Holidays and traditions in english-speaking countries
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
I. Britain round the calendar.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS
There are only six public holidays a year in
Great Britain, that is days on which people need not go in to work. They are:
Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and
Late Summer Bank Holiday. In Scotland, the New Year’s Day is also a public
holiday. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though it would be
right to say that for the greater part of the population they have long lost
their religious significance and are simply days on which people relax, eat,
drink and make merry. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing
Day observed on December 25th and 26th respectively, are
movable, that is they do not fall on the same day each year. Good Friday and
Easter Monday depend on Easter Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after a
full moon on or after March 21st. the Spring Bank Holiday falls on
the last Monday of May or on the first Monday of June, while the Late Summer
Bank Holiday comes on the last Monday in August or on the first Monday in
September, depending on which of the Mondays is nearer to June 1st
and September 1st respectively.
Besides public holidays, there are other
festivals, anniversaries and simply days, for example Pancake Day and Bonfire
Night, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a
Sunday, they are ordinary working days.
NEW YEAR
In England the New Year is not as widely or as enthusiastically observed as
Christmas. Some people ignore it completely and go to bed at the same time as
usual on New Year’s Eve. Many others, however, do celebration it in one way or
another, the type of celebration varying very much according to the local
custom, family traditions and personal taste.
The
most common type of celebration is a New Year party, either a family party or
one arranged by a group of young people. This usually begins at about eight
o’clock and goes on until the early hours of the morning. There is a lot of
drinking, mainly beer, wine, gin and whisky; sometimes the hosts make a big
bowl of punch which consists of wine, spirits, fruit juice and water in varying
proportions. There is usually a buffer of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, savouries,
cakes and biscuits. At midnight the wireless is turned on, so that everyone can
hear the chimes of Big Ben, and on the hour a toast is drunk to the New Year.
Then the party goes on.
Another
popular way of celebrating the New Year is to go to a New Year’s dance. Most
hotels and dance halls hold a special dance on New Year’s Eve. The hall is
decorated, there are several different bands and the atmosphere is very gay.
The
most famous celebration is in London round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus
where crowds gather and sing and welcome the New Year. In
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
Trafalgar
Square there is also a big crowd and someone usually falls into the fountain.
Those who have no desire or no
opportunity to celebrate the New Year themselves can sit and watch other people
celebrating on television. It is an indication of the relative unimportance of
the New Year in England that the television producers seem unable to find any
traditional English festivities for their programmers and usually show Scottish
ones.
January
1st, New Year’s Day, is not a public holiday, unfortunately for
those who like to celebrate most of the night. Some people send New Year cards
and give presents but this is not a widespread custom. This is the traditional
time for making “New Year resolutions”, for example, to give up smoking, or to
get up earlier. However, these are generally more talked about than put into
practice.
Also
on New Year’s Day the “New Year Honours List” is published in the newspapers;
i.e. a list of those who are to be given honours of various types –
knighthoods, etc.
In Canada New
Year’s Day has a long tradition of celebration. New Year’s Eve in French Canada
was (and still is) marked by the custom of groups of young men, to dress in
COLOURful attire and go from house to house, singing and begging gifts for the
poor. New Year’s Day was (and is) a time for paying calls on friends and neighbours and for asking the blessing of the head of the
family. The early Governors held a public reception for the men of the
community on New Year’s morning, a custom preserved down to the present day.
While New Year’s Day is of less significance in English Canada than in French
Canada, it’s a public holiday throughout the country. Wide spread merry-making
begins on New Year’s Eve with house parties, dinner dances and special theatre
entertainment. A customary feature of the occasion that suggests the Scottish
contribution to the observation is the especially those that couldn’t be
arranged for Christmas, are held on New Year’s Day. New Year isn’t such
important holiday in England as Christmas. Some people don’t celebrate it at
all.
In USA many
people have New Year parties. A party usually begins at about 8 o’clock and
goes on until early morning. At midnight they listen to the chimes of Big Ben,
drink a toast to the New Year and Sing Auld Lang Syne.
In London crowds usually gather round
the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus and welcome the New Year.
There are some traditions on
New Year’s Day. One of them is the old First Footing. The first man to come
into the house is very important. The Englishman believes that he brings luck.
This man (not a woman) must be healthy, young, pretty looking. He brings
presents-bread, a piece of coal or a coin. On the New Year’s Day families watch
the old year out and the New Year in.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
In Scotland the New Year’s Day is also a
public holiday. Some people ignore it completely and go to bed at the same time
as usual on New Year’s Eve. Many others, however, do celebrate it in one way or
another, the type of celebration varying very much according to the local
custom, family tradition and personal taste.
The most common
type of celebration is a New Year party, either a family party or one arranged
by a group of young people. This usually begins at about eight o’clock and goes
on until the early hours of the morning. There is a lot of drinking, mainly
beer, wine, gin and whisky; sometimes the hosts make a big bowl of punch which
consists of wine, spirits, fruit juice and water in varying proportions. There
is usually a buffet supper of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, savories, cakes and
biscuits. At midnight the wireless is turned on, so that everyone can hear the
chimes of Big Ben, and on the hour a toast is drunk to the New Year. Then the
party goes on.
Hogmanay Celebrations
Hogmanay is a Scottish name for New
Year’s Eve, and is a time for merrymaking, the giving of presents and the
observance of the old custom of First – Footing. One of the most interesting of
Scottish Hogmanay celebrations is the Flambeaux Procession at Comrie,
Perthshire. Such processions can be traced back to the time of the ancient
Druids. There is a procession of townsfolk in fancy dress carrying large
torches. They are led by pipers. When the procession has completed its tour,
the flambeaux (torches) are thrown into a pile, and everyone dances around the blaze
until the torches have burned out.
The Night of Hogmanay
Nowhere else in Britain is the
arrival of the New Year celebrated so wholeheartedly as in Scotland.
Throughout Scotland, the
preparations for greeting the New Year start with a minor “spring-cleaning”.
Brass and silver must be glittering and fresh linen must be put on the beds. No
routine work may be left unfinished; stockings must be darned, tears mended,
clocks wound up, musical instruments tuned, and pictures hung straight. In
addition, all outstanding bills are paid, overdue letters written and borrowed
books returned. At least, that is the idea!
