1. British holidays and festivals Done by Skakunova Dasha, Student 9b form, School №7

2. The aim of my work To learn about different holidays and festivals in Great Britain To compare them with the Russian holidays

3. Many festivals and holidays in Britain are centuries old. Every town and village has its own traditions. My work contains the most important and popular events in Britain according to the following plan: Public / bank holidays British festivals and special anniversaries Curious and local holidays

4. The calendar of the British holidays and festivals. January New Year’s Day ( Bank holiday/Public holiday) New Year’s Day August (Bank holiday/Public holiday) Notting Hill Carnival 14 February Valentine’s Day September Harvest Festival Harvest Festival 1 March St David's Day (Wales National Day) St David's Day 31 October Halloween Halloween 17 March St. Patrick's Day (Ireland's Special Day) St. Patrick's Day November 5 Bonfire Night 11 Remembrance Day 5 Bonfire Night 11 Remembrance Day March/April Easter 30 St Andrew's Day 30 St Andrew's Day (Scotland's National Day) 1 April April Fool's Day April Fool's Day December Advent Christmas (Bank holiday) Advent Christmas (Bank holiday) 23 April St George's Day (England's National Day) St George's Day ( 2 Bank holidays/Public holidays ) 1 May May Day Moris dancing Maypole dancing

5. St. David’s Day St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of St David (Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales St David's Day is commemorated by the wearing of daffodils or leeks. Both plants are traditionally regarded as national emblems.

6. St. Patrick’s Day 17 March, St. Patrick's Day, is the national day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. The day is marked by the wearing of shamrocks (a clover-like plant), the national emblem of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

7. St. George’ Day 23 April, St. George’s Day, is the national day of England. On the Sunday nearest to 23 April, scouts and guides throughout England parade through high streets and attend a special St George's Day service at their local church.

8. St. Andrew’s Day 30 November, St. Andrew’s Day, is the national day of Scotland. In January 2007, the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act was given royal assent, making 30 November (or the nearest Monday if a weekend) a bank holiday in Scotland. However, instead of being a full public holiday, it is a voluntary public holiday.

9. New Year’s Day People welcome in the New Year on the night before. This is called New Year's Eve. In Scotland, people celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over Britain there are parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. As the clock - Big Ben - strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang Syne.

10. Advent Advent Begins Sunday 30 November 2008 It is a time of waiting for the arrival of Christmas. Advent begins on the Sunday nearest to 30th November and lasts until midnight on Christmas Eve. Advent Sunday is the first of the four sundays before the 25th December.

11. Christmas is a time for parties, presents, traditional customs and eating. Christmas Eve is the time when the Christmas tree is usually decorated. The decorations stay on the tree for twelve days (until January 5th, also known as Twelfth Night ).

12. Children write letters to Santa Claus / Father Christmas and ask him to bring presents;,. Children leave stockings by the fireplace or at the end of their beds so Santa Claus / Father Christmas can fill them with presents.

13. Boxing Day Boxing Day is the following day after Christmas Day. It is on the 26 December Traditionally, this was the day to open the Christmas Box to share the contents with the poor Traditionally, Boxing Day is the day when families get together. It is a day of watching sports and playing board games with the family. Many families will go on walks in the countryside together on this day.

14. Easter is the time of springtime festivals, a time to welcome back the Tulips, the Crocuses and the Daffodils. Its a time of new suits, new dresses and patent leather shoes. A time for Christians to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ. And a time of chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, and colored eggs !

15. St Valentine’s Day February 14th is Valentines Day - a worldwide celebration of love and romance, marked by giving red roses and chocolate hearts or by sending valentines. Did you know that, according to legend, Valentine's Day was started to Saint Valentine, a Roman saint who was executed on February 14th, 270 A.D.? St. Valentine was killed for secretly marrying couples in defiance of an order of the Roman emperor.

16. Pancake Day In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.

17. Maypole Dancing Maypole Dancing is the great tradition of May 1st. On May Day, teams of dancers perform intricate patterns whilst circling the pole. The ribbons interweave as they make their way down the pole with a very decorative result.

18. Rochester's Sweeps Festival Rochester's Sweeps Festival May Bank Holiday Weekend First weekend in May The Sweeps Festival is a colourful mix of music, dancing and entertainment. An opportunity to see some of the traditional dances and hear the songs which have been past down from generation to generation.

19. Morris Dancing Morris Dancing is a traditional English form of folkdancing, performed by groups of men or women. It has been danced for hundreds of years, and passed down through the generations in the villages of rural England. The dances are usually performed at festivals such as May Day, Whitsun and Christmas.

20. Remembrance Day in Britain Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars and other conflicts. At one time the day was known as Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War..

21. Bonfire Night 5 th November On 5 November every year, children in Britain get excited because it is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes' Night). They lit bonfires and enjoy fireworks displays. On top of the fire is a guy (a homemade model of a man, like a scarecrow).

22. "Remember, remember, the fifth of November, As well as burning effigy of Guy Fawkes, the bonfires are used to cook potatoes wrapped in foil and to heat up soup for the crowds that come to watch the fireworks

23. On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween, thought to be the one night of the year when ghosts, witches, and fairies are especially active.

24. Harvest Festival This is the time of year when all the crops have been harvested. Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land.

25. Midsummer's Day The middle of summer comes after the longest day and it is a time associated with witches, magic, faries and dancing. On the eve of Midsummer's Day, many bonfires used to be burnt all over the country.

