Vocabulary

nation — нація

traditions and holidays — традиції та свята

to play very important role in — відігравати важливу роль у

to decorate — прикрашати, декорквати

the main folk heroes — головні герої

to wish — бажати

to bake cakes — пекти паску

to paint — розмальовувати

to go to church and listen to the service — йти до церкви й слухати службу

Exercise 3. Answer the questions using information from the text and your own knowledge:

1. What kinds of holidays do you know?

2. Are there similar holidays in Ukraine and in Great Britain?

3. What famous Ukrainian holidays do you know?

4. When do we celebrate the New Year?

5. How do Ukrainians celebrate Christmas?

6. Are there any traditions of celebration of the Women’s Day?

7. When do we celebrate the Victory Day? What is your attitude to this holiday?

8. When Ukrainian people celebrate the Independence Day?

9. What we celebrate on the 1^st of September?

*Exercise 4. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian:

1. In Ukraine there are a lot of holidays.

2. The most popular religious holidays are Christmas and Easter.

3. In Ukraine Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January.

4. In Europe and in the USA Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December.

5. On Christmas people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

6. Easter symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

7. Children like Easter for traditional brightly painted eggs and special Easter cakes.

8. There is one more holiday which is loved by everybody: children and adults. This is the New Year’s Eve.

9. Ivan Kupala Day is one of the great and mysterious holidays signifying a celebration in honour of the “God of the Sun”.

Exercise 5. Read and translate the newspaper article:

*Holidays in Ukraine

Each country has its own customs, traditions, holidays and important days of the historical events. All holidays and celebrations in Ukraine can be divided into public and religious. Our religious holidays have deep cultural roots. Public celebrations are connected with different important dates of our national history.

We can also talk about some individual (private) holidays and celebrations such as birthday, wedding day, etc. The most important religious holidays for Ukrainians are: Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, Trinity etc.

We celebrate Christmas on the 7^th of January. It’s the day of Jesus Christ’s birthday. On this holiday people sing Christmas carols, cook traditional Christmas dish named “kutia”. People usually go to the Christmas sermon. Ukrainians have an old tradition to put on costumes and to go from house to house singing carols and congratulating.

Another important religious holiday is Easter. It’s movable. It is usually the first Sunday after the first fullmoon after the beginning of spring. We have specials Easter symbols: Easter eggs called “krashanka” and Easter cakes called “paska”.

The most popular public holidays are: the Day of Independence (on the 24^th of August), the Day of Constitution (on the 28^th of June), the 8^th of March (the International Women’s Day), the 9^th of May (the Victory Day).

The most exciting holiday in Ukraine is the New Year. It’s celebrated on the 31^st of December. People decorate the fir-tree, buy presents, cook delicious meals and wait till 12 o’clock to welcome the New Year in. People believe that the old year with all its problems leaves us and the New Year with all our hopes and expectations knocks at the door. The symbols of this holiday in Ukraine are: the decorated fir-tree with presents under it, bottles of Soviet champagne, mandarins and salad “olivje”.

Holidays in Ukraine are always noisy and funny. Ukrainians like different parties and celebrations, because they are an important part of our culture. Every holiday has its own tradition and way of celebration, customs and symbols.

It goes without saying that our culture is influenced by other cultures. There is a great number of holidays which came from the Western countries and Catholic religion. These are: Halloween, Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, etc.

Exercise 6. Answer the following questions using facts from the article:

1. What public holidays in Ukraine do you know?

2. What religious holidays in Ukraine do you know?

3. What private holidays can you name?

4. What are the symbols of Christmas/Easter/The New Year?

5. What is your favourite holiday? Explain why?

6. What holiday don’t you like?

**Exercise 7. Comment on the following sayings:

1. Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.

2. Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

3. He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.

**Exercise 8. Write to your pen friend a letter about your favourite holiday. Include the following information:

• When do you celebrate it?

• Are there any peculiarities of celebration?

• What kinds of presents do you give/ get?

• Why do you like this holiday?

**Exercise 9. Translate the passage into English:

Різдво – дивне свято. Це свято народження Ісуса Христа, і воно відзначається 7 січня. Переддень Різдва вважається найцікавішою частиною свята, тому що включає ритуальні і магічні обряди. Колядування — характерна риса свят. Воно виражає пошану господарю будинку і його дітям і інколи супроводжується ляльковим театром. Це релігійне свято триває три дні.

«Свята вечеря»— це вечеря, яка включає 12 ритуальних страв, які не містять м’яса і молока. Різдво — це свято, коли всі члени сім’ї збираються разом. Це свято радості. В порівнянні з Великобританією та іншими країнами, українці цього дня не обмінюються подарунками. Протягом багатьох років лише релігійні люди відзначали це свято, але сьогодні це улюблена свято багатьох українців. Діти люблять веселитися цього дня, вони ходять від дверей до дверей, співають колядки і люди дають їм солодощі.