Most
important of all, there must be plenty of good things to eat. Innumerable homes
“reek of celestial grocery” – plum puddings and currant buns, spices and
cordials, apples and lemons, tangerines and toffee. In mansion and farmhouse,
in suburban villa and city tenement, the table is
spread with festive fare. Essential to Hogmanay are “cakes and kebbuck”
(oatcakes and cheese), shortbread, and either black bun or currant loaf. There
are flanked with bottles of wine and the “mountain dew” that is the poetic name
for whisky.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
In the cities and burghs, the New
Year receives a communal welcome, the traditional gathering-place being the
Mercat Cross, the hub and symbol of the old burgh life. In Edinburgh, however,
the crowd has slid a few yards down the hill from the Mercat Cross to the Tron
Kirk – being lured thither, no doubt, by the four-faced clock in the tower. As
the night advances, Princes Street becomes as thronged as it normally is at
noon, and there is growing excitement in the air. Towards midnight, all steps
turn to the Tron Kirk, where a lively, swaying crowd awaits “the Chaplin o’ the
Twal” (the striking of 12 o’clock). As the hands of the clock in the tower
approach the hour, a hush falls on the waiting throng, the atmosphere grows
tense, and then suddenly there comes a roar from a myriad throats. The bells
forth, the sirens scream – the New Year is born!
Many
families prefer to bring in the New Year at home, with music or dancing, cards
or talk. As the evening advances, the fire is piled high – for the brighter the
fire, the better the luck. The members of the household seat themselves round
the hearth, and when the hands of the clock approach the hour, the head of the
house rises, goes to the main door, opens it wide, and holds it thus until the
last stroke of midnight has died away. Then he shuts it quietly and returns to
the family circle. He has let the Old Year out and the New Year in. now
greetings and small gifts are exchanged, glasses are filled – and already the
First-Footers are at the door.
The
First-Footer, on crossing the threshold, greets the family with “A gude New
Year to ane and a’!” or simply “A Happy New Year!” and pours out a glass from
the flask he carries. This must be drunk to the dregs by the head of the house,
who, in turn, pours out a glass for each of his visitors. The glass handed to
the First-Footer himself must also be drunk to the dregs. A popular toast is:
“Your
good health!”
The
First-Footers must take something to eat as well as to drink, and after an
exchange of greetings they go off again on their rounds.
ST. VALENTINE’S DAY – FEBRUARY 14
I’ll be your sweetheart, if you
will be mine,
All of my life I’ll be your
Valentine …
It’s here again, the day when boys
and girls, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives, friends and neighbours,
and even the office staff will exchange greetings of affections, undying love
or satirical comment. And the quick, slick, modern way to do it is with a
Valentine card.
There are all kinds, to suit all
tastes, the lush satin cushions, boxed and be-ribboned, the entwined hearts,
gold arrows, roses, cupids, doggerel rhymes, sick sentiment and sickly
sentimentality – it’s all there. The publishers made sure it was there, as Mr
Punch complained, “there weeks in advance!”
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
In his magazine, Punch, as
long ago as 1880 he pointed out that no sooner was the avalanche of Christmas
cards swept away than the publishers began to fill the shops with their novel
valentines, full of “Hearts and Darts, Loves and Doves and Floating Fays and
Flowers”.
It must have been one of these cards which
Charles Dickens describes in Pickwick Papers. It was “a highly coloured
representation of a couple of human hearts skewered together with an arrow,
cooking before a cheerful fire” and “superintending the cooking” was a “highly
indelicate young gentleman in a pair of wings and nothing else”.
In the last century, sweet-hearts of both
sexes would spend hours fashioning a homemade card or present. The results of
some of those painstaking efforts are still preserved in museums. Lace, ribbon,
wild flowers, coloured paper, feathers and shells, all were brought into use.
If the aspiring (or perspiring) lover had difficulty in thinking up a message
or rhyme there was help at hand. He could dip into the quiver of Love or
St. Valentine’s Sentimental Writer, these books giving varied selections
to suit everyone’s choice. Sam Weller, of Pick wick Papers fame, took an
hour and a half to write his “Valentine”, with much blotting and crossing out
and warnings from his father not to descend to poetry.
The first Valentine of all was a bishop, a
Christian martyr, who before the Romans put him to death sent a note of
friendship to his jailer’s blind daughter.
The Christian Church took for his saint’s day
February 14; the date of an old pagan festival when young Roman maidens threw
decorated love missives into an urn to be drawn out by their boy friends.
A French writer who described how the guests
of both sexes drew lots for partners by writing down names on pieces of paper
noted this idea of lottery in 17th century England. “It is all the rage,” he
wrote.
But apparently to bring the game into a
family and friendly atmosphere one could withdraw from the situation by paying
a forfeit, usually a pair of gloves.
One of the older versions of a well-known
rhyme gives the same picture:
The rose
is red, the violets are blue,
The
honey’s sweet and so are you.
Thou art
my love and I am thine.
I drew
thee to my Valentine.
The lot
was cast and then I drew
And
fortune said it should be you.
Comic valentines are also
traditional. The habit of sending gifts is dying out, which must be
disappointing for the manufacturers, who nevertheless still hopefully dish out
presents for Valentine’s Day in an attempt to cash in. and the demand for
valentines is increasing. According to one manufacturer, an estimated 30
million cards will have been sent by January, 14 – and not all cheap stuff,
either.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
“Our cards cost from 6d to 15s 6d”, he
says, but “ardent youngsters” want to pay more.” They can pay more. I saw a red
satin heart-shaped cushion enthroning a “pearl” necklace and earrings for 25s.
Another, in velvet bordered with gold lace, topped with a gilt leaf brooch, was
21s (and if anyone buys them … well, it must be love!).
There are all kinds:
The sick joke – reclining lady on the
front, and inside she will “kick you in the ear”.
The satirical – “You are charming, witty,
intelligent, etc.”, and “if you believe all this you must be …” – inside the
card you find an animated cuckoo clock.
And the take-off of the sentimental –
“Here’s the key to my heart … use it before I change the lock”.
And the attempts to send a serious message
without being too sickly, ending with variations of “mine” and “thine” and
“Valentine”.
So in the 20th century, when
there are no longer any bars to communication between the sexes, the love
missives of an older, slower time, edged carefully over the counters by the
publishers and shopkeepers, still surge through the letter boxes.
