Customs and Traditions of Great Britain
Every country and every nation has its own traditions and customs. They are very important in the life of English people. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and customs and carefully keep them up. Some of them are famous all over the world. Some are funny and some are strange. But they are all interesting. The English are the stay-at-home people. “There is no place like home”, they say. When they don’t work they like to spend their days off at home with their families. The open fire is something that the English are very much fond of. People all over the world know the saying: “The Englishman’s house is his castle”. English people like to live in small two-storied houses for one family with a small garden. They have love of gardens. Listen to the men’s talk on Monday morning in the office and in the factory. It will be about gardens. It will be about the best way of growing vegetables, fruit, flowers and other plants. English people are tea-drinkers. They love tea and have it many times a day. If you come to an English home even at five o’clock in the morning, you’ll get a cup of tea. And you say with your best five o’clock smile: “Thank you so much! I adore a cup of early morning tea”. Then you have tea for breakfast; then you have tea at 11 o’clock in the morning for lunch; then you have tea for tea; then after supper; and again at 11 o’clock at night. Christmas (X-mas) is one of the most important festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the 25th of December. People give each other presents and send Christmas cards. Children find X-mas presents in their stockings. The traditional Christmas dishes are turkey and pudding. There is another interesting New Year tradition in the North of England and Scotland. It’s an old custom of First-footing. In Great Britain the first visitor who comes into a house on New Year’s morning is called the First Foot. This visitor is very important, because they believe that he brings luck to the family for the following twelve months. The First Foot comes very early in the morning and brings some symbolic presents of food (usually a piece of bread), a piece of coal, and a coin. That means that the family will have good luck, will be happy and rich in the coming year. The First Foot also brings an evergreen branch as a promise of continuing life. To be a true luck-bringer, the First Foot must be healthy, young and good-looking, he must have black or fair hair, but not red hair. In England the First Foot must be a man (or a boy), not a woman. The English have a custom of celebrating Mother’s Day. It is usually in March on one of the Sundays. This is a holiday for English women. On that day people visit their mothers and give them some small presents and flowers. If they can’t do that they send their mothers a “Mother’s card”. On that day all people in the family help their moms in any way they can: they help them with the meals and washing up. They try to make it a day off for their mothers. In March they usually have one more holiday – Pancake Day. It’s usually on Tuesday before the Lenten fast begins. On that day they eat a lot of pancakes. But they not only eat them, they run with them! In some villages and towns in England pancake races take place every year. These races are run by housewives. They run through the streets holding a frying pan and throwing the pancake in the air. Of course if they drop the pancake they lose the race. On February 14 they have St.Valentine’s Day. St.Valentine is the saint of the people in love. On that day people send a card to the one they love or someone whom they like. But traditionally you must never write your name on it. These cards are usually called “Valentines” and are used to be handmade. Halloween is celebrated on the evening of 31st October. Children dress up in fancy dress as witches, ghosts and demons. They knock on neighbors’ doors. When the door is opened, the children shout “Trick or treat!” This means “If you don’t give us a treat (a sweet or a piece of cake), we’ll play a trick on you!” Another popular custom at Halloween is to cut a face in a hollowed-out pumpkin and put a candle in it so that the face glows in the dark.
Exercise 10. Read the following statements and say if they are true or false: 1. December 25 is a public holiday in Great Britain. 2. Easter is a period of two days. 3. St.Valentine’s cards are usually signed by a person who sends them. 4. English people are great tea-drinkers. 5. The old tradition in England is to build large houses with high wall around it without any trees. 6. The First Foot must be a red-haired woman. 7. Pancake Day is the day of eating pancakes and running with them along the street.
Exercise 11. Find in the text the English for the following words and make up sentences with them: Святкувати, звичай, індичка, удача, вічнозелена гілочка, обожнювати, підкидати у повітря, відьма, привид, витівка, порожній всередині.
Exercise 12. Answer the following questions using the expressions below:
It is interesting to note; as far as I know; to my mind; speaking of; as far as I remember; I’d like to stress the point; on the contrary; all in all. 1. Where do the British find their Christmas presents? 2. What happens on St. Valentine’s Day? 3. Why do we say that the English are stay-at-home people? 4. When do the English drink their tea? 5. When do they celebrate Mother’s Day? 6. What kind of race takes place on Pancake Day? Тема 1.4: Sport (Спорт)
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