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Besides public holidays, there are some special festivals in Great Britain. One of them takes place on the 5th of November. On that day, in 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. He did not succeed. The King’s men found the bomb, took Guy Fawkes to the Tower and cut off his head.
Since that day the British celebrate the 5th of November. They burn a dummy, made of straw and old clothes, in a bonfire and let off fireworks. This dummy is called a “guy” (like Guy Fawkes). Bonfire Night. It is a very interesting night for English boys and girls. On that evening they make bonfires and have fireworks. Some days before bonfire night they make the guy.
They make them of sticks and straw and then put men’s old clothes on him. They put an old hat on his head and old gloves on the sticks that are his hands. When the bonfire is ready, children or their parents put the guy on the bonfire an then light it.
Mother’s day in Britain. In Britain there is a holiday which people call Mother’s Day. On the old days many girls from working-class families in towns and cities and from farmers’ families in the country worked in rich houses. They had to do all the housework and their working day was usually very long, they often worked on Sundays too.
Once a year, it was usually one Sunday in March, they could visit their mothers. They went home on that day and brought presents for their mothers and for other members of the families. They could stay at home only one day, and then they went back to their work. People called that day Mothering Day or Mothering
Sunday. Later workers at the factories and girls who worked in houses of rich families received one free day a week, and Mothering Day became Mother’s Day. It is the last Sunday in March.
On that day sons and daughters visit theirs mothers and bring them flowers and little presents. The elder son must bring his mother a good cake. If sons or daughters cannot be with their mothers on that day, they usually send her presents. Mother’s Day must be a day of rest for the mother of the family, so her daughters cook dinner on that day and lay the table and the sons help to wash the plates and dishes after dinner.
Every country has its traditions. They play a very important role in the life of the people. One such tradition is Easter. Easter is a festival that occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon in spring. Easter marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. People buy new clothes to wear on Easter Sunday. There is a popular belief that wearing three new things at Easter will bring good luck in the year. After church services many people like to take walks down the streets in their new clothes. This colourful procession of people dressed in bright new spring clothes is called the Easter Parade. The word “Easter” comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose spring was celebrated in April. Before the arrival of Christianity, people believed that the sun died in winter and was born again in spring, on the day of the spring equinox (день весеннего равноденствия) they would sing and dance as the sun rose in the sky. Although it is a Christian festival the customs and legends of Easter celebrations are pagan (языческий) in origin. Easter is the religious holiday celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. It is at the end of Lent during which children all over the world give up sweets and make other sacrifices in preparation for the highest festival of the church year. What are Easter symbols? They are: the Cross. It has a special meaning to Christians. It represents Christ’s victory over death. It is a significant Easter symbol. The next symbol are eggs. Long ago some people believed that the earth appeared from a gigantic egg. On Easter Sunday families and friends exchange chocolate eggs. This custom dates back to ancient times when Egyptians and Persians used to paint eggs in bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring and give them to friends as a symbol of new life. The third symbol are Easter Rabbits. It is true that in ancient Egypt the rabbit symbolized the moon, new life and birth. All around the world, many children believe that the Easter rabbit brings eggs and hides them for children on Easter morning. There are many different legends but here is a popular one.
Long ago in Germany there lived an old woman who loved children. Each year she gave children presents to celebrate spring. But one year she had nothing to give because it was a bad year and she had become very poor. All she had were some eggs. So she coloured the eggs and hid them in the grass. When the children arrived, she told them to run into the yard to find their presents there. Just as one of the children uncovered the eggs, a large rabbit hopped away. So the children thought that the rabbit had left the eggs for them. And ever since children have searched for the eggs left by Easter rabbit on Easter morning.
It is called the Easter Egg Hunt. Eggs are the important part of Easter Sports. The Romans celebrated the Easter season by running races on an oval track and giving eggs as prizes. One of the traditional Easter egg games is the Easter Egg Roll. The rules of the Easter Egg Roll are to see who can roll an egg the greatest distance down a grassy hillside without breaking it.
The Robin Hood Dance. In a little village in Staffordshire a very old dance is performed in September every year. Six men in Robin Hood costumes carry deer’s horns set in wooden deer’s heads. They walk together with a number of other characters from the Robin Hood legends: Maid Marian, the girl whom Robin Hood loved and married, a knight on a wooden horse, a boy in the traditional costume of a jester, another boy with a bow and many musicians. The dance begins at 9 o’clock in the morning near the house where the costumes, the horns and all the other things are kept during the winter. The dancers walk through the wood and visit many farms where they eat, drink and dance. In the afternoon they get back through the village and dance in the streets. The dance ends in the middle of the night in the market-place. Very many people take part in the dance.
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