PANCAKE DAY
Pancake Day is the popular name for Shrove
Tuesday, the day preceding the first day of Lent. In medieval times the day was
characterized by merrymaking and feasting, a relic of which is the eating of
pancakes. Whatever religious significance Shrove Tuesday may have possessed in
the olden days, it certainly has none now. A Morning Star correspondent
who went to a cross-section of the people he knew to ask what they knew about
Shrove Tuesday received these answers:
“It’s the day when I say to my wife: ‘Why don’t
we make pancakes?’ and she says, ‘No, not this Tuesday! Anyway, we can make
them any time.’”
“It is a religious festival the
significance of which escapes me. What I do remember is that it is Pancake Day
and we as children used to brag about how many pancakes we had eaten.”
“It’s pancake day and also the day of the
student rags. Pancakes – luscious, beautiful pancakes. I never know the date –
bears some relationship to some holy day.”
The origin of the festival is rather
obscure, as is the origin of the custom of pancake eating.
Elfrica Viport, in her book on Christian
Festivals, suggests that since the ingredients of the pancakes were all
forbidden by the Church during Lent then they just had to be used up the day
before.
Nancy Price in a book called Pagan’s
Progress suggests that the pancake was a “thin flat cake eaten to stay the
pangs of hunger before going to be shriven” (to confession).
In his Seasonal Feasts and Festivals E.
O. James links up Shrove Tuesday with the Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) festivals or
warmer countries. These jollifications were an integral element of seasonal
ritual for the purpose of promoting fertility and conquering the malign forces
of evil, especially at the approach of spring.”
The most consistent form of celebration in
the old days was the all-over-town ball game or tug-of-war in which everyone
let rip before the traditional feast, tearing here and tearing there,
struggling to get the ball or rope into their part of the town. It seems that
several dozen towns kept up these ball games until only a few years ago.
E. O. James in his book records instances
where the Shrove Tuesday celebrations became pitched battles between citizens
led by the local church authorities.
Today the only custom that is consistently
observed throughout Britain is pancake eating, though here and there other
customs still seem to survive. Among the latter, Pancake Races, the Pancake
Greaze custom and Ashbourne’s Shrovetide Football are the best known.
Shrovetide is also the time of Student Rags.
ST DAVID’S DAY
On the 1st of March each year
one can see people walking around London with leeks pinned to their coats. А
leek is the national emblem of Wales. The many Welsh people who live in London —
or in other cities outside Wales — like to show their solidarity on their
national day.
The day is actually called Saint David’s
Day, after а sixth century abbot who became patron saint of Wales.
David is the nearest English equivalent to the saint’s name, Dawi.
The saint was known traditionally as “the
Waterman”, which perhaps means that he and his monks were teetotallers. А
teetotaller is someone who
drinks nо kind of alcohol, but it does not mean that
he drinks only tea, as many people seem to think.
In spite of the leeks mentioned earlier,
Saint David’s emblem is not that, but а dove. No one, not even the Welsh, can explain why they took
leek to symbolize their country, but perhaps it was just as well. After all, they can't pin а
dove to their coat!
MOTHERING SUNDAY (MOTHERS’ DAY)
Mothers’ Day is traditionally
observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent (the Church season of penitence beginning
on Ash Wednesday, the day of which varies from year to year). This is usually
in March. The day used to be known as Mothering Sunday and dates from the time
when many girls worked away from home as domestic servants in big households,
where their hours of work were often very long Mothering Sunday was established
as a holyday for these girls and gave them an
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
opportunity
of going home to see their parents, especially their mother. They used to take
presents with them, often given to them by the lady of the house.
When the labour situation changed
and everyone was entitled to regular time off, this custom remained, although
the day is now often called “Mothers’ Day”. People visit their mothers if
possible and give them flowers and small presents. If they cannot go they send
a “Mothers’ Day card”, or they may send one in any case. The family try to see
that the mother has as little work to do as possible, sometimes
the husband or children take her breakfast in bed and
they often help with the meals and the washing up. It is considered to be
mother’s day off.
St. Patrick’s Day
It is not a national holiday. It’s an Irish
religious holiday. St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland. Irish and Irish
Americans celebrate the day. On the day they decorate their houses and streets
with green shamrocks and wear something green. In large cities long parades
march through the streets. Those who aren’t Irish themselves also wear green
neckties and hair ribbons and take part in the celebration.
ESTER
During the Easter Holidays the
attention of the progressive people in Great Britain and indeed throughout the
world is riveted first and foremost on the Easter Peace Marches, which took
place for the first time in 1958 and have since become traditional. The people
who participate in these marches come from different sections of society.
Alongside workers and students march university professors, doctors,
scientists, and engineers. More often than not the columns are joined by
progressive people from abroad.
The character of the marches has changed
over the years. The high-point was reached in the early sixties; this was
followed by a lapse in enthusiasm when attendance fell off during the middle
and late sixties. More recent years have seen a rise in the number of people
attending the annual Easter March, as global problems have begun to affect the
conscience of a broader section of the English population.
London’s Easter Parade
London greets the spring, and its early
visitors, with a truly spectacular Easter Parade in Battersea Park on Easter
Sunday each year. It is sponsored by the London Tourist Board and is usually
planned around a central theme related to the history and attractions of
London. The great procession, or parade, begins at 3 p. m., but it is
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
advisable to find a vantage-point well
before that hour. The parade consists of a great many interesting and decorated
floats, entered by various organizations in and outside the metropolis. Some of
the finest bands in the country take part in the parade. At the rear of the
parade is usually the very beautiful Jersey float, created from thousands of
lovely spring blooms and bearing the Easter Princess and her attendants. It is
an afternoon to remember.
APRIL FOOLS’ DAY
April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day, named
from the custom of playing practical jokes or sending friends on fools’
errands, on April 1st. Its timing seems related to the vernal
equinox, when nature fools mankind with sudden changes from showers to
sunshine. It is a season when all people, even the most dignified, are given an
excuse to play the fool. In April comes the cuckoo, emblem of simpletons; hence
in Scotland the victim is called “cuckoo” or “gowk”, as in the verse: On the
first day of April, Hunt the gowk another mile. Hunting the gowk was a
fruitless errand; so was hunting for hen’s teeth, for a square circle or for
stirrup oil, the last-named proving to be several strokes from a leather strap.
