Holidays (Russia, Great Britain, the usa)

I think the greatest public holiday in Great Britain and in Europe as a whole and the USA is Christmas, that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. For millions of Christians throughout the world it is the happiest and the busiest time of the year. No one knows the exact date of Christ’s birth but most Christian celebrate Christmas on December 25. The world Christmas comes from Christ’s mass, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ. It is celebrated in different countries in various ways with presents, a lot of food, cards and Christmas trees. The first day after Christmas is a public holiday. In England it is called Boxing Day. Once people gave presents to servants in boxes. The traditional Christmas dinner consists of stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, Christmas cake and fruit pudding and a variety of other dishes. Some families have ham or roast goose instead of turkey. Pumpkin pie, plum pudding and fruitcake are favorite desserts. People in the United States and Canada decorate their homes with Christmas trees, wreaths and ornaments. City streets are filled with colored lights, the sound of bells and Christmas carols can be heard everywhere. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning families open their presents. Many children believe that Santa Claus arrives on Christmas Eve in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and brings presents. Some children hang up stockings so Santa Claus can fill them with candy, fruit and other small gifts. In our country people celebrate this holiday on the 7^th of January. They give presents, go to the church to listen to readings from Bible and sing Christmas carols.

I think that the greatest holiday in Russia is New Year. A New Year tree is a symbol of this holiday. People decorate it with lights and toys and put the presents under it. Relatives and friends may join in trimming the tree with tinsel and colorful ornaments. Santa Claus comes to children with presents and jokes, they sing gongs, dance and play, recite poems. In Russia people eat cakes and pies, salads, chicken and meat.

We celebrate Victory Day on the 9^th of May. 60 years ago soviet people defeated fascism on our territory and on the territory of Europe. On that day the war veterans get presents, march on the squares, sing war songs. TV shows war films and concerts for the veterans. It is a national holiday.

We celebrate the 8^th of March, women’s day when men give presents and flowers to their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.

American national holidays are Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day. Independence Day is celebrated on the 4^th of July. Until the 18^th century America was one of the British colonies. The revolutionary war began in 1774 and on the 4^th of July the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. After that the Independence Day became an official holiday. On this day Americans do not work. People have picnics with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and the favourite American food. They play baseball or compete at pie-eating contests. In the evening they watch fireworks.

Halloween is the festival on the 31^st of October. Children wear costumes and masks and play trick-or-treat. They carve jack-o’-lantens out of pumpkins with a candle inside. It is the festival of the dead. Children go from door to door and say ”trick-or-treat”. People give them candies, fruit and pennies so that children do not play trick on them. People once believed that there were many ghosts and witches in the world and they met on the 31^st of October. Now people do not believe in ghosts and witches but they like to tell stories about them. In our country Halloween is celebrated too but not much. Many Russian people think that it is a bad and godless event. I do not celebrate this holiday either.

Thanksgiving Day is a festival when people thank for rich harvest. American President George Washington established the day of this holiday – the 26^th of November. On this day families get together and thank for everything. They eat traditional national dishes - roast turkey, jelly, potatoes and pumpkin pies. It was first celebrated in 1621 when the first settlers from England came to America. The Indians helped the first settlers to survive during the severe winter. The Pilgrims celebrated the first harvest festival in November and invited the Indians to thank them. It has become a tradition with Americans to get together on this day and have a great holiday dinner in one house.

St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14^th of February. There are several legends about St. Valentine’s Day. One of the legends says that Valentine was Christian priest who lived in the 3 century A.D. He was put into prison by roman authorities for his teachings and was beheaded on February 14. According to the legend he performed a miracle – he cured his jailer’s daughter of her blindness. Before execution he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine”. Another legend says that the same Valentine wrote to children and friends who loved him from the jail. According to another legend, Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived at about the same time. He was thrown into prison because he secretly married couples, contrary to the laws of the Roman empire. The legend says that he was burnt at the stake. Now it is a day for sweethearts. On this day, people show their friends and relatives their love and to those loved ones that they care. They send roses, candy and cards called valentines – greeting cards named after St. Valentine’s letters written from jail. “Valentines” can be anonymous, can be heart-shaped or can carry hearts on them. People buy “valentines” or make them themselves. Young people in Russia like this holiday as well. At our school we celebrate this holiday too.