Праздники в Британии

This course paper tells about traditions and customs in Great Britain, the origins and the way of celebration these holidays and different festivals.
Every country and every nation has its own holidays, customs and traditions. British people are very proud of their traditions, cherish them and carefully keep them up, because many of them are associated with the history and cultural development of the country.
Britain is a country governed by routine. It has fewer public holidays than any other country in Europe. The British also seem to do comparatively badly with regard to annual holidays. These are not as long as they are in many other countries. In fact, about 40% of the population do not go away anywhere for their holidays. The task and the purpose of my course work is to describe the main British holidays, making a note of their national, religious or state aspect. Thus in this research work traditional and religious holidays of Britain are studied. The main information on the subject is collected. The gathered material is divided into three parts:
a) British ceremonies;
b) Traditional holidays;
c) Religious holidays.
Each of these parts is described in detail. English traditional and religious holidays are classified according to their types and features.
The main national holidays are:
New Year is not as widely or as enthusiastically observed as Christmas. However the type of celebrations varying very much according to the local custom, family tradition and personal taste;
St. Valentine's Day is a day when boys and girls, sweethearts and lovers, will exchange greetings of affection, undying love or satirical comment;
All Fool's Day is a day when any person may be made an April Fool;
Halloween is a very special holiday — a combination of holidays. It is time for games, fun and fortune telling, for ghost stories and making mischief;
Guy Fawkes Night, November 5, it commemorates the discovery or the so- called Gunpowder Plot and is widely celebrated throughout the country;
British people are proud of ceremonies of the national capital- London. They include daily ceremonies and annuals, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Ceremony of the Keys in the Tower, Remembrance Day, Mounting the Guard at the Horse Guards square are the most popular daily ceremonies.
Religious holidays are:
Pancake Day is the popular name for Shrove Tuesday, the day preceding the first day of Lent;
Mothering Day is a day of small family reunions, when absent sons and daughters return to their homes, and gifts are made to mothers by their children of all ages;
Easter is also a time when certain old traditions are observed, whether it is celebrated as the start of spring or a religious festival.
Christmas is a religious holiday and many church services are held to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In December, as Christmas gets closer, carols are sung in churches and schools, often at special concerts, and also, though less often than in the past, by groups of people who go from house to house collecting money for charitable causes.
Also there are different traditions and holidays in different regions. In Scotland and northern England, the custom of First-Footing in the early hours of January 1st is still kept up with great vigour. He brings symbolic gifts of food or fuel or money as tokens of prosperity in the year that has just begun.
Some British traditions are known all over the world. Britain is full of customs. There are a lot of English songs, sayings and superstitions. There is a long menu of traditional British food as well. They are a part of the British way of life. A lot of them have very long histories. Some are funny and some are strange. But they are all interesting.

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 4

1 BRITISH CEREMONIES………………………………………………………... 6

1.1 Poppy Day…………………………………………………………………….....6
1.2 The Lord Mayor’s Show………………………………………………………...7
1.3 Changing the Guard…………………………………………………………......8
1.4 The Ceremony of the Key……………………………………………………….9
1.5 Trooping the Colour…………………………………………………………….11
1.6 Engagement and the Ceremony of Wedding……………………………………12

2 TRADITIONAL HOLIDAYS…………….………………………………………15

2.1 New Year………………………………………………………………………...15
2.2 St. Valentine’s Day ……………………………………………………………..16
2.3 April Fool’s Day………………………………………………………………...19
2.4 May 1 – Day of Solidary………………………………………………………..20
2.5 Merry England and London May Queen Festival …………………………..…22
2.6 August Bank Holiday……………………………………………………………23
2.7 Halloween………………………………………………………………………..24
2.8 Guy Fawkes Night……………………………………………………………….26

3 RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS………………………………………………………...29

3.1 Christmas………………………………………………………………………..29
3.2 Mother’s Day……………………………………………………………………30
3.3 Easter…………………………………………………………………………….32
3.4 Pancake Day……………………………………………………………………..35

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..37

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...38