May Day in Great Britain
As May 1st is not a public holiday
in Great Britain, May Day celebrations are traditionally held on the Sunday
following it, unless, of course, the 1st of May falls on a Sunday.
On May Sunday workers march through the streets and hold meetings to voice
their own demands and the demands of other progressive forces of the country.
The issues involved may include demands for higher wages and better working
conditions, protests against rising unemployment, demands for a change in the
Government’s policy, etc.
May Spring Festival
The 1st of May has also to some extent retained its old significance —
that of а pagan spring festival. In ancient times it used to be celebrated with
garlands and flowers, dancing and games on the village green. А Maypole was
erected — a tall pole wreathed with flowers, to which in later times ribbons
were attached and held by the dancers. The girls put on their best summer
frocks, plaited flowers in their hair and round their waists and eagerly
awaited the crowning of the May Queen. The most beautiful girl was crowned with
а garland of flowers. After this great event Веге was dancing, often Morris
dancing, with the dancers dressed in fancy costume, usually
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
representing characters in the Robin Hood legend.
May-Day games and sports were followed by refreshments in the open.
This festival was disliked by the Puritans
and suppressed during the Commonwealth, 1649 — 60. After the Restoration it was
revived but has gradually almost died out. However, the Queen of May is still
chosen in most counties, and in mаnу villages school Maypoles are erected
around which the children dance. The famous ceremony of the meeting of the 1st
of May still survives at Oxford, in Magdalen College. At 6 o’clock in the
morning the college choir gathers in the upper gallery of the college tower to
greet the coming of the new day with song.
TROOPING ТНE COLOUR
During the month of June, а day is set
aside as the Queen’ s official birthday. This is usually the second Saturday in
June. On this day there takes place on Horse Guards’ Parade in Whitehall the
magnificent spectacle of Trooping the Colour, which begins at about
11.15 а. m. (unless rain intervenes, when the ceremony is usually postponed
until conditions are suitable).
This is pageantry of rаrе splendour, with the
Queen riding side-saddle on а highly trained horse.
The colours of one of the five regiments of
Foot Guards are trooped before the Sovereign. As she rides on to Horse Guards’
parade the massed array of the Brigade of Guards, dressed in ceremonial uniforms,
await her inspection.
For twenty minutes the whole parade stands
rigidly to attention while being inspected by the Queen. Then comes the
Trooping ceremony itself, to be followed by the famous March Past of the Guards
to the music of massed bands, at which the Queen takes the Salute. The
precision drill of the regiments is notable.
The ceremony ends with the Queen returning
to Buckingham Palace at the head of her Guards.
The Escort to the Colour, chosen normally
in strict rotation, then mounts guard at the Palace.
Midsummer's Day
Midsummer's Day, June
24th, is the longest day of the year. On that day you can see a very old custom at Stonehenge,
in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge is one of Europe's biggest stone circles. A
lot of the stones are ten or twelve metres high. It's also very old. The earliest part of
Stonehenge is nearly 5,000 years old.
But what was
Stonehenge? A holy
place? A market? Or was it a kind of calendar? We think the Druids used it for
a calendar. The Druids were the priests in Britain 2,000 years ago. They used the sun and
the stones at Stonehenge to know the
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
start of months and seasons. There are Druids in Britain
today, too. And every June 24th a lot of them go to Stonehenge. On that morning the
sun shines on one famous stone - the Heel stone. For the Druids this is a very important moment in
the year. But for a lot of British people it's just a strange old custom.
LATE SUMMER
BANK HOLIDAY
On Bank Holiday the townsfolk usually flock
into the country and to the coast. If the weather is fine many families take а
picnic-lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open. Seaside towns
near London, such as Southend, are invaded by thousands of trippers who
come in cars and coaches, trains, motor cycles and bicycles. Great amusement
parks like Southend Kursaal do а roaring trade with their scenic railways,
shooting galleries, water-shoots, Crazy Houses, Hunted Houses and so on.
Trippers will wear comic paper hats with slogans such as “Kiss Ме Quick”, and
they will eat and drink the weirdest mixture of stuff you can imagine, sea food
like cockles, mussels, whelks, shrimps and fried fish and chips, candy floss,
beer, tea, soft, drinks, everything you can imagine.
Bank Holiday is also an occasion for big
sports meetings at places like the White City Stadium, mainly all kinds of
athletics. There are also horse rасe meetings all over the country, and most
traditional of all, there are large fairs with swings, roundabouts, coconut
shies, а Punch and Judy show, hoop-la stalls and every kind of side-show
including, in recent years, bingo. These fairs are pitched on open spaces of
common land, and the most famous of them is the huge one on Hampstead Heath
near London. It is at Hampstead Heath you will see the Pearly Kings, those
Cockney costers (street traders), who wear suits or frocks with thousands of
tiny pearl buttons stitched all over them, also over their caps and hats, in
case of their Queens. They hold horse and cart parades in which prizes are
given for the smartest turn out. Horses and carts are gaily decorated. Many
Londoners will visit Whipsnade Zoo. There is also much boating activity on the
Thames, regattas at Henley and on other rivers, and the English climate being
what it is, it invariably rains.
Happy Hampstead
August Bank Holiday would not be а
real holiday for tens of thousands of Londoners without the Fair on Hampstead
Heath!
Those who know London will know were to
find the Heath – that vast stretch of open woodland which sprawls across two
hills, bounded by Golders Green and Highgate to the west and east, and by
Hampstead itself and Ken Wood to the south and north.
The site of the fair ground is near to
Hampstead Heath station. From that station to the ground runs а
broad road which is blocked with а solid, almost
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
immovable mass of humanity on those days when the fair
is open. The walk is not more than а quarter of а mile, but it takes an average of half-an hour to cover
it when the crowd is at its thickest.
But being on that road is comfortable
compared with what it is like inside the fair ground itself. Неге
there are, hundreds of stalls arranged in broad avenues inside a huge square
bounded by the caravans of the show people and the lorries containing the
generating plants which provide the stalls with their electricity.
The noise is deafening. Mechanical bands
and the cries of the “barkers” (the showmen who stand outside the booths and by
the stalls shouting to the crowds to come and try their luck are
equalled by the laughter of the visitors and
the din of machinery.
The visitors themselves are looking for
fun, and they find it in full measure. There are fortune-tellers and
rifle-ranges and “bumping cars”, there are bowling alleys and dart boards and
coconut shies. There is something for everybody.
