick's Day (Ireland's Special Day)
March/April - Easter
1 April - April Fool's Day
23 April - St George's Day (England's National Day)
1 May - Morris dancing Day, Maypole dancing
August - (Bank holiday/Public holiday) - Nothing Hill
Carnival
September - Harvest Festival
31 October - Halloween
November – 5 - Bonfire Night, 11 - Remembrance Day, 30 St
Andrew's Day (Scotland's National Day)
December – Advent, Christmas (Bank holiday)
New Year’s Day
People welcome in the New Year on the night before.
This is called New Year's Eve. In Scotland, people
celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over
Britain there are parties, fireworks, singing and dancing,
to ring out the old year and ring in the new. As the clock
- Big Ben - strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a
song called Auld Lang Sync.
St Valentine’s Day
Did you know that, according to legend,
Valentine's Day was started to Saint Valentine, a
Roman saint who was executed on February
14th, 270 A.D.? St. Valentine was killed for
secretly marrying couples in defiance of an
order of the Roman emperor.
 February 14th is Valentines Day - a worldwide
celebration of love and romance, marked by
giving red roses and chocolate hearts or by
sending valentines.
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St. David’s Day
St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1
March, in honour of St David (Dewy Saint), the
patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk,
abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century.
He spread the word of Christianity across
Wales
 St David's Day is commemorated by the
wearing of daffodils or leeks. Both plants are
traditionally regarded as national emblems.
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St. Patrick’s Day
17 March, St. Patrick's Day,
is the national day of
Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.
 The day is marked by the wearing of
shamrocks (a clover-like plant), the
national emblem of both Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
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St. George’ Day
23 April, St. George’s Day, is the national day of England.
On the Sunday nearest to 23 April, scouts and guides throughout
England parade through high streets and attend a special St George's
Day service at their local church.
April Fools Day
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1 st April is known as April Fools Day in
England. It is the day when they play
pratical jokes on people but only before
midday, after that it is considered unlucky.
Easter is the time of springtime
festivals, a time to welcome back
the Tulips, the Crocuses and the
Daffodils. Its a time of new suits,
new dresses and patent leather
shoes. A time for Christians to
celebrate the life, death and
resurrection of Christ. And a time
of chocolate bunnies,
marshmallow chicks, and colored
eggs!
Harvest Festival
September. This is the time of year when all the
crops have been harvested. Harvest Festival is a
celebration of the food grown on the land.
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On October 31st, we celebrate
Halloween,
thought to be the one night of the year
when ghosts, witches, and fairies are
especially active.
Bonfire Night - 5th November
On 5 November every year, children in Britain get
excited because it is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes'
Night). They lit bonfires and enjoy fireworks displays.
On top of the fire is a guy (a homemade model of a
man, like a scarecrow).
Remembrance Day in Britain
Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a
special day set aside to remember all those men and
women who were killed during the two World Wars and
other conflicts. At one time the day was known as
Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day.
Christmas is a time for parties, presents , traditional customs and
eating. Christmas Eve is the time when the Christmas tree is
usually decorated. The decorations stay on the tree for twelve days
(until January 5th, also known as Twelfth Night ). Children write
letters to Santa Claus / Father Christmas and ask him to bring
presents. Children leave stockings by the fireplace or at the end of
their beds so Santa Claus / Father Christmas can fill them with
presents.
Информационные ресурсы
Интернет ресурсы:
http://www.britain4russians.net –Архив
публикаций.
http://languageproject.co.uk –
Британский совет
http://www.woodlands-junior.ru –British
life and culture
Голицынский Ю. Великобритания –
Санкт Петербург. Каро,2004