Реферат по английскому языку на тему The Unusual Holidays in The UK. Some British Customs

The Unusual British Holidays and Customs.

Выполнила:

Рахматуллина Розалия,

Башкортостан, г. Благовещенск,

МОБУ СОШ № 5, 10 Б класс

Учитель английского языка

МОБУ СОШ № 5

Гумерова Гульнур Шангараевна

Slide # 1

Every nation and every country has its own traditions and customs. Traditions make a nation special. Some of them are old-fashioned and many people remember them, others are a part of people's life. Some British customs and traditions are known all over the world. A lot of them have very long histories. Some are funny and some are strange. But they are all interesting.

It's hard to imagine Britain without all its traditions, this integral feature of social and private life of the people living on the British Isles that has always been an important part of their life and work.

During our study of English we get to know a lot about them. But my task is to touch upon some unknown holidays and customs.

English traditions can be classified into several groups: traditions concerning the Englishmen's private life (child's birth, wedding, marriage, wedding anniversary); which are connected with families incomes; state traditions; national holidays, religious holidays, public festivals, traditional ceremonies.

Slide #2

Plan

Looking through the list of British holidays I've made the conclusion that the English people devote their holidays to:

1) - historical events, f or example the Queen's birthday, Guy Fawkes' Day, the Trooping of the Colour, Canada Day, etc. The English keep their traditions carefully and respect their history (Festival of Celtic music and culture, festival sweeps Rochester, floral Marathon, Wimbledon Tennis Tournament and etc.)

2) music and sport festivals, such as Notting Hill Carnival, Birmingham International Jass Festival, World Egg Throwing Championship, X in the City and hundreds of other events. This fact says about their great love to both of them.

3) food and drinks. For example, Brick Lane Curry Festival, York Festival of Food and Drinks.

4 ) trade and market (British Travel Trade Fair; Brick Lane Market)

5) cinema, fashion and literature. They are Robert Burn's Birthday, Raindance Film Festival, State of the Tattoo, Body Art and Music Festival; Bristol Design Festival and so on.

6) religious celebrations (Christmas, St. Patrick' Day, Easter, Good Friday, Shrove Tuesday and many others).

There are only six public holidays a year in Great Britain.They are called Bank holidays. These are days when people do not need to go in to work. They are: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday and Boxing Day.

To begin with let's first examine some festivals. I've grouped them into beautiful and amazing or funny ones.

Slides # 3, 4, 5

Chelsea Flower Show

The most splendid and very colourful parade of plants is Chelsea Flower Show - a garden show which is held each year on five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London. The first spring show was held in 1862 at Kensington. Twenty-six years later the RHS decided to move the show to the heart of London.

The Chelsea Flower Show receives a lot of publicity. It is attended by 157,000 visitors annually. It is the most famous show in the United Kingdom, perhaps the most famous gardening event in the world and part of London's summer season. First two days of it several members of the British Royal Family attend a preview of the show, as part of the royal patronage. There are four grades of award: gold, silver-gilt, silver and bronze for each exhibition. Here the gardeners can exchange their experience, advice and plants.

Slides # 6, 7, 8

The Chap Hendrick's Gin Olympiad

For the first time in my life I've read about the event which is held every year and which have changed my opinion about Englishmen as very conservative, reserved and strict ones.

Do you know that they participate in their own Olympiads called The Chap Hendrick's Gin Olympiad? In 2012 London marked the 400^th anniversary of this annual fair which was established by Robert Dover to honour the ancient Games of Greece and revived in 1951. Men of any age can take part in competitions and have a lot of fun. Nowadays the founders of this contest is the publishing house of "The Chap" magazine.

Among the sports cultivated during four centuries are jumping in sacks, preparing sandwiches, throwing the sledgehammer, spurning the bare and best of all chin-kicking. The prize is a cucumber medal or a top hat.

One of the contests is extraordinary one, when a gentleman shouldn't be a gentleman at all. He has to offend a woman by swear words. The winner is a man who gets the most sonorous slap in the face. Just imagine the audience reaction!