And for the lucky ones, or for those with
more skill than most, there are prizes — table lamps and clocks and а
hundred and one other things of value.
А visit
to the fair at Happy Hampstead is something not easily forgotten. It is noisy,
it is exhausting — but it is as exhilarating
an experience as any in the world.
HENRY WOOD
PROMENADE CONCERTS
“Ladies and gentlemen — the Proms!”
Amongst music-lovers in Britain — and,
indeed, in very many other countries — the period between July and September 21
is а time of excitement, of anticipation, of great
enthusiasm.
We are in the middle of the Henry Wood
Promenade Concerts — the Proms.
London music-lovers are particularly
fortunate, for those who are able to obtain tickets can attend the concerts in
person. Every night at 7 о'clock (Sunday excepted) а
vast audience assembled at the Royal Albert Hall rises for the playing and
singing of the National Anthem. А few minutes later, when seats have been
resumed, the first work of the evening begins.
But even if seats are not to be obtained,
the important parts of the concerts can be heard — and are heard — by а
very great number of people, because the ВВС broadcasts certain principal works every
night throughout the season. The
audience reached by this means is estimated to total several millions in
Britain alone, and that total is probably equalled by the number of listeners
abroad.
The reason why such а
great audience is attracted is that the Proms present every year а
large repertoire of classical works under the best conductors and with the best
artists. А season provides an anthology of masterpieces.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
The Proms started in 1895 when Sir Henry
Wood formed the Queen’s Hall Orchestra. The purpose of the venture was to
provide classical music to as many people who cared to come at а
price all could afford to pay, those of lesser means being charged
comparatively little — one shilling — to enter the Promenade, where standing
was the rule.
The coming of the last war ended two Proms’
traditions. The first was that in 1939 it was nо longer possible to
perform to London audiences — the whole organization was evacuated to Bristol. The second was that the Proms couldn’t
return to the Queen’s Hall after the war was over — the Queen’s Hall had become
а casualty of the air-raids (in 1941), and was gutted.
HALLOWEEN
Halloween means "holy evening"
and takes place on October 31st. Although it is а
much more important festival in the USA than in Britain, it is celebrated
by many people in the United Kingdom. It is particularly connected with witches
and ghosts.
At parties people dress up in strange
costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in potatoes and
other vegetables and put а candle inside, which shines through their
eyes. People play different games such as trying to eat an apple from а
bucket of water without using their hands.
In recent years children dressed in white
sheets knock on doors at Halloween and ask if you would like а
“trick” or “treat”. If you give them something nice, а
“treat”, they go away. However, if you don’t, they play а
“trick” on you, such as making а lot of noise or spilling flour on your
front doorstep.
GUY FAWKES NIGHT (BONFIRE NIGHT) — NOVEMBER 5
Guy Fawkes Night is one of the most popular
festivals in Great Britain. It commemorates the discovery of the so-called
Gunpowder Plot, and is widely celebrated throughout the country. Below, the
reader will find the necessary information concerning the Plot, which, as he
will see, may never have existed, and the description of the traditional
celebrations.
Gunpowder Plot. Conspiracy to destroy the English Houses of
Parliament and King James I when the latter opened Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605.
Engineered by а group of Roman Catholics as а protest against anti-Papist
measures. In May 1604 the conspirators rented а house adjoining the House of
Lords, from which they dug а tunnel to а vault below that house, where they
stored 36 barrels of gunpowder. It was planned that when king and parliament
were destroyed the Roman Catholics should attempt to seize power. Preparations
for the plot had been completed when, on October 26, one of the conspirators
wrote to а kinsman, Lord Monteagle, warning
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
him to stay away from the House of Lords. On November
4 а search was made of the parliament vaults, and the gunpowder was found,
together with Guy Fawkes (1570 — 1606), an English Roman Catholic in the pay of
Spain (which was making political capital out of Roman Catholics discontent in
England). Fawkes had been commissioned to set off the explosion. Arrested and
tortured he revealed the names of the conspirators, some of whom were killed
resisting arrest. Fawkes was hanged. Detection of the plot led to increased
repression of English Roman Catholics. The Plot is still commemorated by an
official ceremonial search of the vaults before the annual opening of
Parliament, also by the burning of Fawkes's effigy and the explosion of
fireworks every Nov. 5.
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is the harvest festival. The
celebration was held in 1621 after the first harvest in New England. In the end
of 1620 the passengers from the Mayflower landed in America and started
settling there. Only half of the people survived the terrible winter. In spring
the Indians gave the settlers some seeds of Indian corn and the first harvest
was very good. Later, Thanksgiving Days following harvest were
celebrated in all the colonies of New England, but not on the same day. In
October 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving. In
191, the US Congress Named fourth Thursday of November a Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Day is a “day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the
bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed”. Regular annual
observance began in 1879. Since 1957 Thanksgiving Day has been observed on the
second Monday in October.
St. Andrew’s Day
In some
areas, such as Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Northamptonshire, St Andrew was regarded as
the patron saint of lace-makers and his day was thus kept as a holiday, or
“tendering feast”, by many in that trade. Thomas Sternberg, describing customs in mid-19th-century Northampton
shire, claims that St Andrew’s Day Old Style (11 December) was a major festival
day “in many out of the way villages” of the country: “… the day is one of
unbridled license- a kind of carnival; village scholars bar out the master, the
lace schools are deserted, and drinking and feasting prevail to a riotous
extent. Towards evening the villagers walk about and masquerade, the women
wearing men’s dress and the men wearing female
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
attire,
visiting one another’s cottages and drinking hot Elderberry wine, the chief
beverage of the season …”. In Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, a future of the
day was the making and eating of Tandry Wigs. A strange belief reported Wright
and Lones dedicate that wherever lilies of the valley grow wild the parish
church is usually to St Andrew.
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Christmas Day is observed on the 25th
of December. In Britain this day was а festival long before the conversion to
Christianity. The English historian the Venerable Bede relates that “the
ancient peoples of Angli began the year on the 25th of December, and
the very night was called in their tongue modranecht, that is ‘mother’s
night’. Thus it is not surprising that many social customs connected with the
celebration of Christmas go back to pagan times, as, for instance, the giving
of presents. Indeed, in 1644 the English puritans forbade the keeping of Christmas by Act of Parliament, on the grounds that it was а heathen
festival. At the Restoration Charles II revived the feast.
