1. Now let’s talk about customs and traditions. 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 his/her birthday celebration?
4. What national souvenirs will you recommend a British tourist to buy?
5. Nowadays more and more people are getting interested in customs and traditions of different countries. What do you think about it?
1. 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, wearing kilts, playing bagpipes, colourful royal ceremonies, soldiers in strange uniforms etc. In Britain customs and traditions play a more important part in the life of people than in other country. 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.
2. 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.
On 5 November(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 31 October (the thirty first of Octover\ October the thirty first). People hold Halloween parties, where the hosts and guests often dress up as skeletons, ghosts or other scary figures. Common symbols of Halloween include pumpkins, bats and spiders. 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 to other peoples’ houses, 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.
Christmas is celebrated on 25 December (the twenty fifth of December). For most families this is the most important festival 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 or holly and there is usually 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.
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.
How do you celebrate your birthday holiday?
Do you invite your relatives and friends to your birthday party?
Do you decorate your room (house) for this holiday?
What food is served for your guests?
Are you given many presents and gifts on your birthday?
4. I would recommend to buy some souvenirs from straw [strɔː] (солома), which has become an identity card for Belarusian art. You can buy straw horses, dolls, as well as beautiful objects of everyday life. You may also like ceramics [sə'ræmɪks] with views of the main attractions of Belarus and Minsk, such as plates, horseshoes, bells or Belarusian linen ['lɪnɪn] products – tablecloths and bed linen, embroidered national towels, national scarves. Painted dishes, boxes, vases of wood will impress you by their beauty. If you have a sweet tooth buy delicious sweets made at Minsk Belarusian confectionery “Kommunarka” or the famous marshmallow made at Bobruisk factory «Krasny pischevik».
5. Yes,nowadays more and more people are getting interested in customs and traditions of different countries. So many countries so many customs, an English proverb says. The combination of the words tradition and custom means a usual manner of doing something, of conduct passed on from generation to generation. By comparing the customs and cultures of people from other countries, we can learn how others view the world and why they think the way they do. By understanding others, we can not only form deeper friendships with others but can also learn more about ourselves and our own culture.
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