Holidays in great Britain

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.

BRITAIN’S NATIONAL CHARACTER

As I have been learning English for many years, I believe that learners should get aquatinted not only with the peculiarities of language, but also with its culture, the history, the traditions and the character of the Great Britain.

Personally, I am very interested in such things as traditions, ways of life, habits and customs of British people.

The British are said to be keen ken their traditions as '5 o'clock tea', 'English breakfast', 'English sports', football/soccer. British people are thought to be reserved, polite, cold.

If you ask for my opinion, I will say, that every country is unique and we shouldn't believe in stereotypes(which are maybe not true). But, of course, the best way to know a country is to live there for a while.

SCIENCE

Nowadays we can't imagine our life without scientific progress. Advanced technologies are important everywhere, in everyday life, in medicine, in different industries, in education, etc. Scientific research introduced in hi-tech gadgets, made life more comfortable, interesting, enjoyable, entertaining. If you study science=(biology, chemistry) you could develop your mind and your mental abilities. Moreover, with the help of science we can explore our world, the universe, the nature.

But everyday comfort of up dated technological advances makes us lazy and even scientific inventions make us buy more and more devices and gadgets: and waste a lot of money on them. As well turn civilization into slaves of hi-tech equipment. I can't help mentioning such things as nuclear pollution, radiation, nature disasters and so on. So scientific progress could lead to wars and devastation of our planet.

To my mind in spite of disadvantages, science is very important for our modern lives. However, humans must be sensible and responsible for the future, they use it for good.

COMPUTER GAMES

Computer games are gaining more and more popularity nowadays. Some people claim that teenagers get a lot of benefits playing them. But other people argue that young people should spend their free time going in for sport. Let’s look upon this problem objectively and try to understand it.

To begin with, computer games develop memory, because when you play you try to remember all details. Moreover, it develops logical thinking, language and basic computer skills. Apart from that, you can make virtual friends. So it is another way of communication. And if you like each other, you can meet in the future and become close friends. In addition, playing computer games is a good way of entertainment.

To start with, computer games have a harmful effect on the health. First of all, you can spoil your eye sight. Besides, you sit in the same place and don’t move so you can gain weight. Another point to be made is that a lot of games have aggressive moments and this make teenagers cruel and causes violent behavior. Furthermore, young people spend too much time on this and it can ruin relationships with people.

To sum up, I would like to stress that the problem has as many strong points as weak points. As for me, I prefer to spend my free time with my parents and friends. Besides, I enjoy going in for sports more than playing computer games.

HEALTHY LIFESYLE

Nowadays our life is getting more and more tense. People live under the press of different problems, such as social, ecological, economic and others. They constantly suffer from stress, noise and dust in big cities, diseases and instability.

A person should be strong and healthy in order to overcome all difficulties. To achieve this aim people ought to take care of their physical and mental health. There are several ways to do it. The state of your body depends on how much time you spend doing sports. At least everybody must do morning exercises every day. The most healthy kinds of sports are swimming, running and cycling.

Healthy food is also a very important factor. Overeating causes many dangerous diseases. The daily menu should include meat, fruit and vegetables, milk products. On the other hand modern diets are very popular especially among women. Diets may be harmful, if they are used in the wrong way.

Also it’s necessary to stop smoking and drinking much. Everyone should remember, that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs destroy body and brain.

Certainly it’s hard to follow all these recommendations, but every person have to choose between healthy lifestyle and numerous illnesses.

SPORT

People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport keeps us fit, makes us healthy, more organized. It gives us a lot of pleasure, makes us stronger, and prolongs our life. But the great amount of people don’t realize the importance of sport in their life and keep ignoring them and continue smoking and ruining their health.

Nowadays plenty of sport clubs and sections are organized in our country. All kinds of sports — football, tennis, skating, etc. are enjoyed people of all ages. Practically all kinds of sports are popular in our country, but football and hockey got the greatest popularity. A lot of people fond of jogging. In the morning and on the evening we can see people running in the parks, stadiums and in the streets.

Almost in every part of our country fishing is extremely popular, especially among elderly people. All water sports are also widespread including swimming, diving and sailing.

I’d like to say that each of us ought to devote more time to sports. Only sports can keep us fit and cheer us up and if you decided to give up your harmful habits it will help you to resurrect your health.

As for me I like to go in for sports.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14