Slide # 9

Boat race

One of the most interesting competitions is the university boat race. Oxford and Cambridge are Britain's two oldest universities. In the nineteenth century, rowing was a popular sport at both of them. In 1829 they agreed to have a race. They raced on the river Thames and the Oxford boat won. Since that time it has become a tradition.

Now, every spring, the University Boat Race goes from Putney to Mortlake on the Thames. That is 6.7 kilometres. The Cambridge rowers wear light blue shirts and the Oxford rowers wear dark blue. There are eight men in each boat. There is also a "cox". The cox controls the boat. Traditionally coxes are men, but Susan Brown became the first woman cox in 1981. She was the cox for Oxford and they won.

Slide # 10

Brighton Car Rally

An annual British tradition, which captures the imagination of the whole nation is the London to Brighton Car Rally in which a fleet of ancient cars indulges in a lighthearted race from the Capital to the Coast.

When the veteran cars set out on the London - Brighton run each November, they are celebrating one of the great landmarks in the history of motoring in Britain - the abolition of the rule that every "horseless carriage" had to be preceded along the road by a pedestrian. This extremely irksome restriction, imposed by the Locomotives on Highways Act, was withdrawn in 1896, and on November of that year there was a rally of motor-cars on the London - Brighton highway to celebrate the first day of freedom - Emancipation Day, as it has known by motorists ever since. Every car taking part must be at least 60 years old.

The Run is not a race. Entrants are limited to a maximum average speed of 20 miles per hour. The great thing is not speed but quality of performance, and the dedicated enthusiasts have a conversation all their own.

Slide # 11

Halloween

Another holiday which has become popular among young people in our country is Halloween celebrated by the British people on October 31^st. It is undoubtedly the most colourful and exciting holiday of the year. Though it is not a public holiday, it is very dear especially to children and teenagers. This day was originally called All Hallow's Eve because it fell on the eve of All Saints' Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. According to old beliefs, Halloween is the time, when the veil between the living and the dead is partially lifted, and witches, ghosts and other super natural beings are about. Now children celebrate Halloween in unusual costumes and masks. It is a festival of merrymaking, superstitions spells, fortunetelling, traditional games and pranks. Halloween is a time for fun.

Its origins dateback to a time, when people believed in devils, witches and ghosts. The date marked the end of summer, or the time when the sun retreated before the powers of darkness and the reign of the Lord of Death began. The Dun god took part in the holiday and received thanks for the year's harvest.

Many Halloween customs are based on beliefs of the ancient Celts, who lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France.

It was believed that evil spirits sometimes played tricks on October 31. They could also do all kinds of damage to property. Some people tried to ward of the witches by painting magic signs on their barns. Others tried to frighten them away by nailing a piece of iron, such as a horseshoe, over the door.

Many fears and superstitions grew up about this day. An old Scotch superstition was that witches - those who had sold their souls to the devil - left in their beds on Halloween night a stick made by magic to look like themselves. Then they would fly up the chime attended by a black cat.

In Ireland, and some other parts of Great Britain, it was believed, that fairies spirited away young wives, whom they returned dazed and amnesic 366 days later.When Halloween night fell, people in some places dressed up and tried to resemble the souls of the dead. They hoped that the ghosts would leave peacefully before midnight. They carried food to the edge of town or village and left it for the spirits.

A favourite Halloween custom is to make a jack-j'-lantern. Children take out the middle of the pumpkin, cut hole holes for the eyes, nose and mouth in its side and, finally, they put a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends. The candle burning inside makes the orange face visible from far away on a dark night - and the pulp makes a delicious pumpkin-pie.

People in England and Ireland once carved out beets, potatoes, and turnips to make jack-o'-lanterns on Halloween. When the Scots and Irish came to the United States, they brought their customs with them. But they began to carve faces on pumpkins because they were more plentiful in autumn than turnips. Nowadays, British carve faces on pumpkins, too.

In big cities Halloween celebrations often include special decorating contests. Young people are invited to soap shop-windows, and they get prizes for the best soap-drawings.

At Halloween parties the guests wear every kind of costume. Some people dress up like supernatural creatures, other prefers historical or political figures. You can also meet pirates, princesses, Draculas, Cinderellas, or even Frankenstein's monsters at a Halloween festival.

