1. Напишите следующие даты.

1. 6.11.08 (UK)

2. 09.07.06 (US)

3. 21.01.07

4. 04.08.02 (US)

5. 12.12. 2009

6. 23.03. 2011

2. Прочитайте названия национальных праздников. Вспомните, когда и в каких странах они отмечаются. Заполните таблицу.

А) New Year Day, St. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, International Women’s Day, the Victory Day, Independence Day, Boxing Day, National Unity Day, Day of Fatherland Defender

Б) October 31st, December 25^th, January 1st, 14^th of February, 25^th of December, the fourth Thursday of November, 26^th of December, July 4th, 23^rd of February, 8^th of March, 9^th of May, 4^th of November, 12^th of June, 7^th of January.

country	holiday	date
RUSSIA
GREAT BRITAIN
THE USA

3. Ответьте на вопросы.

1. What holidays are celebrated in Russia?

2. What holidays are celebrated in the USA?

3. What holidays are celebrated in Great Britain?

4. What Russian traditions of observing holidays do you know?

5. What customs of New Year's Eve celebration in different countries do you know?

6. What holidays do you observe?

7. Do you prefer to celebrate holidays with your family or with your friends?

8. Do you prefer to celebrate holidays at home or in some public place? How do you usually do it?

9. What is your favorite holiday? Why?

4. Прочитайте диалог и расскажите, что нового Вы узнали о том, какие праздники и как отмечаются в разных странах.

(Jerry and Fei are comparing Christmas customs in New York and Beijing).

Jerry: Look, Fei! I got a Christmas card from my sister.

Fei: It's very beautiful. Why are the words "Happy Holidays" written on the card? Christmas is only one holiday. Shouldn't it be "Happy Holiday", without the "s"?

Jerry: We don't just celebrate Christmas during this season. We also celebrate the coming of the New Year.

Fei: Oh, I never thought about that before. There's more than one holiday at the end of the year.

Jerry: Now that I'm in China, I want to celebrate the holidays Chinese-style. What do you and your family do for Christmas?

Fei: Actually, we don't do much at Christmas. It's not really a big family holiday. Young people in China would rather spend Christmas Eve with their boyfriends or girlfriends.

Jerry: I see. How about the New Year in China? Is it a bigger holiday than Christmas?

Fei: Not really. We don't celebrate it because the Spring Festival is much more important to us here in China.

Jerry: The Spring Festival is known around the world as "Chinese New Year". It's the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar, isn't it?

Fei: That's right. The Spring Festival is the biggest family holiday in China, so we don't celebrate the western New Year. How about it in New York? Do people celebrate New Year's Eve more or New Year's Day?

Jerry: There are two kinds of people who celebrate quite differently. Single people, or couples without children, often go out late on New Year's Eve. They drink and party after the clock strikes midnight. There are big parties all over, but the biggest is in Times Square in Manhattan.

Fei: I guess they won't have much energy left over to do anything on New Year's Day, then.

Jerry: Right. But there are families who don't do anything special on New Year's Eve. Instead, they celebrate with their families on New Year's Day.

Fei: What do they do on New Year's Day?

Jerry: They have a big meal to celebrate and often watch parades in the big cities. The parades are quite spectacular.

Fei: It sounds a little bit like our traditional Lion Dance.

Jerry: Yes, it's a lot like the Lion Dance, except there is no lion!