Though religion in Britain has been
steadily losing ground and Christmas has practically no religious significance
for the majority of the population of modern Britain, it is still the most
widely celebrated festival in all its parts except Scotland. The reason for
this is clear. With its numerous, often rather quaint social customs, it is
undoubtedly the most colourful holiday of the year, and, moreover one that has
always been, even in the days when most people were practising Christian, а
time for eating, drinking and making merry.
However, despite the popularity of
Christmas, quite а number of English people dislike this festival, and even
those who seem to celebrate it wholeheartedly, have certain reservations about
it. The main reason for this is that Christmas has become the most
commercialized festival of the year. The customs and traditions connected with
Christmas, for example giving presents and having а real spree once а year,
made it an easy prey to the retailers, who, using modern methods of
advertising, force the customer to buy what he neither wants nor, often, can
reasonably afford.
It is not only children and members of the
family that exchange presents nowadays. Advertising has widened this circle to
include not only friends and distant relations, but also people you work with.
An average English family sends dozens and dozens of Christmas cards, and gives
and receive almost as many often practically useless presents. For people who
are well off this entails no hardship, but it is no small burden for families
with small budgets. Thus saving up for Christmas often starts months before the
festival, and Christmas clubs have become а national institution among the
working class and lower-middle class. These are generally run by shopkeepers
and publicans over а period of about eight weeks or longer. Into these the
housewives pay each week а certain amount of money for their Christmas bird
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
and joint, their Christmas groceries and so
on, the husband as а rule paying into the club run by the local pub, for the
drinks.
As much of this spending is forced upon
people and often means that а family has to do without things they really need,
it inevitably leads to resentment towards the
festival. Needless to say that it isn’t the old
customs and traditions that are to blame, but those who make huge profits out
of the nationwide spending spree which they themselves had boosted beyond any
reasonable proportion.
The Christmas Pantomime
А pantomime is а traditional English entertainment at
Christmas. It is meant for children, but adults enjoy just as much. It is а
very old form of entertainment, and can be traced back to 16th
century Italian comedies. Harlequin is а character from these old comedies.
There have been а lot
of changes over the years. Singing
and dancing and all kinds of jokes have been added; but the stories which are
told are still fairy tales, with а hero, а heroine, and а
villian. Because they are
fairy tales we do not have to ask who will win in the end! The hero always wins
the beautiful princess, the fairy queen it triumphant and the demon king is
defeated. In every pantomime there are always three main characters. These are
the “principal boy”, the “principal girl”, and the “dame”.
The principal boy is the hero and he is always played by а
girl. The principal girl is the heroine, who always marries the principal boy
in the end. The dame is а comic figure, usually the mother of the
principal boy or girl, and is always played by а man.
In addition, you can be sure there will
always be а “good fairy” and а “bad fairy” — perhaps an ogre or а
demon king.
Pantomimes are changing all the time. Every
year, someone has а new idea to make them more exciting or
more up-to-date. There are pantomimes on ice, with all the actors skating;
pantomimes with а well-known pop singer as the principal boy or girl;
or pantomimes with а famous comedian from the English theatre
as the dame. But the old stories remain, side by side with the new ideas.
BOXING DAY
This is the day when one visits friends,
goes for а long walk or just sits around recovering from too
much food — everything to eat is cold. In the country there are usually
Boxing Day Meets (fox- hunting). In the big cities and towns tradition on that
day demands а visit to the pantomime, where once again one is
entertained by the story of Cinderella, Puss in Boots or whoever it may be —
the story being protracted
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
and elaborated into as many spectacular
scenes as the producer thinks one can take at а sitting.
ELECTING LONDON’S LORD MAYOR
One of the most important functions of the
City’s eighty-four Livery Companies is the election of London's Lord Mayor at
the Guildhall at 12 noon on Michaelmas Day (September 29th). The
public are admitted to the ceremony. It provides one of the many impressive and colourful spectacles for which London is famed. The reigning Lord Мауоr and Sheriffs, carrying posies, walk in procession to
the Guildhall and take their places on the dais, which is strewn with sweet-smelling
herbs. The Recorder announces that the representatives of the Livery Companies
have been called together to select two Aldermen for the office of Lord Мауоr of London. From the selected two, the Court of
Aldermen will choose one. The
Мауоr, Aldermen and other
senior officials then withdraw, and the Livery select their two nominations.
Usually the choice is unanimous, and the Liverymen all hold up their hands and
shout “All!”. The Sergeant-at-Arms takes the mace from the table and,
accompanied by the Sheriffs, takes the two names to the Court of Aldermen, who
then proceed to select the Mayor Elect. The bells of the City ring out as the Мауоr and the Mayor
Elect leave the Guildhall the state coach for the Mansion House.
II. Customs, Weddings, Births and
Christenings.
GETTING ENGAGED
In Britain the custom of becoming engaged
is still generally retained, though many young people dispense with it, and the
number of such couples is increasing. As а rule, an engagement is announced as
soon as а girl has accepted а proposal of marriage, but in some cases it is
done а good time afterwards. Rules of etiquette dictate that the girl’s parents
should be the first to hear the news; in practice, however, it is often the
couple’s friends who are taken into confidence before either of the parents. If
а man has not yet met his future in-laws he does so at the first opportunity,
whereas his parents usually write them а friendly letter. It is then up to the
girl’s mother to invite her daughter’s future in-laws, to а meal or drinks.
Quite often, of course, the man has been а frequent visitor at the girl’s house
long before the engagement, and their families are already well acquainted.
When а girl accepts а proposal, the man
generally gives her а ring in token of the betrothal. It is worn on the third
finger of the left hand before marriage and together with the wedding ring
after it. Engagement rings range from expensive
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
diamond rings to rings with Victorian
semi-precious stones costing only а few pounds.
In most cases the engagement itself amounts
only to announcements being made to the parents on both sides and to friends
and relations, but some people arrange an engagement
party, and among the better-off people it is customary to put an announcement
in the newspaper.
