Билет № 9 Customs and traditions of an English-speaking country

Билет № 9 Customs and traditions of an English-speaking country

1. Now let`s talk about customs and traditions of an English-speaking country. What can you tell me about your favourite holiday in Britain?

2. Do you find some British holidays and traditions special? Why (not)?

3. What questions can you ask a British teenager about good manners in their country?

4. What national souvenirs will you recommend a tourist to buy in Britain?

5. Nowadays more and more people are getting interested in customs and traditions of different countries. What do you think about it?

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1. Now let`s talk about customs and traditions of an English-speaking country. What can you tell me about your favourite holiday in Britain?

British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain, they often think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips, colourful royal ceremonies, soldiers in strange uniforms. In Britain customs and traditions play a more important part in the life of people than in other countries. The British are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

The British celebrate such public holidays as Christmas, Easter Monday, May Day, the Spring Bank Holiday, and The Summer Bank Holiday. Besides public holidays there are other festivals, such as Pancake Day, April Fool’s day, Halloween, Guy Fawkes night, St Valentine’s Day and others. I’d like to describe some of them.

On the fifth of November the British celebrate Guy Fawkes night or Bonfire night. It is an exciting holiday. In1605, a man called Guy Fawkes had planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill James I. But he was caught and hanged. Every village, town and city lights a huge bonfire to remember the day. Children gather wood and make Guy Fawkes dolls. Then they make a big bonfire and throw the dolls into the fire and set off firecrackers.

Halloween is a holiday annually celebrated on the thirty first of October. It has a Celtic origin. People hold Halloween parties, where the hosts and guests often dress up as skeletons, ghosts or other scary figures. The symbols of Halloween are ghosts, spiders, skeletons, witches, black cats, and, of course, pumpkins and scarecrows. Other people gather together to watch horror films, either at home or at a cinema. Some children go trick-or-treating. This means that they dress up and go from house to house saying, “Trick or treat!”, knocking on the door for treat of sweets or a snack. Those who do not give out a treat may be tricked with a joke instead. It is my favourite British holiday.

Christmas is celebrated on the twenty fifth of December. For most families this is the most important holiday of the year and on this day many people are travelling home to be with their families. Most houses are decorated with brightly –coloured paper and there is a Christmas tree in the corner of the front room. A lot of traditions are connected with Christmas but the most important is giving presents. Christmas night is an exciting time for children, it is the time when Father Christmas comes. Children hung up stockings for Father Christmas who will hopefully fill them up with presents.

Easter. Like in our country, it is celebrated each spring. Many people go to church on Easter Sunday. Boiled eggs are traditionally served at breakfast, then Easter cards and gifts may be exchanged. Children dye Easter eggs and have Easter egg hunts. Small chocolate eggs are hidden for the children to find on the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. The night before Easter Sunday, children set out their Easter baskets. They hope the Easter bunny will fill them with jellybeans, candy, and toys.

As for me, one of the most interesting holidays in Britain is……..

To conclude I’d like to stress that it is exciting to learn about customs and traditions and I would like to see some of these customs with my own eyes.

2. Do you find some British holidays and traditions special? Why (not)?

I do. Some British customs and traditions are very old and you can find them only in Britain. Take, for example, Changing the Guard or the Beefeaters of the Tower of London. England has preserved its old ceremonies & traditions to a greater extent than any other country in the world. Most of these traditions have been kept up without interruption since the thirteenth century. Foreigners coming to England are impressed by a great number of ceremonies which seem to be incompatible (несовместимый) with the modern traffic & technical conditions of a highly developed country.

The queen’s birthday is officially celebrated by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour on a Saturday in June. Although The Queen was born on 21 April (the first of April), her birthday is celebrated on a day in the summer, when good weather is more likely. There is a great parade and the queen inspects the troops and takes the royal salute. Over 1400 officers and men are on parade, together with two hundred horses; over four hundred musicians from ten bands take part in the ceremony. The Queen attends the ceremony in a carriage but before 1987 she had attended the ceremony riding a horse. After the event, the Royal Family gathers on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the Royal Air Force flypast.

3. What questions can you ask a British teenager about good manners in their country?

- Do you stand in line in Britain?

- Do you open doors for other people?

- Should I hug or shake hands when I say hello?

- What should I bring as a present when being entertained at someone's home?

- Should I greet people with a kiss?

4. What national souvenirs will you recommend me to buy in Britain?

Typical English presents (souvenirs) to take back home are rather various. Common themes depicted on many English souvenirs include The Royal Family, Policemen, Royal Guards, London Transport, Union Flag and famous London buildings. You can buy thimbles (напёрстки), bells, T-shirts, Beefeater dolls, Shortbread Biscuits, soft toys, models, magnets, pens and pencils, mouse mats, caps, pin badges and much more. If I were you, I would buy something connected with the Royal family. Tea - made by Twinings is very typical English. Flavours such as Early Grey or English Breakfast are too.

5. Nowadays more and more people are getting interested in customs and traditions of different countries. What do you think about it?

So many countries so many customs, an English proverb says. It’s very important to know traditions and customs of different countries. It will help you to understand different people and learn their language. To know the customs & traditions means to understand the people, their art & culture better.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04