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Люди, праздники и подарки
в Объединенном королевстве
Великобритания и её обитатели – прежде всего островитяне. Один только этот факт отличает их от большинства народов Европы. Всем знакомы стереотипы, связанные с менталитетом англичан, ирландцев, валийцев и шотландцев. Однако стоит присмотреться ко всем обитателям британских островов внимательнее, особенно, когда дело касается праздников и подарков. В этом отношении существует две важные черты: во-первых, сохранение знаменитых на весь мир английских традиций, равно как и ирландских и т.д.; во-вторых, современное отношение к знакомым всем классическим праздничным канонам самих британцев сегодня.
Первая черта относится скорее к людям пожилого возраста и старшего поколения, и преимущественно к жителям провинции. Знаменитый английский консерватизм связан с самосознанием этой нации как особенной, значимой в Европейском содружестве. К тому же дух пуританизма и протестантской этики могут создать впечатление, что англичане холодны, прагматичны, высокомерны и деловиты. Однако это не так.
Вторая черта связана с тем, что многие могут узнать о традициях праздников в Великобритании многое и, попав в Англию, удивиться, насколько по иному видится отношение самих англичан, особенно молодёжи к подобным страноведческим данным. В Англии, пожалуй, единственный праздник, который действительно отмечается широко и объединяет всех, это – Рождество. Здесь, действительно, религиозные и семейные традиции соблюдаются в полной мере. В других случаях и новый год, и день Св.Валентина не вызывают такого ажиотажа как, например, в США. Подобные праздники справляются молодёжью и не ведут к широким гуляньям. Разве что монархические церемонии и события воодушевляют и объединяют подданных британской короны. В остальном, деловая и строгая протестантская этика отдаёт предпочтение работе, а не бесконечным выходным.
Не стоит забывать и о том, что англичанин – не валлиец, а шотландец – не ирландец. Только не перепутайте традиции одних с другими! Иначе, страшно подумать, на какую обиду вы натолкнётесь. Говоря проще, не следует равнять одних с другими, т.к. их исторические "отношения" далеко не безоблачны. Подобная осторожность немаловажна, поскольку ирландцы, в отличие от англичан, более адекватны к проявлениям широкой русской души и её отношению к гуляньям, что может оказаться полезным в ваших намерениях отпраздновать что-либо в Великобритании. То же касается и свободолюбивых шотландцев.
Подарки англичане получать любят. Однако, в отличие американцев и их, доходящей иногда до цинизма, практичности (принято сохранять чеки, чтобы затем обменять непонравившееся), англичане очень трогательны и предельно корректны. Следует помнить ещё и то, что в Англии не приняты широкие жесты в подарках. Подобные вещи хорошо воспитанные англичане не поймут и сочтут очередной странностью "этих непонятных людей с континента". Будьте скромны и вы поймёте тонкость и теплоту, которая скрывается за внешней консервативностью англичан.
Праздники Великобритании
1 января: Новый Год
2 января: Праздник зимы (Шотландия)
27 января: День Памяти жертв геноцида 2-й мировой войны (отмечается с 2001 года)
конец января: Апхелио (Up-Helly-Aa)
9-12 февраля: Всемирная выставка Crufts Dog Show
14 февраля: День святого Валентина, День Влюбленных
1 марта: День святого Дэвида (St. David"s Day), святого покровителя Уэльса
март: Лодочная гонка (The Boat Race)
март: Масленица (Pancake Day)
17 марта: День Святого Патрика (выходной только в Северной Ирландии)
26 марта: День Матери Mother"s Day
2-й понедельник марта: День содружества (Commonwealth Day)
1 апреля: Первое Апреля, День Дураков (Fool"s Day)
6 апреля: День независимости Шотландии
21 апреля: День рождения королевы Елизаветы II
23 апреля: День святого Георгия (St. George"s Day), святого покровителя Англии
апрель: Пасха (Easter)
1-й понедельник мая/ последний понедельник мая: День весны
май: Фестиваль трубочистов Рочестера
май: Фестиваль цветов в Челси (Chelsea Flower Show)
июнь: Королевские скачки близ Виндзора (Royal Ascot)
2-я суббота июня: Встреча нового знамени (Trooping the colour)
24 июня: День летнего солнцестояния (Midsummer"s Day)
2-я суббота июня: День рождения королевы (официальный)
12 июля: День битвы при Бойне - Battle of the Boyne Day (только в Северной Ирландии)
август: Открытие королевской регаты в Хенли (Henley Regatta)
1-й понедельник августа: День Лета (только в Шотландии)
12 августа: Королевский Национальный праздник в Аберистуите (Уэльс)
15 августа: День Святого Суивена
Последний понедельник августа: День Лета (везде, кроме Шотландии)
Последнее воскресенье августа: Ноттинг Хилл Карнавал (Notting Hill Carnival)
2-я половина сентября: Кардиффский музыкальный фестиваль
22 сентября: Церемония друидов и период осеннего равноденствия
31 октября: Хэллоуин (Halloween), День всех святых
5 ноября: День Гая Фокса (Guy Fawkes" Day) и ночь костров