In the book Etiquette the author
writes that “as soon as congratulations and the first gaieties of announcement
are over, а man should have а talk with the girl’s father about the date of
their wedding, where they will live, how well off he is and his future plans
and prospects”. Nowadays this is often not done, one of the reasons being that
today the young people enjoy а greater degree of financial independence that
they used to, to be able to decide these matters for themselves. However, in
working class families, where the family ties are still strong and each member
of the family is more economically dependent upon the rest, things are
rather different. Quite often, particularly in the larger towns, the couple
will have no option but to live after marriage with either the girl’s or the
man’s people. Housing shortage in Britain is still acute, and the rents are
very high. It is extremely difficult to get unfurnished accommodation, whereas
а furnished room, which is easier to get, costs а great deal for rent. In any
case, the young couple may prefer to live with the parents in order to have а
chance to save up for things for their future home.
But if the young people,
particularly those of the higher-paid section of the population, often make
their own decisions concerning the wedding and their future, the parents,
particularly the girl’s, still play an important part in the ensuing activities,
as we shall see later.
The period of engagement is usually short,
three or four months, but this
is entirely а matter of choice and circumstances.
The Ceremony
The parents and close relatives of the
bride and groom arrive а few minutes before the bride. The bridegroom and his
best man should be in their places at least ten minutes before the service
starts. The bridesmaids and pages wait in the church porch with whoever is to
arrange the bride’s veil before she goes up the aisle.
The bride, by tradition, arrives а couple
of minutes late but this should not be exaggerated. She arrives with whoever is
giving her away. The verger signals to the organist to start playing, and the
bride moves up the aisle with her veil over her face (although many brides do
not follow this custom). She goes in on her father’s right arm, and the bridesmaids
follow her according to the plan at the rehearsal the day before. The
bridesmaids and ushers go to their places in the front pews during the ceremony, except for the chief
bridesmaid who usually stands behind the bride and holds her bouquet.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
After the ceremony the couple go into the
vestry to sign the register with their parents, best man, bridesmaids and
perhaps а close relation such as а grandmother. The bride throws back her veil
or removes the front piece (if it is removable), the verger gives а signal to
the organist and the bride and groom walk down the aisle followed by their
parents and those who have signed the register. The bride’s mother walks down
the aisle on the left arm of the bridegroom’s father and the bridegroom’s
mother walks down on the left arm of the bride’s father (or whoever has given
the bride away). Guests wait until the wedding procession has passed them
before leaving to go on to the reception.
Marriage in Scotland
In Scotland, people over the age of sixteen
do not require their parents’ consent in order to marry. Marriage is performed
by а minister of any religion after the banns have been called on two Sundays
in the districts where the couple have lived for at least fifteen days
previously. Weddings may take place in churches or private houses, and there is
no forbidden time.
Alternatively, the couple may give notice
to the registrar of the district in which they have both lived for fifteen days
previously. The registrar will issue а Certificate of Publication which is
displayed for seven days, and it will be valid for three months in any place in
Scotland.
Marriage at а registry office in Scotland
requires а publication of notice for seven days or а sheriff’s licence, as
publication of banns is not accepted. Such а licence is immediately valid but
expires after ten days. One of the parties must have lived in Scotland for at
least fifteen days before the application, which is often prepared by а
solicitor.
The Reception
The bride’s parents stand first in the
receiving line, followed by the groom's parents and the bride and groom. Guests
line up outside the reception room and give their names to the
major-domo who will announce them. They need only shake hands and say “How do
you do?” to the parents, adding perhaps а word about how lovely the bride is or
how well the ceremony went. The bride introduces to her husband any friends
that he may not already know, and vice versa.
The important parts of the reception are
the cutting of the cake and the toast to the bride and groom. There should
never be any long speeches. When all the guests have been received, the
major-domo requests silence and the bride cuts the cake, with her husband’s
hand upon hers.
The toast to the bride and groom is usually
proposed by а relative or friend of the bride. Не may say, “Mу Lords (if any
are present), ladies and gentlemen, I have
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
pleasure in proposing the toast to the bride and
bridegroom.” Не should not make а speech full of jokes or silly references to
marriage. It should be short and dignified. The bridegroom replies with а few
words of thanks. Не mау or mау not then propose the health of the bridesmaids.
The best man replies with а few words of thanks. If а meal is provided, the
toasts will come at the end of it.
After the toasts the bride and groom mау
move around the room talking to their friends until it is time for them
to go and change. When they are ready to leave, guests gather to see them off.
Wedding Presents can be anything, according to your pocket
and your friendship with the bride or groom. Such presents are usually fairly
substantial compared with most other presents, and should preferably be things
useful for а future home. Some brides have lists at а large store near their
homes. It is always wise to ask if there is one, as this eliminates your
sending something the couple may have already. The list should contain items of
all prices and when one is bought it is crossed off. А wedding is one of the
few occasions when money can be given, usually as а cheque. Presents are sent
after the invitations have been received, usually to the bride’s home. You
address the card to both the bride and bridegroom.
BIRTHS AND CHRISTENINGS
When а child is born its parents may wish to announce the birth
in а national or local newspaper. The announcement may read as follows:
Smith. On February 12th, 1999,
at St. Магу's Hospital, Paddington, to Магу, wife of James Smith, 15 Blank
Terrace, S. W. 3, а daughter. (The, name can be added in brackets.)
The birth must be registered at the local
registrar's office within six weeks in England and Wales and three weeks in
Scotland. А child is usually christened in the first six months of its life.
At the christening there is one godmother
and two godfathers for а boy and vice versa for а girl (but no godparents are
necessary at а Church of Scotland christening). The godmother always holds the
baby during the ceremony and gives it to the clergyman just before he baptizes
it. She makes the responses during the ceremony and tells the clergyman the
names when asked. The true role of godparents is to watch over the spiritual
welfare of their godchildren until confirmation, or at least to show interest
in them throughout their childhood.
Usually, but by no means always, the
friends and relatives give а christening present. Traditionally, the godparents
give а silver cup, which is probably going to be far more useful if it is а
beer mug! Other presents should preferably be something
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
intended to last а lifetime, such as а leather-bound
bible or poetry book, а silver spoon or а crystal and silver scent bottle.
Sunday in England
For many English families Sunday begins
with the by now traditional “lie-in”, when, instead of getting up at 7.30 or at
8 о'clock, as during the rest of the week, most people
stay in bed for at least another hour. And there are many younger реoplе — Saturday night
revellers in particular – who
never see the light of day before midday: what is usually referred to as
“getting up at the crack of noon”.
