THE ENGLISH YEAR.
There are four seasons in the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter. The winter months in Great Britain are November, December, January and February. The winter months are cold. In Great Britain in winter it snows and rains.
November. There are 30 days in November. In Great Britain November is the first winter month.
In November in America there is a great holiday - Thanksgiving Day. Families come together for the day. They decorate the houses with autumn`s fruits and flowers and eat traditional American food: roast turkey and pumpkin pie.
December. There are 31 days in December. On the 25th of December there is the greatest holiday of all in England - Christmas ( X-mas ). People give each other presents and send Christmas cards. Presents for children are in their stockings.
The traditional English dinner on Christmas Day is roast turkey and Christmas pudding. The Queen`s speech is on television at 3.00 p.m. During Christmas in Trafalgar Square there is a Christmas tree. Not all English people celebrate New Year. Those who do celebrate it on the 31st of December. Some people have a New Year party. The party usually begins at eight o`clock in the evening. At twelve o`clock they have a toast to the New Year. The party goes on till early morning.
January. There are 31 days in January. It`s fun to see the New Year in. There is a lot of dancing, eating and drinking. There is an interesting New Year tradition: in Scotland you can go "first footing". That is - you visit friends, so you are "first foot" of the New Year in their houses. In Scotland the first visitor who comes into a house on New Year`s morning is "the First Foot".
The Scots believe that the First Foot brings luck to the family for the New Year. In Scotland the First Foot must be a man ( or a boy) , not a woman! And he must have dark hair.
February. There are twenty-eight or twenty-nine days in February. The 14th of February is St. Valentine`s Day. People buy or make Valentine cards and send them to people they love. They don`t sign their cards - you must guess who sent the cards to you. Boys and girls, husbands and wives, relatives and friends send cards to each other.
In Great Britain there are two spring months: March and April.
March. There are 31 days in March. In England spring begins at the end of March. The 17th of March is a national holiday in Ireland - St. Patrick`s Day. People send greeting cards. On that day people wear a shamrock. A shamrock is a plant with three leaves. It is the national emblem of Ireland.
In March there is also a holiday for English women - Mother`s Day. People in the family try to make it a day off for Mother and help her in any way they can. On that day they visit their mothers and give them some presents. If they can`t do that, they send their mothers "A Mother`s Day Card".
April. April is the second spring month. There are 30 days in April. In April or at the end of March English people celebrate Easter Day. They celebrate it as the start of spring or a religious festival. In England it is time to give and to get presents. On Easter Sunday children get chocolate Easter eggs or rabbits. You can buy them at any sweet shop in the weeks before Easter. The Easter holidays are at the end of March and in the first half of April. Pupils go back to school after Easter.
In April there is a day for fun - April Fool`s Day. It`s on the first of April. English children like this day very much. They play jokes and tricks on other people: other children, parents, friends, relatives, school teachers. One is to tell someone that something is wrong with his dress when in fact all is in order.
May, June, July, August. In Great Britain summer begins in May. So there are four summer months. The weather is usually warm but not always. It is often changeable. The days are long and the nights are short. When the sun is high in the sky it is hot.People wear light clothes - cotton shirts, jeans, skirts, T-shirts and light shoes.
In May on the first Monday English people celebrate the May Day holiday. Big shops are open and some people go shopping.
In June the English people celebrate Father`s Day. On that day children send cards and give presents to their fathers.
Most people stay in Britain in the summer. In July and August there are lots of things to do: you can go to the parks, to the swimming pool, to the stadiums. If the weather is fine, there are a lot of people on the beaches. In July and August you can have a very good time.
September, October. Autumn comes in September. Autumn is usually a nice season in England. It is warm and dry. But it can rain a lot too. The summer holidays are over in September. The parks, beaches and streets of Britain are very quiet. It is time to go back to school. In Great Britain school begins in the second week of September.
On the 31st of October in Great Britain there is a nice holiday for children - Hallowe`en. People put pumpkins on the window-sills. They draw eyes, noses and mouths on the pumpkins and put candles into them. So the pumpkin looks like a face. Children dress up in funny clothes. They go from house to house and say "Trick or treat". People give them sweets, fruit, cakes, cookies or money.
Christmas.
Christmas is the most popular and colourful holiday celebrated by Christians all over the world. The word Christmas comes from "Christ`s Mass", the Mass said in the Roman Catholic church to honour the birth of Jesus Christ. It is generally held on December 25th, but the Russian and other Eastern Orthodox churches ( they follow the Julian calendar ) celebrate Christmas on January 7th.
History
Although Chtistmas is celebrated on December 25th, the actual date of Christ`s birth is not known. The earliest Christians did not even set aside a special day for observing the Nativity, or Christ`s birth. For more than three centuries Christ`s Mass was a movable feast.
