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Топики по английскому языку (English topics)

Страноведение / Великобритания

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English customs and traditions

If you want to know more about the history of life of different countries you must study there traditions. English people carefully keep up their traditions. Many of them are connected with the capital of Great Britain - London. One well known traditional ceremony is  “The Ceremony of the keys” which takes place nightly at the famous London Tower. At 9.53 p.m. the Chief Warder takes the keys to  the Bloody Tower, where the present guard is waiting for them. "Halt! Who goes there?" - the guards ask. “The Keys”, is the reply. “Whose keys?” Asks the guard. The Chief Warder answers: "Queen Elisabeth's keys". "Advance, Queen Elisabeth's keys. All's well. " - tis the final answer before the warder marches from one Tower to another, locking the gates.  At 10 sharp the Chief Warder proceeds to the Queen's house to return the keys from the Tower.

English traditions are commonly celebrated on holidays: Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night, St. Valentines Day, etc. Christmas is more important for the than any other holiday. People travel from all parts of the country to be with their families on the 25th of December. English people decorate Christmas trees with flashing lights, wrapping paper and glass balls. They decorate their houses with holly and mistletoe. Special foods are also enjoyed like baked puddings and the traditional Christmas Turkey.Children wait for the presents from Santa Claus, a mythical man, who lives in the North pole and makes toys for children. On Christmas he visits the homes of good children and leaves them presents in their socks. Children put their socks at the foot of the bed or a fireplace. Another colourful holiday is Halloween. It has been celebrated for hundreds of years. On this day children dress in funny ghostly costumes and knock at their neighbour's doors. After shouting "Trick or treat" they get gifts of sweets or money. But more than 2000 years ago it wasn't a merry holiday. It was the time when the Lord of Dead gathered the souls of dead and presented them to Druid Heaven on October 31. At that time people believed that all the evil forces appeared in the darkness on that day. To frighten them people made fires. So nowadays Englishmen take turnips, potatoes, pumpkins, cut holes in them and place candles inside. There is one more holiday, which has a great significance especially for young lovers, St. Valentine's Day. It is celebrated on the 14th of February. Valentine's Day is sweethearts' day when people in love express their affections for each other. The message is - "Will you be my Valentine?" Valentines used to be for young lovers, but nowadays grandparents, cousins and friends of any age express their affection through a small gift or a card. The customs of celebrating St. Valentine's Day dates back to the festivals called Lupercalia. There were games for girls to find their sweetheart for the coming year. It was a pagan custom, but it survived when Christianity came. In the 7-th century it got the name St. Valentine's Day. St. Valentine's had has a long and romantic history. The Romans carried it to England as a pagan festival, combined with the Christian religion, it formed a good tradition. Nowadays Valentine's Day is celebrated in many countries. Mostly the gifts of cards and flowers are presented on that day. These are the most exciting holidays in England, I think. As we can see they make the life of people richer and happier, make them feel proud of their country, its history and culture.