Church bells are another typical feature of
an English Sunday morning, although by many their summons remains unanswered,
especially by those in need of physical rather than spiritual comfort. But
whether people get out of bed for morning service or not, their first
meaningful contact with the world beyond the four walls of their bedroom will be the delicious aroma of bacon and eggs
being fried by mother downstairs in the kitchen. This smell is for most people
sо much а part of Sunday mornings that they would
not be the same without it.
During the mid-morning most people indulge
in some fairly light activity such as gardening, washing the саг,
shelling peas or chopping mint for Sunday lunch, or taking the dog for а
walk. Another most popular pre-lunch activity consists of а
visit to а “pub” — either а walk to the “lосаl”,
or often nowadays а drive to а more pleasant
“country pub” if one lives in а built-up area. It is unusual for anyone tо
drink а lot during а lunchtime “session”, the idea being to
have а quiet drink and а chat, perhaps discussing the previous
evening’s entertainment or afternoon’s sport. One additional attraction of
Sunday lunchtime drinks is that most men go to the pub alone, that is to say
without their wives or girlfriends, who generally prefer to stay at home and
prepare the lunch.
Sunday has always been а
favourite day for inviting
people — friends, relations, colleagues — to afternoon tea, and there are nо
signs that this custom is losing popularity
nowadays.
In recent years television has become
increasingly popular, and Sunday evening is now regarded as the peak viewing
period of the week.
Concerning the differences between а
typically English Sunday and а Sunday on the Continent, there are still
many forms of entertainment which а visitor from Europe would be surprised to
find missing on Sundays in England. Professional sport, for example, was for
many years forbidden on Sundays, and although the restrictions have been
relaxed in recent years, it is still difficult to find any large sporting
fixture taking place on Sundays. This is in marked contrast to the situation in
most European countries where Sunday afternoon is the most popular time for so-called “spectator sports” —
football, horse-racing and, in Spain of course, bullfighting.
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
On the Continent museums and art galleries
also attract large numbers of visitors on Sundays, whereas in England it is
only in recent times that such places as the National Portrait Gallery and “The
Tate” have been open on such days – at present between 2 р. m. and 6 р. m. One of the most
popular attractions in London on Sunday afternoons, especially in summer, is
the Tower, although this too was closed for many years on Sundays.
FIREPLACES
In English homes, the fireplace has always
been, until recent times, the natural centre of interest in
а room. People may like to sit at а
window on а summer day, but for many months of the year they
prefer to sit round the fire and watch the dancing flames.
In the Middle Ages the fireplaces in the
halls of large castles were very wide. Only wood was burnt, and large logs were
carted in from the forests, and supported as they burnt, on metal bars. Such
wide fireplaces may still be seen in old inns, and in some of them there are
even seats inside the fireplace.
Elizabethan fireplaces often had carved
stone or woodwork over the fireplace, reaching to the ceiling. There were
sometimes columns on each side of the fireplace.
In the 18th century, space was
often provided over the fireplace for а painting or mirror.
When coal fires became common, fireplaces
became much smaller. Grates were used to hold the coal. Above the fireplace
there was usually а shelf on which there was often а
clock, and perhaps framed photographs.
DANCING
Dancing is popular, and the numerous large
and opulent-looking public dance-halls are an important element in the folklore
and courtship procedures of all but the upper and middle classes. They manage
to survive against the competition of the more modern, smaller, noisier
discotheques. They are strictly places for dancing, with good floors and good
bands, but often no tables for people to sit at when they are not actually
dancing, only rows of chairs round the walls. They are visited mainly by young
unmarried people. Girls tend to go in groups of two or three, friends from the
same street or the same or officeсе, relying much on each other’s support as
they go in; the young men sometimes go in groups too, but often alone. All the
girls tend to congregate together between dances, and the young men similarly.
At the beginning of each dance а man chooses а girl from the mass,
and will ask the same girl to dance with him again if he finds her company
agreeable, but the girl may refuse. Most of the dancers go home as they come —
but not quite at all. If а couple like one another
Holidays and
traditions in English – speaking countries.
the young man may offer an invitation to go
to а cinema on some future night, and this invitation may
be succeeded by others. After several рrе-arranged meetings а
couple may regard themselves as “going steady”
together though for а long time they will meet only in public
places, and an invitation home implies great admiration. Young people are
thoroughly emancipated, and find it easy enough to meet each other.
Lots of ordinary clothes
have a long tradition. The famous bowler hat, for example. A man called
Beaulieu made the first one in 1850.
The very cold winters
in the Crimea in the war of 1853-56 gave us the names of the cardigan and the
balaclava. Lord Cardigan led the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava
(1854). A "cardigan" is now a warm woollen short coat with buttons, and a
"balaclava" is a woollen hat.
Another British soldier,
Wellington, gave his name to a pair of boots. They have a shorter name today -
"Wellies" raced on the river Thames and the Oxford boat won. That
started a tradition. Now, every Spring, the University Boat Race goes from
Putney to Mort lake on the Thames. That's 6.7 kilometres. The Cambridge rowers wear light blue shirts and the
Oxford rowers wear dark blue. There are eight men in each boat. There's also a
"cox". The cox
controls the boat. Traditionally coxes are men, but Susan Brown became the
first woman cox in 1981. She was the cox for Oxford and they won.
Introduction.
At the end of the 9th
form my classmates and I were given a very interesting task for the
examination: to write the reports on different themes. I introduced with all of
them very carefully and choose one that I like more then others. The theme of
my report is “Holidays and Traditions in English- Speaking Countries”. I was
eager to work with the material on this theme because it’s really interesting
and exciting for me to know more about the customs and traditions that came to
people’s life many hundreds years ago. I’m also interested in their everyday
way of life and I can get something for myself. I worked hard and did my best
to deal with different kinds of information and literature to make my report
differ from the reports of my classmates. I tried to explain everything with
simple phrases to make my listeners and readers be satisfied with my work. I
wish everybody could get a lot of new information about customs and traditions
of many civilized countries and may be hold them in future too. I hope that my
report will be interesting for everybody.
Conclusion.
I feel proud of myself
because I did my best to cope with this work and I hope that I did it quiet
well. In my report I tried to show the life of different nations, which live
in English – speaking countries. I wrote about their customs, traditions and
holidays, about their costumes and clothes. It was very interesting to look for
the information for my project.