HOLIDAYS

Day!
March is here! Hooray!
The 8th of March is a wonderful

day!
April’s here! Hooray!
The Easter Bunny’s coming!
Have a nice spring day!
May is here! Hooray!
Have a happy birthday!
June, July and August are here! Hooray!
Have a fine summer day!

day!
October’s here! Hooray!
Halloween is coming!
Have a mysterious day!
November’s here! Hooray!
Have

a nice Thanksgiving Day!
December’s here! Hooray!
Santa Claus is coming!
Have a snowy winter day!

“Halloween”!
Ghosts and witches can be seen.
Trick or treat, trick or

treat!
Give us something good to eat.

Year !
Let us sing,
And let us play!
Father Frost
Father Frost, Father

Frost!
Bring many toys
For little girls
And little boys!

and one is blue,
And one is white and green.
Easter time

means spring.
Leaves and grass and buds appear
In the forest.
In the spring
All the birds begin to sing.

take
To city children far and near,
To let them know that

spring is here.
And that is why on this Easter day,
Children find bright eggs and say,
“Spring is here. Just look and see
What our bunny has just brought for me!”

popular ancient festival. It was the end of the Celtic

year and the night when witches and evil spirits had to be driven away. Now it is occasion for fun, especially for children. In the evening they dress up, usually as witches with ugly face masks. Carrying turnip lanterns, they visit nearly houses. If they are invited in, they sing a song, recite a poem or perform a trick and then they are given sweets and apples. Sometimes they play traditional Halloween games such as ducking for apples.

first of April in Britain, you may become an April

Fool. It is the day on which people play tricks on each other. For example, someone might say to you, “Oh, look at that huge spider behind you!” when there is no spider. If you turn round or scream or jump, you are an “April Fool”.

Valentine’s Day

The 14th of February is a very romantic day when people send cards and flowers — often red ones — to people they love or like.
The custom of sending romantic cards began in the 18th century. These were often decorated with hand-painted hearts and flowers and sometimes the senders wrote love poems.

Christ. Families have a big dinner on that day. All

the members of the family sit around the table and eat delicious dishes. People always paint boiled eggs and eat them on Easter Sunday. Children like this holiday because on that day they often play different games with painted eggs. In Great Britain Easter Bunny is one of the symbols. On Easter Sunday English children get chocolate rabbits or eggs.

Guy Fawkes Day is an English festival which takes place on the 5th of November
every year. It celebrates the death of a man called Guy Fawkes who tried to blow
up the English Parliament in 1605. In the evening, people gather round and set
fire to the piles. One can see children with figures, made o f sacks and straw
and dressed in old clothes. On November 5th, children put their figures on the
bonfire, burn them, and light their fireworks.

Guy Fawkes Day

day of the year has been taking place in England

for centuries. It is connected with Easter. Since Easter is not a fixed day, Pancake Day varies, but it usually occurs on Tuesday in February. In some villages and towns of England pancake races take place every year. These races are usually run by housewives. There are special rules about pancake races. While running the race, they must toss the pancake three times and catch it back on the frying-pan. If the pancake falls down, the runner may pick it up and toss it again. The other members of the family watch the runners and cheer “Run, Mum, run quickly!”

Britain stay up until midnight on

the 31st
of December to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. In London’s Trafalgar Square, thousands of people gather to hear Big Ben chime. Then they all join hands and sing“Auld Lang Syne.”
It is a special celebration in Scotland, where it is called Hogmanay.
After midnight, people start visiting each other. The first person
to enter a house, The First Foot, is a very important person because
he is thought to bring good luck to the house for whole year. For
good luck. The First Foot must be a man, preferably tall and
dark-haired, and he must bring coal or wood for the fire, and
something to eat and drink. This means that the household will be
warm and have enough food and drink throughout the year.

cards?
3) What is The First Foot?
4) What Easter symbols do

you know?
5) When do people sing Auld Lang Syne?
6) How do pancake races take place in Great Britain?
Work in pairs.
1) What did you know about any of these festivals?
2) Which of the customs and festivals did you most enjoy reading about?
3) Which one sounds most enjoyable?