At Halloween parties children play traditional games. Many games date back to the harvest festivals of very ancient times. One of the most popular is called bobbing for apples. One child at a time has to get apples from a tub of water without using hands. But how to do this? By sinking his or her face into the water and biting the apple!

Slide # 12

The Druid festival

Every year the Celts celebrated the Druid festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead and Prince of Darkness. It fell on October 31, the eve of the Druid new year. The date marked the end of summer, or the time when the sun retreated before the powers of darkness and the reign of the Lord of Death began. The Dun god took part in the holiday and received thanks for the year's harvest.

Slide # 13

The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake

The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill near Gloucester. It is traditionally by and for the people who live in the local village, but now people from all over the world take part. The event takes its name from the hill on which it occurs. The tradition is at least 200 years old. Even during the Second World War it was held in the same place but with wooden 'cheese'. Each year the event becomes more and more popular with contestants coming from all across the world to compete with each other and to show how brave and quick you are!

Slide # 14

Beer festival

The summer Beer Festival is now the third largest in the country in visiting .Its history began at the Cambridge Exchange in 1974.The year 2007 became a record-breaking one with 30,384 visitors who drank 70,000 pints of beer and about 200 tubs of cider. But it's famous not only for the quantity of drinks but for its cheese stall as well.

The stall sells a wide range of traditional cheeses and breads as well as olives, pickled eggs, pork pies, scotch eggs, etc.. A slice of a pork pie, made to a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. ... A Scotch egg is a snack food of Scottish origin consisting of a hard-boiled egg, removed from its shell, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. ...

The organizers and staff are all un-paid volunteers, as a thank you for their effort they get lunch and dinner (when working) and discounted beer.

Slide # 15

Apple Day

The English celebrate the end of all farm work in the year. They do it on October 21 in Covent Garden, London and call this event the Apple Day. First they did it in 1990.

Apple Day events can be large or small, from apple games in a garden to large village fairs with cookery demonstrations, games, apple identification, juice, gardening advice, and of course many hundreds of apple varieties. Can you peel an apple? Have you ever tried to make the longest peel?

Do you know that the longest apple peel is recorded in the Guinness Book: "The record for the longest unbroken apple peeling is held by Kathy Walfer (USA) who peeled an apple in 11 hours 30 minutes with a peel length of 52.51m, 172ft 4in, at Long Ridge Mall, Rochester, New York on 16 October 1976".

Slide # 16

Favourite drink

There are some British traditions and customs concerning their private life. The British are considered to be the world's greatest tea drinkers. And so tea is Britain's favourite drink. The English know how to make tea and what it does for you. In England people say jokingly: 'The test of good tea is simple. If a spoon stands up in it, then it is strong enough; if the spoon starts to wobble, it is a feeble makeshift'.

The word 'England' is often associated with pubs the name of which often have a long tradition. Some come from the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Every pub has a name and every pub has a sign above its door. The sign shows a picture of the pub's name.

And as you know, the British talk about the weather a lot. They talk about the weather because it changes so often. Wind, rain, sun, cloud, snow - they can all happen in a British winter - or a British summer.

Hundreds of years ago, soldiers began this custom. They shook hands to show that they did not have a sword. Now, shaking hands is a custom in most countries.

Frenchman shake hands every time they meet, and kiss each other on both cheeks as a ceremonial salute, like the Russians, while Englishmen shake hands only when they are introduced, or after a long absence.

Victorian England made nearly as many rules about hand shaking as the Chinese did about bowing. A man could not offer his hand first a lady; young ladies did not shake men's hands at all unless they were old friends; married ladies could offer their hands in a room, but not in public, where they would bow slightly.

Some Words About Some Customs

Every country is different from my own country. Someone will like these differences, and some will not be so keen on. This is natural. The more we try to understand each other, the more we'll enjoy the meeting.

