5. New Year

In england

In England the New Year is not as widely observed as Christmas but one of the popular ways of celebrating it is to go to a New Year’s dance in a hotel or dance hall. The most famous celebration is in London round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus where crowds gather and sing and welcome the New Year. In Trafalgar Square there is also a big crowd and the police usually have to put people out of a fountain! Brrr!!!

IN RUSSIA

The New Year is the most joyful and merry holiday in Russia. The most distinctive sing of it is a decorated New Year tree (usually a fir-tree). There are New Year trees trimmed with lights and toys in squares, kindergartens, schools and other places. Special performances for children are staged near the New Year trees. The main character is Grandfather Frost described in many folk fairy-tales as the master of the winter weather who lives in the snowy forest. He resembles Santa Claus and differs from him at the same time: he is dressed in the Russian style with felt boots on his feet. Grandfather Frost always comes with his granddaughter – Snow Maiden, a fair-haired girl with her hair in a long plait. Snow Maiden is also a character from a Russian fairy-tale. Wherever Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden go, they are supposed to bring gifts for children.

IN THE USA

January 1^st is a legal holiday in the USA but celebrations begin on December 31. Marry New Yorkers come to Times Square in the centre of the city. At one minute to midnight a lighted ball drops slowly from the top to the bottom of a pole on one of the buildings. People count down while the ball is dropping down. When it comes to the bottom, there appears an illuminated New Year sign. Those watching it in kiss and wish each other “Happy New Year!”

TASK:

Answer the questions:

1.How do people celebrate New Year in England?

2. Is the New Year the most joyful holiday in Russia?

3. What is the most distinctive sign of it?

4. Who is the main character on New Year day?

5. Who brings gifts for children?

6. Is Snow Maiden a character from a Russian-fairy-tale?

7. How do Americans celebrate New Year?

2. Retell the text.

3. Tell about your family New Year traditions.

6. American Thanksgiving

According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the

English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims marked the occasion by feasting with their Native American guests - members of the Wampanoag tribe - who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. Although this event was an important part of Colonial history, there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feast as a Thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period of drought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of Thanksgiving because the rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed among New Englanders to celebrate Thanksgiving after the harvest every year. Colonial governments and, later, state governments took up the Puritan custom of designating thanksgiving days to commemorate various public events. The tradition of holding an annual Thanksgiving holiday spread throughout New England and into other states. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress proclaimed a national Day of Thanksgiving following a Day of Thanksgiving in 1789 in honor of the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual holiday, and many other states soon did the same. Most of the state celebrations were held in November, but not always on the same day.

In the mid-19th century Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Ladies Book, led a movement to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day in order to bolster the Union's morale. After the war, Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but widespread national observance caught on only gradually. Many southerners saw the new holiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on them. However, in the late 19th century Thanksgiving's emphasis on home and family appealed to many people throughout the United States. As a distinctly American holiday, Thanksgiving was also considered an introduction to American values for the millions of immigrants entering the country at that time.

During the 20th century, as the population of the United States became increasingly urban, new Thanksgiving traditions emerged that catered to city dwellers. The day after Thanksgiving gradually became known as the first day of the Christmas shopping season. To attract customers, large retailers such as Macy's in New York City and Gimbel's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began to sponsor lavish parades. By 1934, the Macy's parade, featuring richly decorated floats and gigantic balloons, attracted more than one million spectators annually. The custom of watching football games on Thanksgiving Day also evolved during the early decades of the 20th century. As football became increasingly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, many people began to enjoy the holiday at a football stadium. Teams in the National Football League eventually established traditions of playing nationally televised games on Thanksgiving afternoon. In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt shifted the day of Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to one week earlier. Retail merchants had petitioned the president to make the change to allow for an extra week of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Many Americans objected to the change in their holiday customs and continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month. Roosevelt's political opponents in Congress also opposed the break with tradition and dubbed the early holiday "Franksgiving." In May 1941 Roosevelt admitted that he had made a mistake and signed a bill that established the fourth Thursday of November as the national Thanksgiving holiday, which it has been ever since.

Public observances of Thanksgiving usually emphasize the holiday's connection with the Pilgrims. Many of the images associated with Thanksgiving are derived from much older traditions of celebrating the autumn harvest. The cornucopia (a horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem of Thanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Many communities decorate their churches with fruits, flowers, and vegetables at Thanksgiving, much as European communities have for centuries during the harvest season. Preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of most Thanksgiving celebrations. The menu usually includes turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. These simple foods recall the rustic virtues of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans and are North American in origin, thus emphasizing the bounty greeted early settlers in their adopted homeland.

TASK:

1. Answer the questions:

1. When was the first American Thanksgiving celebrated?

2. What do you know about the Pilgrims?

3. When did New York State adapt Thanksgiving Day as an annual holiday?

4. Who proclaimed the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day?

5. What are the customs on Thanksgiving Day?

6. What bill did Roosevelt sign?

7. What is a typical emblem of Thanksgiving abundance?

8. How do communities decorate their churches?

9. What is a central part of most Thanksgiving celebrations?

10. What is the usual menu on Thanksgiving day?