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Customs and Traditions
There are many customs and traditions in England. And I would like
to tell you some of them. First tradition is called “Wrong side of the
bed” When people are bad tempered we say that they must have got out
of bed on the wrong side. Originally, it was meant quiet literally.
People belive that the way they rose in the morning affected their
behaivor throughout the day. The wrong side of the bed was the left
side. The left always having been linked with evil. Second custom
is called “Blowing out the candles” The custom of having candles on
birthday cakes goes back to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis,
godess of the moon and hunting, used to place honey cakes on the
altars of her temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the
full moon and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the
middle ages when German peasants lit tapers on birthday cakes, the
number lit indicating the person’s age, plus an extra one to
represent the light of life. From earliest days burning tapers had
been endoued with mystical significance and it was belived that when
blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and ensure a happy
year ahead. And the last tradition I would like to tell you is called
“The 5th of November” On the 5th of November in almost every otwn and
village in England you will see fire burning, fireworks, cracking
and lighting up the sky. You will see too small groups of children
pulling round in a home made cart, a figure that looks something
like a man but consists of an old suit of clothes, stuffed with straw.
The children will sing:” Remember, remember the 5th of November; Gun
powder, treason and plot”. And they will ask passers-by for “a penny
for the Guy” But the children with “the Guy” are not likely to know who
or what day they are celebrating. They have done this more or less
every 5th of November since 1605. At that time James the First was on
the throne. He was hated with many people especialy the Roman
catholics against whom many sever laws had been passed. A number of
catholics chief of whom was Robert Catesby determined to kill the King
and his ministers by blowing up the house of Parliament with gunpowder.
To help them in this they got Guy Fawker, a soldier of fortune,
who would do the actual work. The day fixed for attempt was the 5th
of November, the day on which the Parliament was to open. But one
of the consperators had several friends in the parliament and he
didn’t want them to die. So he wrote a letter to Lord Monteagle
begging him to make some excuse to be absent from parliament if he
valued his life. Lord Monteagle took the letter hurrily to the King.
Guards were sent
at once to examine the cellars of the house of Parliament. And there
they found Guy Fawker about to fire a trail of gunpowder. He was
tortured and hanged, Catesby was killed, resisting arrest in his own
house. In memory of that day bonfires are still
lighted, fireworks shoot across the November sky and figures of Guy
Fawker are burnt in the streets.
Customs and traditions of english speaking countries.
Every country and every nation has it’s own traditions and
customs.It’s very important to know traditions and customs of different
people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of
different nations and countries.One cannot speak about England without
speaking about it’s traditions and customs .They are very important in
the life of English people.Englishman are proud of their traditions and
carefully keep them up. There are six public holidays a year in G.B..
Cristmas day is one of their favorite holidays.It’s celebrated on the
25-th of december. There are some traditions connected with it.One of
them is to give presents to each other.It is not only children and
members of family.It’s a tradition to give cristmas presents to the
people you work with.Another tradition is to send cristmas cards.All
these cards are brightly and coloured.Most of big cities of
G.B.,especially London, are decorated with coloured lights and cristmas
trees. On Trafalgar Square, in the center of London stands a big
cristmas tree.It is a gift from the people of Oslo.It is over 50 feet
high. Many families celebrate cristmas day in the open air near the
cristmas tree in order to catch the spirit of cristmas.Children find
cristmas presents in their stockings.The traditional english dinner on
cristmas is turkey and pudding.Other great holidays are:FatherТs
day,MotherТs day,Helloween and other.
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