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 in Great Britain 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. In many churches a carol service is carried out 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 and religious holiday. After visiting church, 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 the first 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 (New Year's Day) 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 to 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 go out before the 5th of November and say: "Penny for the guy". If they collect enough money they can buy some fireworks.
Names:
Boxing Day – второй день Рождества, день рождественских подарков (в этот день принято дарить подарки)
Christmas ['kris(t)məs] – Рождество (25 декабря)
Easter [`i:stə] Monday – первый понедельник после Пасхи
Father Christmas – Дед Мороз
Good Friday – Великая пятница (пятница на страстной неделе)
Guy Fawkes [,gai 'fo:ks] – Гай Фокс – глава "Порохового заговора"
Hogmanay [`hogmənei] – Хогманей, канун Нового года
Houses of Parliament ['pa:ləmənt] – здание английского парламента
King James I – Джеймс I (король Англии с 1603 г. пo 1625 г.)
May Day – майский праздник, праздник весны (отмечается в первое воскресенье мая)
New Year's Day – Новый год
Norway [`no:wei] – Норвегия
Spring Bank [bæŋk] Holiday – весенний день отдыха (в мае или начале июня)
Summer Bank Holiday – летний день отдыха (в августе или сентябре)
Trafalgar Square [trə`fælgə ,skweə] – Трафальгарская площадь
Tower ['tauə] – Тауэр
Vocabulary:
bonfire [`bonfaiə] – костёр
Christmas tree – рождественская ёлка
Christmas pudding ['pudiŋ] – рождественский пудинг
carol ['kærəl] – кэрол (рождественская песня религиозного содержания, славящая рождение Христа), carol service – рождественское богослужение
charity [`t∫æriti] – благотворительность
chimney [`t∫imni] – труба
church [t∫ə:t∫] – церковь
dummy [`dΛmi] – кукла, чучело, манекен
festival [`festivəl] – празднество, праздник
local [`ləuk(ə)l] – местный
old clothes [`əuld `klo:ðz] – старая одежда
penny – пенни, пенс
relative ['relətiv] – родственник
to decorate ['dekəreit] – украшать
service ['sə:vis] – служба (церковная)
straw [stro:] – солома
stocking ['stokiŋ] – чулок
sweet [swi:t] – сущ. конфета, любая сладость
toy – игрушка
turkey ['tə:ki] индейка
to be less popular – быть менее популярным
to blow up [bləu`Λp] (blew [blu:], blown [bləun]) – взрывать
to burn [bə:n] (burnt [bə:nt]) – жечь, сжигать
to carry out – проводить, осуществлять, to be carried out – проводиться
to celebrate ['selibreit] – праздновать, торжественно отмечать
to cut off smb's head – отрубить кому-л. голову
to give and receive [ri`si:v] presents – дарить и получать подарки
to hang [hæŋ] (hung [hΛŋ]) – развешивать
to let off fireworks ['faiəwə:ks] – устраивать фейерверки
to succeed [sə`ksi:d] – достигнуть цели, преуспеть в чём-л.
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