1-е воскресенье ноября: Гонка на старинных автомобилях по маршруту Лондон — Брайтон (London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally)
11 ноября: День Памяти (Окончание Первой мировой войны)
30 ноября: День святого Эндрю (St. Andrew"s Day), святого покровителя Шотландии
25-27 декабря: Рождество и рождественские праздники
Another popular activity at Halloween parties is bobbing for apples. One person at a time must get an apple out of a tub of water without using hands and only by sinking his or her face into the water and biting the apple. The party may start or end with a Halloween costume parade, wherein those with the best or scariest costumes receive prizes. Telling scary stories or “ghost” stories while huddled together by candlelight or around a fire outside is one of the highlights of Halloween night. Any story will do, but it must be spoken in a low, tense voice and reach a startling climax, as does the following story told in Britain and in certain US eastern coastal states.
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November 5 is celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes’ Night. It is named after a member of a group of Catholic conspirators who, in 1605, plotted to blow up the English Houses of Parliament with gunpowder when king James I was there. Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the barrels of gunpowder in a cellar below Parliament. The conspirators were arrested, hanged, drawn and quartered and then, so legend has it, thrown on a bonfire. Whilst November 5 celebrates a relatively important historical event (the exact details of which few adults can probably remember!), the main attraction is really the bonfire and fireworks display, which is something nearly all cultures have.
Bonfires have been lit around this time since Celtic times. At this time of year the sun is getting weaker and the Celts thought that bonfires might give it a bit of extra strength.
Children in Britain today go around with an effigy of Guy Fawkes and collect money (to buy fireworks with) crying ‘penny for the guy’. On the night itself people light enormous bonfires and set off fireworks. These events take place either in private gardens or public parks. In school children learn this rhyme:
New Year in Britain is celebrated on January 1. This day was officially declared as New Year’s Day in 1752.
New Year is the much awaited celebration for the people of Britain. A lot of people hold or attend parties in the evening to say goodbye to the old year and to welcome the new year.
The custom of exchanging gifts on New Year has become widely popular in Britain. Although this custom of exchanging gifts was originally done at New Year it is now transferred to Christmas. In England the children rise early on New Year so that they can make rounds to neighbours and singing songs. The children are given sweets, coins, apples, and mince pies for singing.
A very old custom of “first footing” is still followed in Britain. “First foot” is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year’s Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Preferably the male visitor would be a young, handsome, dark-haired, healthy male. A blonde, a red-haired or a woman are not allowed to enter the house first as they are supposed to bring the bad luck. This is because a dark-haired man in ancient times would have been regarded as a fellow Scotsman, and therefore to be deemed safe, whereas a fair-haired or red headed man could have been a Viking and therefore a dangerous enemy.
Although New Year is celebrated across the whole of the United Kingdom, it is in Scotland that the celebrations are the biggest and carry on for the longest period of time. In Scotland the New Year celebrations are known as Hogmanay. Hogmanay is the Scot’s word for the last day of the year, 31st December and the partying can last right through to January 2nd, which is a Bank Holiday in Scotland.
Hogmanay has its origin in pagan times, an ancient time when the people would hold festivals for the sun and fire in the middle of the winter, to help them go through the cold hard times and to encourage the warmth and the longer days to return in the spring.
Scotland celebrates Hogmanay with the music of bagpipes, Scotland’s traditional instrument, and dancing in the street throughout the night. At midnight, there are fireworks and everyone sings ‘Auld Lang Syne’, a song by Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet.
The song "Auld Lang Syne" is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scottish tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The song can be found here.
New Year Resolutions
New Year in Great Britain is also a time to make New Year Resolutions. A New Year Resolution is a commitment to change a habit or engage in a healthier lifestyle. Typical New Year Resolution’s include giving up smoking, losing weight, vowing to get fitter or saving money. However, a lot of these resolutions are not kept for very long and are repeated year after year.
