 |
Family. Easter. A little party!
|
|
|
|
Family
Finally, the presents are bought, wrapped and put away in a safe dark corner and it is time to enjoy Christmas with your family. Although it is not a crime to spend the New Year with friends, British Christmas is definitely a family celebration. As, quite often, grown-up children live a long way (or what seems a long way) from their parents, some families only get together once a year, for Christmas. But even if all the family lives close by, it is a must to spend Christmas together. Normally this means three days: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
It seems like a short time but in reality it is not. Firstly, not all families get on well together. Secondly, even if it is not the case, it is difficult to stay calm and friendly amongst shouting parents trying to decide who knows better how to make Christmas dinner, screaming kids and grandparents perpetually giving invaluable pieces of advice. Besides, being such an old tradition, there are things that just have to be done at Christmas even if the whole family secretly hates it. For example, playing traditional boards games, and eating Christmas cake. And if you do not see anything wrong with playing games, just imaging if you had to do it every year for the rest of your life. Doesn’t sound like a jolly prospect now, does it? As for Christmas cake, heavy and overfilling it is not to everybody’s taste. To make things worse, it takes weeks to make and when it is ready it can last until Easter, so even if you do not like it, you have to try and eat some at Christmas to avoid being haunted by it months after.
Naturally, all this creates some tension. According to statistics, the number of family breakdowns doubles in the post-Christmas period as a result of stress, debt and over-consumption of alcohol. As it is a well-known fact, some magazines publish tips on how to cope with Christmas, such as yoga, meditation or holidays abroad.
Ответьте на вопросы:
1. When do Christmas and New Year celebrations run officially?
2. When does the Christmas marathon start for many Brits?
3. When are shops packed?
4. What is the idea of Christmas shopping?
5. How much does the average British family spend around the Christmas period?
6. What is the money spent on?
7. What is becoming part of British culture?
8. When and why does the whole population rush to shops?
Текст 7
Easter
Easter is the time for holidays, festivals and a time for giving chocolate Easter eggs. But Easter means much more. It is the oldest and the most important Christian Festival, the celebration of the death and coming to life again of Jesus Christ. For Christians, the dawn of faster Sunday with its message of new life is the high point of the year.
Why do we give Easter eggs?
Eggs are a forbidden food during Lent, making them a welcome return to the menu on Easter Day. For Christians, Easter eggs symbolize new life. They believe that, through His resurrection, Jesus defeated death and sin and offers people the promise of eternal life if they follow His teachings. Eggs have been a symbol of continuing life and resurrection since pre-Christian spring celebrations.
|
|
|
Eggs had a religious significance in many ancient civilizations. Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs as did the Greeks. A Roman proverb states, " All life comes from an egg".
Easter presents
Chocolate eggs are given to children. The eggs are either hollow or have a filling, and are usually covered with brightly coloured silver paper.
Around 80 million chocolate eggs are eaten each year in Britain.
Easter Egg Hunt
Small chocolate eggs are hidden for the children to find on the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. In recent years this game has been linked to the Easter Bunny, which only arrived in Britain relatively recently.
Pace egging
Easter eggs are sometimes known as pace eggs, a name that is ultimately derived from Pesach (Passover). All kinds of fun are had with the hard-boiled decorated pace eggs. The background colour of the eggs is provided by onion skins, with designs created by leaves and flowers placed next to the shell.
Ответьте на вопросы:
1. What does Easter mean?
2. What does Easter egg symbolize?
3. What eggs are given to children?
Упражнения
1. Заполните таблицу названиями самых важных праздников в России.
| Personal | |
| Celebrations of historic and political events | |
| Days of remembrance | |
| Other important celebrations and festivals |
2. Дополните предложения названиями самых важных праздников в России.
1. It's time for families and friends to get together...
2. It's a national holiday, and shops and offices shut down...
3. It commemorates an important historical event...
4. Almost everyone joins in the celebrations...
5. People give each other presents and cards...
6. People get dressed up in their best clothes...
7. There are various special customs and rituals...
8. It's not celebrated as much as it used to be...
9. People let their hair down and go a bit wild...
10. People tend to spend too much money and overeat or drink too much... In goes on for too long...
3. Celebrations
Вставьте слова в поздравительные сообщения.
wedding retirement party new baby congratulations (x2) birthday
1. Happy (1). 21 today! Have a great (2).
2. (3) on the birth of your (4) girl.
3. (5) to Jack and Anna on their (6). We hope you are happy together.
4. Charles is 65 today! Enjoy your (7).
Какой это праздник? Выберите слово из упражнения выше.
1. It's a special day today. At last I'm 18!
2. He started with the company over 45 years ago!
3. Everyone drank champagne after the ceremony.
4. Напишите вопросы в простом прошедшем времени.
| Where / they / go? Where did they go? | |
| When / they / go? | |
| What / they / do? | |
| Who / they / be with? | |
| What / they / eat? | |
| What / they / drink? | |
| What / they / wear? |
|
|
|
Прочитайте текст и ответьте на получившиеся вопросы.
A little party!
John and Julia had a party at their house last Saturday to celebrate the birth of little Angela. All their family and friends came and we danced all evening. The party was fantastic and Sam, my boyfriend, really enjoyed it. The food was really nice. I ate lots of cake and drank champagne! I wore a long black dress and everyone said I looked amazing.
1. 4. THE GENERATION GAP. THE PROBLEMS OF THE YOUNG
|
|
|