26. Swan Upping on the Thames The census of people takes place every ten years. The census of swans takes place annually during July on the River Thames in a ceremony known as Swan Upping. Swans are counted and marked on a 70 mile, five day journey up the River Thames.

27. Straw Bear Festival At Whittlesey, on the weekend after Twelfth Night a straw bear is paraded around the town attended by a host of dancers and musician from all over the country. The bear is a man covered from head to foot in a straw costume.

28. Red Nose Day Red Nose Day is a day like no other. In schools, offices and homes across the land, everyone wears - you've guessed it - the latest Red Nose and does whatever tickles their fancy to raise cash.

29. Up-Helly-Aa Thought to be Britain's biggest fire festival and torchlight procession. Every winter they make a model Viking Longship. On Up-Helly-Aa night, at the end of January, the Shetlanders dress up in Viking clothes and drag the ship through the town to the sea. They sing Up-Helly-Aa songs before tossing their burning torches onto the ship and creating a massive bonfire

30. April Fools Day 1 st April is known as April Fools Day in England. It is the day when they play pratical jokes on people but only before midday, after that it is considered unlucky.

31. Russian holidays New Year’s Day1-2 January Christmas, Russian Orthodox 7 January Russian Army and Military Navy’s Day 23 February International Women’s Day8 March Russian Orthodox Easter15 April Spring and Labor Holiday1-2 May Victory Day9 May Independence Day12 June Day of Accord and Conciliation7 November Constitution Day12 December

32. New Year’s day Still the most important holiday of the year, it is celebrated starting on December 31 and stretches until January 13 - “The Old New Year” (according to the old Julian calendar

33. Christmas Christmas can be celebrated either in the Western Style, on December 24/25 or according to the Old Style calendar, on January 6/7. It begins with the Holy Supper on Christmas Eve, meant to be a time of celebration of the birth of Jesus. Often, families will go to a midnight service between 12 and 3 am.

34. Easter This, the most important holiday in the Christian church year, has once again become an important celebration in Russian life. In the Orthodox tradition, Russians will bake kulichi (special Easter cakes) and paint eggs.

35. March, 8 is women's holiday, a holiday of spring and attention to the woman. This is a national holiday and a day off. Several nations celebrate this, but only a few acknowledge it as an official, non- working holiday. Women’s Day

36. Russian Army and Military Navy’s Day This holiday is celebrated on February 23. It used to be called Day of the Soviet Army. Since most all Russian males served in the military, this day has become a time to celebrate all Russian males.

37. Spring and Labor Day The 1st of May is the traditional holiday of spring. It opens the sequence of other May holidays. This is the day of triumph of the nature which is full of blossom, of birds' singing, of multicolored flowers and small balls. People have a rest both from the long frosty winter and winter troubles looking forward the summer and summer joys.

38. Victory Day Day of the Victory of Soviet people in Great Patriotic War of 1941- 1945 is one of the military glory of Russia days. May, 9 is a national holiday - the Victory Day. Victory Day is a day off, and is annually celebrated by military parade and artillery salute.

39. Independence Day Celebrated on July 12 to mark the independence and founding of modern Russia. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the 1991 Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation which declared Russia's "independence" from the USSR. In accordance with this view this holiday is generally celebrated simply as show of patriotism for Russia.

40. Tatiana´s Day Tatiana´s Day is a merry holiday celebrated by Russian students and the angel´s day for all the girls named Tatiana. Tatiana´s Day is also celebrated as the day of the Moscow University, the first university in Russia. Tatiana´s Day is the noisiest day of the year in universities all over Russia. Students gather into groups and walk along corridors and streets singing students´ songs and drinking beer.

41. Maslenitsa Maslenitsa is the ancient Russian holiday. This holiday not of Christian origin. Essential to Maslenitsa is blini Scarecrows will be sacrificed, bonfires built, and everybody asks each other for forgiveness. This is a way of saying goodbye to winter and welcoming the spring.

42. April’s Fool Day It is a day for fun. It is celebrated on the 1st of April. We like to play jokes on the 1st of April. Our jokes are harmless and the victim of them is called an April fool. It is possible to play jokes on friends, parents, relatives. 1 April is non-official "the Day of Laugh". People tell jokes to each other, newspapers and TV publish funny stories and jokes. The motto of this day: Do not trust anybody on 1 April

43. Ivan Kupala Day Kupala night is believed the most mysterious, enigmatic and yet the most dissolute night of the year. Witches are considered having a feast of their own. Werewolves, water-nymphs, house- spirits, water-spirits and wood-goblins are believed to have special power. All night through people keep bonfires, leap over the flames, cleaning themselves of ill and bad luck.

44. To sum up: But there are also international holidays which are celebrated in both countries. They are: Christmas, New Year, Easter. Many festivals and holidays in Britain and in Russia are centuries old. There is a great difference between British holidays and Russian holidays. Great Britain and Russia have their own customs and traditions.

45. Информационные ресурсы Печатные источники: Энтони Майол, Дэвид Милстед Эти странные англичане – Эгмонт Россия Лтд,1993 Голицынский Ю. Великобритания – Санкт Петербург. Каро,2004 Интернет ресурсы: http://www.britain4russians.nethttp://www.britain4russians.net –Архив публикаций. http://languageproject.co.ukhttp://languageproject.co.uk –Британский совет http://www.woodlands-junior.ruhttp://www.woodlands-junior.ru –British life and culture