N. Kryazheva - The United States and the United Kingdom. Past and Present (pdf), страница 10

No otherflag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make.The American flag has also changed designs more than any other flag in the orld. The first flag, calledthe Grand Union, was flown at the headquarters of the Continental Army on January 1, 1776.On June 14, 1777, Congress proposed that the United States had had a national flag instead of theBritish "Union Jack" one. The thirteen stars of the flag represented the thirteen new states.There were few public ceremonies honoring the Stars and Stripes until 1877, when on June 14, it wasflown from every government building in honor of the centennial of the adoption of a national flag.In August 1949, President Harry Truman proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day.

Since then the Presidentproclaims the commemoration yearly and encourages all Americans in the country to display the "Starsand Stripes" outside their homes and businesses. Individual states determine how they will observe theday. Usually the flag is flown from all public buildings, speeches are made in public places, andceremonies take place in towns and cities all over the country.Father's Day Г third Sunday in JunelThe origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in1908. Others say the first Father's Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which theirchildren honor fathers.

On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are givenpresents, treated to dinner.In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event "to establish more intimate relationsbetween fathers and their children and impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." Sincethen, fathers had been honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on the thirdSunday in June.When children can't visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card.Traditionally fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical,so fathers laugh when they open them.

Some give heart-felt thanks.Labor Day [first Monday in September]Eleven-year-old Peter McGuire sold papers on the streets in New York City. He shined shoes andcleaned stores, and later ran errands.Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditionswere not as wonderful as they had dreamed.

Often there were six families crowded into a house made forone family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrantmen, women and children worked in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping °nly for a short timeto eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick, be-Cause if they didn't, they might be fired out.They spoke of organizing themselves pto a union of laborers to improve their working conditions. In thespring of 1872, eter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the reets,demanding a decrease in the long working day.The Idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread around % country. Factory workers,dock workers, and tool makers all began to demand an* get their rights to an eight-hour workday, asecure job and a future in their trades Peter McGuire and laborers in other cities planned a holiday forworkers on the Щ Monday in September, half-way between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City Twenty thousand workersmarched in a parade up Broadway.

They carried ban* ners that read labor creates all wealth," and "eighthours for work; eight hours for rest; eight hours for recreation]" Within the next few years, the idea spreadfrom coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day. In 1894, Congress voted ita national holiday.So, Labor Day was originally established to honour workers. But now most Americans consider LaborDay as the last day of summer and celebrate it with picnics and barbecues.

The beaches and otherpopular resort areas are packed with people enjoying one last three-day week-end.Words And Phrases:in honor to - в честьcentennial - столетие, столетниhonoringto adopt - приниматьstar - звездаadoption - принятиеstripe - полосаto encourage - поощрятьto ignore - игнорироватьwhimsical - причудливыйbanner -знамяto flow -развиватьсяto ban - запрещатьto pertain - относитьсяto celebrate - праздноватьto convince - убеждатьto run errands - быть на посылкахto fire out . увольнятьto reel special - чувствовать себя особенноfabric-тканьto give heart-felt thanks . ис благодарить;intimate relations - зд.: теплые отношенияHalloween f31st of October]Symbols of Halloween are evil spirits, witches, black cats, ghosts, goblins, skeletons.

Black is one ofthe traditional Halloween colors. Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. Faces are carved onpumpkins and a light is put inside. Therefore, orange color became the other traditional one.On October 31st, dozens of children dressed in costumes knock on their neighbors' doors and yell,"Trick or Treat", when the door opens. The neighbors' must either give them a treat (usually sweets) orthe children will play a trick on them.November 1st is a religious holiday known as All Saints' Day (or formerly, All Hallows' Day). The daybefore the Holy Day is known as All Hallows' Eve. The word "Halloween" comes from that form.

Likesome other American celebrations, its origin lies in both pre-Christian and Christian customs.October 31st was the eve of the Celtic New Year. The Celts were the ancestors of the present-dayIrish, Welsh, and Scottish people. On this day, ghosts walked and mingled with the living, or so the Celtsthought. The town people baked foodall that day, and when night fell, they dressed up and tried to resemble the souls f the dead hoping thatthe ghosts would leave peacefully before midnight of the w year, the people carried the food to the edgeof town and left it for them.Much later, when Christianity spread throughout Ireland, and October 31 was о longer the last day ofthe year, Halloween became a celebration mostly for "hildren.

"Ghosts" went from door to door asking fortreats, or else a trick would be played on the owners of the house. When millions of Irish peopleimmigrated to the United States in the 1840s, the tradition came with them.Today, school dances and neighbourhood parties are popular among young and old alike. More andmore adults celebrate Halloween. They dress up like historical or political figures and go to masqueradeparties. In larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather at shopping malls early in the evening.Stores give parties with games and treats for the children.Columbus Day [second Monday in October]In 1937 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. Since 1971 ithas been celebrated although it is generally accepted that Columbus was the first European to havediscovered the New World of the America, there is still some controversy over this claim.

But 1992marked the 500th anniversary of the Columbus discovery.Thanksgiving [fourth Thursday in November]In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle inthe New World. This religious group had begun to quest on the belief of the Church of England and theywanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their firstwinter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without freshfood, half the colony died from diseases.

The following spring, the Indians taught them how to grow corn(maize), a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil andhow to hunt and fish.In the autumn of 1621 beautiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested. Thecolonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief andninety Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by thecolonists.

The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squashdishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought Pop-corn.It was George Washington who suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving °аУ. Then in 1864,at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to mark the last Thursdayin November as a Day of Thanksgiving.Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every Уеаг. The President mustproclaim that date as the official celebration. Thanksgiv-in9 Menu consists of a roast turkey stuffed withherb-flavored bread, a cranberry Je,,y, white mashed potatoes, a pumpkin pie.George Bush, president of the United States of America, called upon ц American people to observeThursday, November 22, 1990, as a National Day of Thanksgiving and gather together in homes andplaces of worship.Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing.

Even if they live far away family members gather for areunion at the house of an older relative. They gjVe thanks together for the good things that they have. Inthis spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need,par. ticular to the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the firstThanksgiving have become traditional.Words and Phrases:ghost - приведениеorigin - происхождениеgoblin - домовой, гоблинto carve - вырезатьpumpkin - тыкваancestor - предок, прародительto discover- открывать, обнаруживатьmall- место для гулянияdiscovery- открытиеcontroversy - противоречиеgame-ЗД- Дичьanniversary - годовщинаto sail - зд.: плыть в лодкеcorn - зерноcrop - урожайunfamiliar - незнакомыйdiseases-болезниrelative -родственникplace of worship - церковьfeast - праздникtrick and treat - шутка и угощение to accept- приниматьsquash dishes - размягченная пищаclaim -зд.утверждениеto mingle - смешивать(ся)sharing - зд.:обмен мнениямиHalloween = Hallow-e en - канун дня всех святыхChristmas [December 25]Christmas is a joyful religious holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.