New Year Celebrations in Britain is a colourful affair and is celebrated with great enthusiasm. Midnight parties, lavish meals, champagnes, music, dance and fireworks are the important parts of New Year in Britain. It is the biggest night-out of the year.
New Year Symbols
One of the most widely known symbols of New Year’s Eve is the image of the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster, in London, counting down the last minutes of the old year. The first chimes of Big Ben, the bell housed in the Clock Tower, in the new year are broadcast live on radio and television. This is followed by a spectacular fireworks performance, often centered on the London Eye, which is claimed to be the largest Ferris wheel in Europe.
Christmas Eve - December 24th
Night time on Christmas Eve is a very exciting time for young children. It is the time when Santa or Father Christmas comes. Children write letters to Santa or Father Christmas listing their requests, but instead of dropping them in the mailbox, the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The draught carries the letters up the chimney and Father Christmas reads the smoke. Children hang up their stockings and go to sleep. Santa and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in Greenland. On Christmas Eve he piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or it may be Donder), Blitzen and of course ... Rudolf!). The most famous one is Rudolf who is always the one at the front, to lead the way with his red nose. In the morning when the children wake up they open their stocking presents. Traditionally on Christmas Eve mince pies and sherry (or milk) are left out for Santa and nowadays carrots are left for his reindeer. Most children are in bed way before midnight waiting for Santa to visit.
The custom of hanging stockings comes from England. Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney. The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn’t landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry. Since that time children have continued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts.
Christmas Day - December 25th
The origins of the now traditional Christmas Celebration, distinct from earlier pagan winter holidays, date to sixth century England. By the middle ages, it was a well established important holiday, with traditional pageantry, customs, music and feasting all its own. Customs from pre Christian days were incorporated into the Celebrations, and many still remain.
However in 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal, all festivities were banned by the Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. The ban was lifted only when Cromwell lost power in 1660.
In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551 (which has not yet been repealed) states that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the service There are a large number of Britons who break this law every year. The law may have been intended to encourage humility by forcing even the wealthy to attend the church on foot, or perhaps it was simply to avoid the traffic and parking crush that universal attendance would otherwise have brought about.
Later, during Queen Victoria's reign, Christmas became a time for gift giving, aand a special season for children.
13 per cent of families always attend church on Christmas Day.
27 per cent of families sit down to watch the Queen’s Speech.
Dinner is finally served at 3.24pm, with 85 per cent of people enjoying the traditional turkey with all the trimmings.
38 per cent of families think that spending time with the family is the best thing about Christmas Day.
The Queen's Message
One Christmas ritual not drawn from an ancient tradition is the British monarch's broadcast on Christmas day. The tradition began in 1932 when King George V read a special speech written by Rudyard Kipling. The broadcast was an enormous success. It began, "I speak now from my home and from my heart, to you all...".
Queen Elizabeth II continues the tradition to this day. Every year she broadcasts her message on Christmas Day, and it is heard by millions of people all over the world. In England most people watch or listen to it whilst digesting their Christmas Dinner!
Boxing Day - December 26th
In England Boxing Day celebrated on December 26th, is traditionally a time to give gifts to tradesmen, servants, and friends.
It originated in medieval times, when every priest was supposed to empty the alms box of his church and distribute gifts to the poor. Wealthy people indulged in huge Christmas feasts, and when they were finished, packed up the remains of feasts in boxes and gave them out to their servants. It didn't become widely celebrated though until Victorian England.
In Ireland there is an Irish custom called "feeding the wren". The custom is based on a legend of St. Stephen. Once he was forced to hide in a bush, but a chattering wren gave him away. In the past Children caged the wren to help it do penance for this misdeed. Nowadays children carry a long pole with a holly bush at the top - which is supposed to hide a captured wren.
In the UK Boxing Day is still a public holiday, some shops and supermarkets open nowadays, but banks and most offices remain closed.
HALLOWEEN (OCTOBER 31ST)
Traditions and Customs
On Halloween children dress up in costumes and go from door to door at dusk gleefully calling “Trick or Treat!” The holiday gets its name from “All Hallows Evening” or the evening before All Saints Day, November 1, according to the western European Christian church calendar. However, its traditions date back to pre-christian Celtic beliefs once prevalent in what is now known as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Irish immigrants brought these customs with them to the United States.
October 31was the eve of the Celtic new year, a time when ghosts or evil spirits walked the earth and mingled mischievously with the living. Costumes and jack-o-lanterns were thought to protect people from any harm they might cause. A jack-o-lantern is a face carved into one side of a hallowed out pumpkin in which a lighted candle has been placed. This gives it an inviting yellow and orange glow on a dark autumn night. This is why the Halloween colours are orange and black. Even today small children are told that any house with jack-o-lantern burning in thy window is a safe place to go trick –or-treating. The custom if trick or treating comes from when children dressed in costumes on All Souls’ Day and went from house to house begging for soul cakes.
Children still go begging for treats. However, over the last few years, school, church and neighborhood parties are replacing the custom of trick or treating from house to house. More and more adults are also celebrating Halloween with masquerade parties in which they dress up like political and historical figures, or just plain old scary fellows from recent horror films like ghosts, vampires, goblins, Frankenstein, etc. Witches flying on broomsticks with black cats, skeletons, spiders and haunted houses are other symbols of Halloween.
Another popular activity at Halloween parties is bobbing for apples. One person at a time must get an apple out of a tub of water without using hands and only by sinking his or her face into the water and biting the apple. The party may start or end with a Halloween costume parade, wherein those with the best or scariest costumes receive prizes. Telling scary stories or “ghost” stories while huddled together by candlelight or around a fire outside is one of the highlights of Halloween night. Any story will do, but it must be spoken in a low, tense voice and reach a startling climax, as does the following story told in Britain and in certain US eastern coastal states.
GUY FAWKES’ NIGHT
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November 5 is celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes’ Night. It is named after a member of a group of Catholic conspirators who, in 1605, plotted to blow up the English Houses of Parliament with gunpowder when king James I was there. Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the barrels of gunpowder in a cellar below Parliament. The conspirators were arrested, hanged, drawn and quartered and then, so legend has it, thrown on a bonfire. Whilst November 5 celebrates a relatively important historical event (the exact details of which few adults can probably remember!), the main attraction is really the bonfire and fireworks display, which is something nearly all cultures have.
Bonfires have been lit around this time since Celtic times. At this time of year the sun is getting weaker and the Celts thought that bonfires might give it a bit of extra strength.
Guy Fawkes is not the only person to get his effigy burnt on November 5. Mary I, the queen before Elizabeth I, ordered 17 Protestant martyrs to be burnt at Lewes in Sussex, where every November 5 they burn an effigy of the Pope.
Children in Britain today go around with an effigy of Guy Fawkes and collect money (to buy fireworks with) crying ‘penny for the guy’. On the night itself people light enormous bonfires and set off fireworks. These events take place either in private gardens or public parks. In school children learn this rhyme:
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder,treason
Should ever be forgot…
New Year in Britain
New Year in Britain is celebrated on January 1. This day was officially declared as New Year’s Day in 1752.New Year is the much awaited celebration for the people of Britain. A lot of people hold or attend parties in the evening to say goodbye to the old year and to welcome the new year.
The custom of exchanging gifts on New Year has become widely popular in Britain. Although this custom of exchanging gifts was originally done at New Year it is now transferred to Christmas. In England the children rise early on New Year so that they can make rounds to neighbours and singing songs. The children are given sweets, coins, apples, and mince pies for singing.
New Year Traditions in Britain
The First-FootA very old custom of “first footing” is still followed in Britain. “First foot” is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year’s Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Preferably the male visitor would be a young, handsome, dark-haired, healthy male. A blonde, a red-haired or a woman are not allowed to enter the house first as they are supposed to bring the bad luck. This is because a dark-haired man in ancient times would have been regarded as a fellow Scotsman, and therefore to be deemed safe, whereas a fair-haired or red headed man could have been a Viking and therefore a dangerous enemy.
But in some places the first-foot must always be a male who enters the house first, and the colour of his hair doesn’t matter.
The first-foot was supposed to bring gifts of money, bread or cake, coal, salt holy mistletoe as these were considered lucky. The bread and cake was to ensure that the household did not go hungry during the coming year, the coal was to ensure that the house would be warm throughout the year and the salt was said to bestow wealth, as salt used to be a rare and precious commodity.
Hogmanay
Although New Year is celebrated across the whole of the United Kingdom, it is in Scotland that the celebrations are the biggest and carry on for the longest period of time. In Scotland the New Year celebrations are known as Hogmanay. Hogmanay is the Scot’s word for the last day of the year, 31st December and the partying can last right through to January 2nd, which is a Bank Holiday in Scotland.Hogmanay has its origin in pagan times, an ancient time when the people would hold festivals for the sun and fire in the middle of the winter, to help them go through the cold hard times and to encourage the warmth and the longer days to return in the spring.
Scotland celebrates Hogmanay with the music of bagpipes, Scotland’s traditional instrument, and dancing in the street throughout the night. At midnight, there are fireworks and everyone sings ‘Auld Lang Syne’, a song by Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet.
The song "Auld Lang Syne" is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scottish tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The song can be found here.
New Year Resolutions
New Year in Great Britain is also a time to make New Year Resolutions. A New Year Resolution is a commitment to change a habit or engage in a healthier lifestyle. Typical New Year Resolution’s include giving up smoking, losing weight, vowing to get fitter or saving money. However, a lot of these resolutions are not kept for very long and are repeated year after year.
New Year Celebrations in Britain
Another important part of New Year Celebrations in Britain is the biggest New Year parade. The parade starts at noon walking down the streets via Whitehall, Pall Mall and finishing in Berkley square. Musicians, dancers, acrobats, drums and other entertainers do a splendid job to make the event most distinguished one. Everyone present at the Berkley is openly invited to join the carnival and enjoy the festival occasion.
New Year Symbols
One of the most widely known symbols of New Year’s Eve is the image of the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster, in London, counting down the last minutes of the old year. The first chimes of Big Ben, the bell housed in the Clock Tower, in the new year are broadcast live on radio and television. This is followed by a spectacular fireworks performance, often centered on the London Eye, which is claimed to be the largest Ferris wheel in Europe.
Christmas Eve - December 24th
Night time on Christmas Eve is a very exciting time for young children. It is the time when Santa or Father Christmas comes. Children write letters to Santa or Father Christmas listing their requests, but instead of dropping them in the mailbox, the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The draught carries the letters up the chimney and Father Christmas reads the smoke. Children hang up their stockings and go to sleep. Santa and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in Greenland. On Christmas Eve he piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or it may be Donder), Blitzen and of course ... Rudolf!). The most famous one is Rudolf who is always the one at the front, to lead the way with his red nose. In the morning when the children wake up they open their stocking presents. Traditionally on Christmas Eve mince pies and sherry (or milk) are left out for Santa and nowadays carrots are left for his reindeer. Most children are in bed way before midnight waiting for Santa to visit.The custom of hanging stockings comes from England. Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney. The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn’t landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry. Since that time children have continued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts.
The origins of the now traditional Christmas Celebration, distinct from earlier pagan winter holidays, date to sixth century England. By the middle ages, it was a well established important holiday, with traditional pageantry, customs, music and feasting all its own. Customs from pre Christian days were incorporated into the Celebrations, and many still remain.
However in 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal, all festivities were banned by the Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. The ban was lifted only when Cromwell lost power in 1660.
In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551 (which has not yet been repealed) states that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the service There are a large number of Britons who break this law every year. The law may have been intended to encourage humility by forcing even the wealthy to attend the church on foot, or perhaps it was simply to avoid the traffic and parking crush that universal attendance would otherwise have brought about.
Later, during Queen Victoria's reign, Christmas became a time for gift giving, aand a special season for children.
13 per cent of families always attend church on Christmas Day.
27 per cent of families sit down to watch the Queen’s Speech.
Dinner is finally served at 3.24pm, with 85 per cent of people enjoying the traditional turkey with all the trimmings.
38 per cent of families think that spending time with the family is the best thing about Christmas Day.
The Queen's Message
One Christmas ritual not drawn from an ancient tradition is the British monarch's broadcast on Christmas day. The tradition began in 1932 when King George V read a special speech written by Rudyard Kipling. The broadcast was an enormous success. It began, "I speak now from my home and from my heart, to you all...".
Queen Elizabeth II continues the tradition to this day. Every year she broadcasts her message on Christmas Day, and it is heard by millions of people all over the world. In England most people watch or listen to it whilst digesting their Christmas Dinner!
In England Boxing Day celebrated on December 26th, is traditionally a time to give gifts to tradesmen, servants, and friends.
It originated in medieval times, when every priest was supposed to empty the alms box of his church and distribute gifts to the poor. Wealthy people indulged in huge Christmas feasts, and when they were finished, packed up the remains of feasts in boxes and gave them out to their servants. It didn't become widely celebrated though until Victorian England.
In Ireland there is an Irish custom called "feeding the wren". The custom is based on a legend of St. Stephen. Once he was forced to hide in a bush, but a chattering wren gave him away. In the past Children caged the wren to help it do penance for this misdeed. Nowadays children carry a long pole with a holly bush at the top - which is supposed to hide a captured wren.
In the UK Boxing Day is still a public holiday, some shops and supermarkets open nowadays, but banks and most offices remain closed.
ROBERT BURNS
Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, was born on January 25, 1759 and lived to be 37. He greatly enriched English literature with his unforgettable works.
Burns was born in the southwest lowland into a poor farmer’s family. Young Robert got his education at the local school (where he was an excellent English scholar) and supplemented it by continuous reading. Evenings would find him reading by candlelight or writing poems with his plough-hardened hands. He wrote about what he knew intimately: the flowering fields and birds singing in the trees, the life of Scottish peasants and the cares and ecstasies of his own heart. Perhaps his best poems are songs of love and nature and his moving often humorous narratives of the joys and mishaps of humble life.
At the age of twenty-seven Robert Burns published a volume of his poetry. To his surprise it was a success and he went to Edinburgh to arrange for a second edition. In Edinburgh Burns became a celebrated figure among his admiring readers. But burns knew that his social success in Edinburgh wouldn’t last long and returned to the world that he knew so well. He took the post of government inspector for the region around Dumfries and combinated his new duties with farming and writing poetry.
At Dumfries, married to the sweetheart of his youth Jean Armour, he spent the last years of his life. He died at the early age of thirty-seven. His best known songs date from these final years.
Easter is a religious spring holiday. It comes on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
St.
Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish and Irish at Heart in big cities and
small towns alike with parades, "wearing of the green," music and
songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring
and games on the 17-th оf
March. It’s a time for fun. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or
streams green
The day is
generally characterised by the attendance of church services, wearing of green
attire (especially shamrocks), and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating
and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national
apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. Saint
Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are
no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was
separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. Driving the
snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan
practice. While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick
who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan
rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes,
baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells"
that still bear this name.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory
is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in
Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they
took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all
is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost
all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish
attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for
missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
EASTER
Easter is a religious spring holiday. It comes on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
The word “Easter” is named after Easter, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honour every year at the vernal equinox.
Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day He was resurrected.
Today on Easter Sunday, children wake up to find that Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for their eggs all around the house. The child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.
The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the “Easter Hare.”
The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that “All life comes from an egg.” Christians consider eggs to be “the seed of life” and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Why we dye, or colour, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.
At Easter children in Britain get chocolate Easter eggs as present from their parents and relatives. Sometimes cards are sent, but other presents are not usually given.
In England, children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which was connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ’s tomb when He was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World.
Traditionally, many celebrants bought new clothes for Easter which they wore to church. After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town. This led to the American custom of easter parades all over the country.
Once a year, the earth has its day. It’s called Earth Day, a time when people learn about the earth and pitch in to help preserve its beauty.
The Earth Day
Once a year, the earth has its day. It’s called Earth Day, a time when people learn about the earth and pitch in to help preserve its beauty.
In the 1840s, the Midwestern state of Nebraska was a territory within a wide prairie.
J. Sterling Morton was one of those pioneers who moved to the treeless Nebraska territory. He and his wife planted trees immediately after moving from their home town of Detroit, Michigan. Morton was a journalist. In his writings, he advocated planting trees to help life on this plain. He became the secretary of the Nebraska Territory.
Morton proposed that citizens of the new state of Nebraska set aside April 10th as a day to the planet trees. Nebraskans planted about one million trees on that first Arbor Day. Today a visitor to Nebraska would never guess that it was once a dusty prairie.
In 1882, Nebraska declared its own Arbor Day as a legal holiday, and the date was changed to Morton’s birthday, April 22nd.
The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Throughout the United States, millions of people gathered in parks and paraded down city streets. Their message was simple: Taking care of the earth is everybody’s business/
Since 1970, Earth Day has become an event that is celebrated in many communities.
Earth Day is a time when many people show that they care for our fragile planet. They show concern about the treats the planet faces – destruction of the rainforests, holed in the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, too much garbage, all forms of air and water pollution and killing of animals for their skins or food. It is a day for people to learn what they can do to preserve the planet Earth.
Let’s keep the Earth green and healthy and full of millions of wonderful creatures!
