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Holidays in English-speaking countries. Holidays :. Christmas New Year St. Valentine's Day Mother's Day Easter Halloween Other holidays. Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way,. Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. Christmas In the UK.
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Holidays : • Christmas • New Year • St. Valentine's Day • Mother's Day • Easter • Halloween • Other holidays
Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way, Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh.
ChristmasIn the UK • Christmas decorations in homes start to appear at the beginning of December and shops hang Christmas decorations at the same time, if not earlier. Some people have lights on the outside of their houses and shopping streets will have light displays. Over the last several years London has traditionally received a Christmas tree as a gift which stands in Trafalgar Square. • Some houses are decorated with evergreens (plants which do not lose their leaves in winter); a wreath of holly on the front door and garlands of holly, ivy and fir indoors. Bunches of mistletoe are often hung above doorways - any couple passing underneath must exchange kisses!
Christmas In the UK • Christmas Day is normally spent at home with the family. Christmas Dinner is traditionally consists of roast turkey, vegetable, roast potatoes and cranberry sauce followed by Christmas pudding. Everyone has their own favourite recipe, but they’re all packed full of spices, nuts, dried fruit and brandy. Christmas tree
Boxing Day • Boxing Day is so-called because it’s a time when trades people receive a ‘Christmas Box’ - some money in appreciation of the work. This money was called their Christmas Box - hence the name. • Boxing Day is still part of Christmas and many people now use this day as an opportunity to visit the other half of the family. • Boxing Day is a popular day for football matches, polo and other sporting plays. The day is a public holiday, so shops and banks are closed.
Christmas in the USA • On Christmas Eve may hear the warm strains of a “White Christmas”, “Jingle Bells”, “Silent Night”, “We wish you a Merry Christmas” and other carols. • Most children dream of what they will find gifts under the tree when they wake up. They believe that a magical person named Santa Claus will visit them.
The story of Santa arriving in his reindeer-drawn sleigh and descending down the chimney to fill children’s stockings with presents derives from the USA.
Christmas in Canada • In Canada New Year’s Day has a long tradition of celebration. New Year’s Eve in French Canada was is marked by the custom of groups of young men, to dress in colorful attire and go from house to house, singing and begging gifts for the poor. • The early Governors held a public reception for the men of the community on New Year’s morning, a custom preserved down to the present day. While New Year’s Day is of less significance in English Canada than in French Canada, it’s a public holiday throughout the country. • Wide spread merry-making begins on New Year’s Eve with house parties, dinner dances and special theatre entertainment.
Christmas in Australia • Christmas has got an Australian identity. The publishers print Christmas cards with native Australian bush. • On Christmas day you’ll find a large percentage of kids on the beach playing with their new surfboards, building sandcastles rather than snowmen. Indeed one of the most typical Australian Christmas presents is a beach towel.
Christmas in Australia • It’s not only with food and gifts Australian Christmases different from European ones. Because of the weather, the atmosphere of Christmas is different. • Australians are usually outdoors in shorts and T-shirts, to a friend’s barbecue. There are loads off summer festivals with people celebrating Christmas in carnival style. Christmas festival
New Year in England • In the south of England, the festival of Christmas, lasting 12 days from December 25th, runs into the New Year. • On the evening of December 31st, people gather in clubs, in pubs, in restaurants, and hotels, in dance halls and institutes, to "see the New Year in". The bells chime at midnight. The people join crossed hands, and sing "Auld Lang Syne".
New Year in Scotland • In Scotland the Year is known Hogmanay. At the stroke of midnight people gather at Edinburgh’s Tron Kirk and Glasgow’s George Square and greet the New Year singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. • There is the tradition called "first foot". This means opening your door to anyone who knocks it after midnight, and who will then enter the house, carrying a piece of coal or wood, bread and a bottle of whisky. He must place the fuel on the fire, put the loaf on the table and pour a glass for the head of the house, all normally without speaking or being spoken to until he wishes everyone ‘A Happy New Year’. • At the Jolly parties on New Year's Eve and also on Burn's night, the Scottish people enjoy eating their famous Haggis. This is a pudding, made from the heart, liver and lungs of sheep or calf, minced suet, onions, oatmeal and seasoning, and cooked in the animal's stomach.