What is usual for one nation is not always common for another. Some tips for Russian learners of English greatly interested me because they are different of our usual behavior. For example, if you are sitting in a British home and you want to leave the room for any reason, your host will expect you to say where you are going - even if it's obvious. If you leave the room without explaining, people will think you are ill or upset for some reason. That's why, be ready to say: Excuse me a moment/ Excuse me, I'll go you-know-where.

It is very unusual to reply to a question in English with only YES or NO. If a British friend asks you a question, it is more common to say a little more: Yes, please/Yes, all right. No, I'm afraid I can't. I've got to leave.

If you use them alone, you will make yourself difficult to talk to. People may think you are rude.

And what about manners? Now I'd like you to compare some of the Russian and English customs. Will you fill in the questionnaire? Then we'll be able to see the differences or similarities in our styles of life.

Slide # 17

Comparison of the British and Russian Customs.

##

Custom

Usual in Britain

Usual in Russia

1

Take your shoes off as soon as you enter someone's home

No

2

Shake hands the first time you meet someone

Yes

3

Shake hands the first time you meet a friend you last saw yesterday

No

4

Kiss when you meet a friend you last met six months ago

No

5

Kiss people on one chick

Yes

6

Kiss people on both cheek

No

7

Touch someone several times during a conversation

No

8

Take a present if you are invited to visit someone for dinner

Yes

9

Take a bottle of wine for someone after a friend has given you a meal

Yes

10

Write to say "Thank you" when you get home after you have stayed with someone

Yes

11

Arrive early for a party

No

12

Arrive at exactly the time you were invited

Yes

13

Arrive at a part one hour later than the time you were invited

No

As you see, sometimes we behave in another way. But, nevertheless, we should respect the customs of other people and follow them while visiting their country. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, they say.

Slide # 18

The list of resources:

1. Голицынский Ю. "Great Britain" изд. «Каро» г. С.-Петербург, 1999г.;

2. Кaуфман К.И. «Страницы Британской истории» изд. «Титул» г. Обнинск, 1999г.;

3. Миньяр-Белоручева А.П. «Английский язык для абитуриентов и школьников» изд. «Московский лицей» 1999г.;

4. Ощепкова В.В. "Britain in Brief" изд. «Лист» г. Москва 1999г.;

5. Д.Хилл, М.Льюис «Welcome to Britain», изд. «Титул», г.Обнинск, 1997г. Стр. 27, 40, 60-62, 65

6. Стивен Раблей "Customs and traditions in Britain" изд. "Longman Group", ИК, 1996г.;

7. Усова Г.С. "British history" изд. «Лань» г. С.-Петербург 1999г.;

8. Цветкова И.В. «Английский для поступающих в вузы» изд. «Глосса» г. Москва 1997г.;

9. журнал «Speak out» изд. «Глосса» г. Тула №3,4,5,6/2004 г.

10. liveinternet.ru/users/worldstar/post169742294/

11. vidpochivay.com/vsemirnaya-vystavka-cvetov/

12. ogorod.vildan-clinic.ru/pesnya-plat-e-v-goroshek.php

13. gardener.ru

14. playcast.ru/view/1566018/b5bc6be795f2726d6380fa6b326332d2bd866666pl

15. democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1718366

16. britishtea.ru/shop/

17. justenglish.ru/uncategorized/1029-apple-day/attachment/image1-15

18. telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9310602/Rogue-cheese-rolling-race-held-in-Gloucestershire.html

19. topinterestingfacts.com/things/stonehenge-facts.html

20. paganwiccan.about.com/od/lithathesummersolstice/ig/Litha-Altar-Photo-Gallery/Stonehenge.htm

21. . dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162495/Summer-solstice-2012-Stonehenge-soggiest-years-Royal-Ascot-set-washout-too.html

22. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162495/Summer-solstice-2012-Stonehenge-soggiest-years-Royal-Ascot-set-washout-too.html

23. news.bbc.co.uk

24. europrint.moy.su/load/avtoprobeg_starinnykh_avtomobilej_v_anglii/1-1-0-1009.

25. cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/m/Mini.htm

26. londonist.com/2007/07/the_chap_hendricks_olympiad_2007.php

27. vkurse.ru/article/4579989/

28. sendbouquet.ru/bouquets-news/

9