The celebration of Christ`s birth on December 25th began in Rome in the 4th century. It replaced the two pagan celebrations - the festival of rebirth of the sun and the feast of the god Saturn ( Saturnalia ). That is why it is not surprising that so many Christmas customs go back to pagan times.
From Rome, the December holiday spread to Christians everywhere. For several centuries Christmas was kept only as a church festival. Gradually, however, it became a public holiday marked by feasting and merrymaking.
In 1664 the English Purtains forbade the keeping of Christmas by Act of Parliament, on the grounds that it was a pagan festival. It was revived when Charles II came to throne in 1660.
Customs and Traditions
There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas. Some of them go back to pagan times, others are relatively new.
Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree that now spreads its lighted and decorated branches every year in so many different countries came originally from Germany. In pre-Christian times evergreens, plants that remain green all the year round, were worshipped as symbols of eternal life. Im medieval Germany as evergreen hung with apples was part of a Christmas play about the Garden of Eden. The first trees had no candles.
The custom of having a Christmas tree decorated with candles and hung with presents came to Britain with the craze for German things that followed Queen Victoria`s marriage to Prince Albert (he was German). In 1841 they had a lighted tree at Winsdor Castle. The event was widely reported, naturally. A few years later, nearly every house in Britain had a Christmas tree.
Very soon the Christmas tree spread outwards from the home into the churches and streets. Now all big cities have Christmas trees set up in squares and parks.
Perhaps the most famous Christmas tree stands every year in Trafalgar square, close to Nelson`s Column. It is a gift from the people of Norway. The tree is immensely tall and brilliantly decorated. Right at the top is a large shining star. Bright, shining balls of different colours and different sizes cover the tree from top to bottom. No wonder whole families - bous and girls, and grown-ups too - come to look at it.
Mistletoe
Many people like to decorate their houses with evergreens . Best-loved of all, now as in the past, are holly, ivy and mistletoe. All these plants often decorate churches, with one exception. This is the mistletoe which, by long tradition, is never allowed inside a church at any time. Unlike other evergreens, it has never quite lost its pagan and magical associations.
At Christmas mistletoe with its while berries is put over the door. People believe that it willbring good luck. This green plants allows you to kiss whoever you like under it . A girl who stands under the mistletoe must expect to be kissed and, by custom, has no right to refuse.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus ( or Father Christmas ) ia an old but never-ageing man who lives in the Far North. He has a long white beard and is dressed in red. He is fat and merry. On Christmas Eve he visits every house and leaves presents for children. He enters the house by chimney, unseen and unheard, with a big sack of toys. Children put a long stocking at the end of their bed or by the chimney so that Santa Claus will fill it with toys. He travels on a sleigh pulled by reindeer that can fly.
The name Santa Claus comes from the name of a legendary Christian saint - St Nicholas. He was famous for his kindness to children and the poor. One story tells how St Nicholas made a gift to the three girls who could not get married because their father was very poor. The saint threw three bags of gold through their window and one of these bags landed in a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry. The custom of hanging up stockings on Christmas Eve may have grown out of this tale.
In England, Father Christmas was certainly known as far back as the 15th century, for he is mentioned in a carol of that period begining '' Hail, Father Christmas, hail to thee!''. He was not a gift-giver at that time. He acquired that attribute from St Nicholas in the 19th century.
Christmas Gifts
Perhaps the most important part of Christmas celebration is the giving of presents. This tradition goes back again to Roman Saturnalia when people gave each other gifts of various kinds ( fruit, pastry or gold ).
Long before Christmas the shops become very busy. They are decorated in red and green, the traditional Christmas colours. Dozens of Santa Clauses welcome the customers. Newspapers and television say how many days there are left and people often spend a lot of money.
Little children believe tat when they are asleep, Santa Claus will climb down the chimney and put some toys and other little presents into their Christmas stockings. He will also put come toys under the tree. Children sometimes write a letter to Santa Claus telling him what presents they would like for Christmas.
Hallowe`en
In late October the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer. It`s colder and darker and cold winds blow. The leaves fall down from the trees. The year is ending and everything is dying. Winter is coming, with its long, dark nights.
People stay at home in the evening and at weekends.
It`s the time of Hallowe`en. Hallowe`en is a great holiday. Hallowe`en is the end of autumn and the start of winter.
In the past this festival was a time of fear. People believed in ghosts and witches and they stayed at home.
At Hallowe`en the ghosts of the dead and all the witches of the world rode in the sky on their broomsticks.
Many countries celebrate Hallowe`en, but in different ways. People invite their relatives and friends to Hallowe`en parties and send invitation cards.
Today this festival is a time for fun, for Hallowe`en parties.
Now ghosts and witches are people dressed in old and funny clothes. On the 31st of October at Hallowe`en parties they eat fasty autumn food - pumpkin pies and cakes.
HALLOWE`EN is a festival that takes place on October 31. Though it is not a public holiday, it is very dear to those who celebrate it, especially to childen and teenagers. This day was originally called All Hallow`s Eve because it fell on the eve of All Saints` Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. According to old beliefs, Halloween is the time, when the veil between the living and the dead is partially lifted, and witches, ghosts and other supernatural beings are about. Now children celebrate Halloween in unusual costumes and masks. It is a festival of merrymaking, superstitious spells, fortunetelling, traditional games and pranks. Halloween is a time for fun.
HISTORY.
Few holidays tell us as much of the past as Halloween. Its origins date back to a time, when people believed in devils, witches and ghosts. Many Halloween customs are based on beliefs of the ancient Celts, who lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France.
Every year the Celts celebrated the Druid festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead and Prince of Darkness. It fell on October 31, the eve of the Druid new year. The date marked the end of summer, or the time when the sun retreated before the powers of darkness and the reigh of the Lord of Death began. The Sun god took part in the holiday and received thanks for the year`s harvest.
The Celts believed that on this night Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes as witches, goblins, black cats, or in other weird forms. To honour the Sun god and to frighten away evil spirits, the Druids built huge bonfires on hilltops. They sat around the fires watching the bright flames and related eerie happenings they had experienced.
It was believed that evil spirits sometimes played tricks on October 31. They could also do all kinds of damage to property. Some people tried to ward off the witches by painting magic signs on their barns. Others tried to frighten them away by nailing a piece of iron, such as a horseshoe, over the door.
The druids tried to appease the powers of darkness by sacrificing animals and possibly even human beings. During the celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.
Many fears and superstitions grew up about this day. An old Scotch superstition was that witches - those who had sold their souls to the devil - left in their beds on Halloween night a stick made by magic to look like themselves. Then they would fly up the chimney and off through the sky on a broomstick, attended by a black cat. On this night all witches gathered to honour their master, the deil.
In Ireland, and some other parts of Great Britain, it was believed, that fairies spirited away young wives, whom they returned dazed and amnesic 366 days later.
When Halloween night fell, people in some places dressed up and tried to resemble the souls of the dead. They hoped that the ghosts would leave peacefully before midnight. They carried food to the edge of town or village and left it for the spirits.
In Wales, they believed that the devil appeared in the shape of a pig, a horse, or a dog. On that night, every person marked a stone and put it in a bonfire. If a person`s stone was missing the next morning, he or she would die within a year.
Much later, when Christianity came to Great Britain and Ireland, the Church wisely let the people keep their old feast. But it gave it a new association when in the 9th century a festival in honour of all saints (All Hallows) was fixed on November 1. In the 11th century November 2 became All Souls` Day to honour the souls of the dead, particularly those who died during the year.
Christian tradition included the lightning of bonfires and carrying blazing torches all around the fields. In some places masses of flaming straw were flung into the air. When these ceremonies were over, everyone returned home to feast on the new crop of apples and nuts which are the traditional Halloween foods. On that night, people related their experiences with strange noises and spooky shadows and played traditional games.
When millions of Irish people immigrated to the United States in the 1840s, Halloween traditions came with them. Today, Halloween is celebrated with perhaps even more enthusiasm in the New World than was once in the Old World.
CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
Halloween customs today follow many of the ancient traditions, though their significance has long since disappeared.
Jack-o`- lantern.
A favourite Halloween custom is to make a jack-o`-lantern. Children take out the middle of the pumpkin, cut holes for the eyes, nose and mouth in its side and, finally, they put a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends. The candle burning inside makes the orange face visible from far away on a dark night - and the pulp makes a delicious pumpkin pie.
People in England and Ireland once carved out beets, potatoes, and turnips to make jack-o`-lanterns on Halloween. When the Scots and Irish came to the United States, they brought their customs with them. But they began to carve faces on pumpkins because they were more plentiful in autumn than turnips.
According to an Irish legend, jack-o`-lanterns were named for a man called Jack who was notorious for his drunkenness and being stingy. One evening at the local pub, the Devil appeared to take his soul. Clever Jack persuaded the Devil to "have one drink together before we go". To pay for his drink the Devil turned himself into a six-pence. Jack immediately put it into his wallet. The Devil couldn`t escape from it because it had a catch in the form of a cross. Jack released the Devil only when the latter promised to leave him in peace for another year. Twelve months later, Jack played another practical joke on the Devil, letting him down from a tree only on the promise that he would never pursue him again. Finally, Jack`s body wore out. He could not enter heaven because he was a miser. He could not enter hell either, because he played jokes on the Devil. Jack was in despair. He begged the Devil for a live coal to light his way out of the dark. He put it into a turnip and, as the story goes, is still wandering around the earth with his lantern.
Trick-or-treating.
Halloween is sometimes called Beggars` Night or Trick-or-Treat night. American children celebrate Beggar` Night as Irish children did in the 17th century. They dress up as ghosts and witches and go into the streets to beg. They go from house to house and say: "Trick or treat!", meaning "Give me a treat or I`ll play a trick on you". Some groups of "ghosts" chant Beggars` Night rhymes:
Trick or treat,
Smell our feet.
We want something
Good to eat.
They all hold bags open to catch the candy, fruit, or coins that the neighbours drop in. As they give each child a treat, the neighbours exclaim over the costumes and try to guess who is under the mask. Children usually get the treat, so they do not often have to play mischievous tricks.
Halloween pranks.
Now most people do not believe in evil spirits. They know that evil spirits do not break steps, spill garbage or pull down fences. If property is damaged, they blame naughty boys and girls. Today, Halloween is still a bad night for the police.
Perhaps the most common trick is soaping house and car windows. Children draw pictures or write on the windows with soap.
Halloween in America.
Halloween is celebrated by nearly all American children, and over 70% of adults also take part in some Halloween activity. College students and other young may attend masquerade parties or Halloween parades. Many families carve pumpkins and decorate the outside of their homes with the traditional Halloween symbols. Businesses get into the act, too. Store windows display jack-o`-lanterns, scarecrows and witches. Servers in restaurants and salespeople in supermarkets and bookstores are often in costume. Many nightclubs and bars encourage customers to come in costumes by offering prizes for the best disguises.
Part of the fun of Halloween is to get scared out of your wits. This can easily be done by visiting a haunted house. Supposedly, the spirits of dead people "live" in haunted houses. These spirits try to scare away living residents or visitors so that the spirits can enjoy their afterlife (which really means a life after death) in peace. Why do spirits hate the living? The living always want to clean up and brighten their surroundings, while ghosts and skeletons prefer dust, spiders, cobwebs, and darkness.
These days, it`s hard to find a real haunted house. But every year shortly before Halloween, many charities and communities create fake haunted houses. They hire actors to dress up in scary costumes and hide inside. Customers pay a few dollars each to walk through these places and have "ghosts" surprise them with a loud "Boo!" and "skeletons" clang chains in their ears. Children usually love these haunted houses, but sometimes their parents are scared to death.
For those who have no haunted house nearby, another way to share a good scare is to go with friends to see a horror movie in a theatre or rent one and watch it together on Halloween night ( in a dark room, of course ).
Most American children have a wonderful, exciting day on Halloween. If Halloween falls on a schoolday, they sometimes bring their costumes to school and spend the last few hours of the schoolday with spooks instead of books.
After school and perhaps on into the evening, they go trick-or-treating. Often, there`s a party at a friend`s home or at the local community centre. At most Halloween parties, prizes are given for the best costumes. Bobbing for apples, telling fortunes, playing scary games, and snacking on caramel apples, candy, apple cider, and pumpkin pie are all part of the fun. Some communities build a bonfire, just as the Celts did. Children may sit around the bonfire telling scary stories while roasting hot dogs or toasting marshmallows.
Halloween, which began hundreds of years ago as an evening of terror, is now an occasion of great fun.
Hey, hey, for Halloween!
Then the witches shall be seen,
Some in black, and some in green,
Hey, hey, for Halloween!
You should be very careful on the night of October 31. This is the night when witches and ghosts come out.
Halloween is the most famous of witches` festivals. They ride on brooms through the midnight air to meet with the Devil. Black cats, their best friends, usually accompany them.
Poor cold ghosts come out of the lonely woods and fields and warm themselves in people`s houses.
Ghosts and witches are not the only ones who come out at Halloween. From their hiding places come hundreds of demons, skeletons, goblins and other supernatural creatures.
Children in the US, Great Britain and Ireland like Halloween very much.
In the weeks before October 31, they decorate the windows of their houses and schools with pictures of witches, black cats and bats.
They make lanterns out of pumpkins. They are called jack-o`-lanterns.
Black and orange are traditional Halloween colours.
On October 31, children dress up as ghosts and witches, skeletons and Draculas, and have noisy parties.
Sometimes they go to the people`s houses and ring at the door, shouting `Trick or treat!`. The person who opens the door must give the children a treat-some sweets or cookies. If not, the children play a trick on them. For example, they can throw flour at the window or draw a funny picture on the door.
Halloween parties are great fun.