New Year inthe USA • On January 1st some people hold an “open house” inviting neighbors, friends and relatives. It is another special day in the calendar of football fans, as the college football championship called the Rosebowl is played out and televised from coast and coast. • Besides champagne, streamers and noisemakers, other symbol of the New Year celebration include an old man symbolizing the old year, and a new baby symbolizing the new years. This may be an allusion to the ancient Roman god Janus. Legend has it that Janus had two faces, one looking into the past and the other looking into the future. • Many people hope that a new and better year comes. Many Americans even write down their “New Year resolutions” to do specific things like giving up smoking, going on a diet, getting up earlier, etc. Even though such resolutions are rarely kept, at least they make for a good laugh when the next New Year comes.
New Year inCanada • In Canada New Year’s Day has a long tradition of celebration. New Year’s Eve in French Canada is marked by the custom of groups of young men, to dress in colorful clothes and go from house to house, singing and begging gifts for the poor. • New Year’s Day is a time for paying calls on friends and neighbors. The early Governors held a public reception for the men of the community on New Year’s morning, a custom preserved down to the present day. While New Year’s Day is of less significance in English Canada than in French Canada, it’s a public holiday throughout the country.
It is hard to imagine the American holiday calendar without the expressions of love exchanged on that day between sweethearts, good friends and even spouses of many years. Whatever the reasons, Americans of all ages love to send and receive valentines, and sing thousands love songs. Songs like “You are my Sunshine”, “My Love”, “I’ll have to say I love you in a song”, reach the ears of a public. School children make valentines for their teachers and classmates and put them in a large decorated mailbox. When the big day arrives, the teacher opens the box and distributes the valentines into eager hands. Mailboxwith valentines
You can write a short rhyme inside the heart: • Roses are red, • Violets are blue, • Sugar is sweet, • And so are you!
Eros-Cupid-Amour • Cupid or Eros is the unquestioned favorite in personifying the spirit of the day. According to Greek (and later Roman) tradition, Cupid was the eternally child-like son of Venus, the goddess of love. Although he remained a baby, he could fly and was equipped with a tiny bow and countless golden arrows forged for him by the god of fire Vulcan. His mother gave the arrows special power, and that is why if Cupid shot you with his arrow, you would fall in love with the first person you met.
MY LOVE IS LIKE A RED, RED ROSE by Robert Burns O my Luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will love three still, my Dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry. Till a’ the seas gang dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; I will love three still, my Dear, While the sands o’ life shall run. And fare three weel, my only Luve! And fare three weel, a white! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!
In Britain, the United States and Canada Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. On that day sons and daughters visit their mothers and bring them presents. Flowers and cakes are still traditional gifts.Violets and primroses are most popularflowers.
On this day children give thanks for the support, love, care and guidance. Mother’s Day must be a day of rest for the mother of the family, so her daughters cook the dinner on that day and the sons help to wash the dishes.
Easter is a Christian religious holiday, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday following his crucifixion and death, according to the Bible, on Good Friday. Its exact date varies from year to year because it depends on the moon’s cycle, but the earliest possible date is March 22, and the latest is April 25.
The Easter Bunny is symbol of Easter. This pre-Christian mythical figure symbolizes the abundance of new life. Give him or her a basket of eggs (fertility symbol) to deliver, and you’ve got a pretty potent spring tonic. The story of the first Easter Bunny who hid colored eggs for young children to find on Easter morning was first recorded in fifth-century Germany. The custom of elaborately decorating Easter eggs and exchanging them as gifts was begun by the ancient Egyptians, and is still very popular among the Slavs of Eastern Europe. chocolate eggs Easter Bunny
chicken British settlers brought a fun Easter custom with them to the New World. In England children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, symbolizing the rolling away of the rock from Christ’s tomb. This custom became institutionalized in the United States by Dolly Madison, wife of the fourth American president, who organized the first hard-boiled Easter Egg Roll down the hilly lawn of the newly built Capitol building. basket
Halloween You should be very careful on the night of October 31. This is the night when witches and ghosts come out!
Symbols of Halloween: pumpkin witch ghost bat Blackcats
Halloween • Children in the USA, Great Britain and Ireland like Halloween very much. In the weeks before October 31, they decorate the windows of their houses and schools with pictures of witches, black cats and bats. On October 31, children dress up as ghosts and witches, skeletons and Dracula, and have noisy parties. • Sometimes they go to the people’s houses and ring at the door, shouting “Trick or treat!” The person who opens the door must give the children a treat – some sweets or cookies. If not, the children play a trick on them. For example, they can throw flour at the window or draw a funny picture on the door.
Other holidays of the UK Bank Holidays:
