Holidays, customs and traditions

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Dátum: 31.05.2022
Jazyk: Angličtina
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Holidays, customs and traditions

IN GREAT BRITAIN

STEREOTYPES

-are said to be conservative.They still use their traditional ways and measures, currency.

-they drive on the left.

-still wear uniforms in boarding schools.

-the oldest democracy in the world. They are proud of the monarchy which is an inevitable part of their government.

THE BRITISH PEOPLE ARE FAMOUS FOR:

  • their politeness- they are never tired of saying thank you, please, excuse me,..
  • the English word ´gentleman´ means an honest man with good manners.
  • are self-disciplined. They queue up patiently at bus stops.
  • They do not speak too loudly. They don´t like to talk about personal or controversial things like age, salary, politics, religion.
  • They don´t shake hands or send kisses as we do. They are more reserved, not so open and friendly. They don´t start the conversation without being introduced.
  • They are famous for their dry humour
  • They appreciate their privacy: The very known saying ´My home is my castle´ demonstrates their right to privacy . They don´t like to live in blocks of flats, they prefer detatched or semi-detatched houses with a small garden- there is a small garden in the front and at the back. They don´t grow vegetables and they organise competitions who has the most beautiful garden.
  • Each family has a pet-cat or dog.
  • They are proud of their isles and it gives them a feeling of security. They call the _____ English Channel and the rest of Europe they call continent.

SPORT

  • they are big fans of sports, many originated in GB.
  • They either play actively or watch matches live at stadions or on TV.
  • Football, tennis, golf, pollo, cricket, rugby.
  • Are said to be great gamblers- they bet on horse races.

CUISINE

  • hasn´t got a good reputation. It is said to be dull and overcooked.
  • Well-known for fast-food fish-´n´-chips and sandwiches.
  • Traditional British food is roast beef served with roasted potatoes and gravy, Yorkshire pudding and pies.
  • Their favourite custom established in the past and still kept alive is drinking tea (strong dark tea with milk and sugar).
  • They eat 4 times a day: breakfast (traditional English breakfast), midday meal, dinner (main meal), supper(light).
  • They like drinking beer and cider.

They value their leisure time, they like going to pubs which is a social event for them. They meet their friends, play darts, billiards or karaoke. Or they go shopping or do sports.

Their country is notorious for its weather-rainy, windy, foggy (no extreme temperatures) 

Both the British and the Americans observe holidays and feasts in which many of the national customs and traditions have been preserved. In addition to various personal occasions such as a christening, birthday or a wedding, the holidays and feasts are a good opportunity for merrymaking, having fun and a good time.

New Year´s Day- 1st January

Titles and decorations are conferred by the sovereign.

St.Valentine´s Day.– February 14th

It is lovers´day. Friends and lovers sen done another letters of greeting cards expressing their love and affection. Some of them are romantic, humorous, sentimental, satiric or provoking.
The first Valentine was a Roman priest, a Christian martyr, murdered by Romans. Before he was put to death he gave aid and comfort to the persecuted Christians. 

St. David´s Day- 1st March

-the patron of Wales

St. Patrick´s Day- 17th March

People often wear shamrocks on that day.

All Fools´Day– April 1st

Day full of jockes and tricky. People play tricks on other people and then they shout „April Fool“.

Easter

  • Spring feast of the Christian Church.
  • Good Friday commemorates Christ´s crucifixion while easter Sunday commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus.
  • It is connected with Teutonic and Celtic tradition, a festival celebrating the spring equinox.
  • Easter eggs, dyed and decorated or made of confectionery, symbolizing new life, are given as presents. It is celebrated on Easter Sunday in GB.

St. George´s Day- 23rd April

-the patron of England

May Day- 1st May

-political parties of the left hold processions and public meetings.

Mother´s Day

2nd Sunday in May – honours all mothers.

Spring Bank Holiday- Last Monday in May

There are also public holidays when banks and shops are closed. People spend this day going for excursions, to the coast if possible.

The Queen´s Official Birthday (Saturday after June 6th )

-There are various ceremonies -ceremony of Trooping the Colour(ceremony mounting of the guard in the presence of the sovereign.) At the Horse Guards parade in London.

Fathers´Day- 3rd Sunday in June

-honours all fathers.

Summer Bank Holiday-last Monday in August.

Halloween-31st October

Among the old Celts it was the last day of the year and the beginning of winter when witches and ghosts were supported to celebrate their rites. Children celebrate it by dressing up in Halloween costumes with masks over their faces. Carrying baskets or bags they go to their friends´and neighbours´ means `Give us a treat or we will play a trick on you`.

The people treat the children with sweets, fruit or money and if they don´t they play a favourite trick on them-soaping their windows. Favourite custom is to make a jack-o-lautern from pumpkin which is scraped out and in which eyes, a nose and a mouth are cut and then a candle is lit inside.

Guy Fawkes Day-5th November

Aniversary of the Gunpowder plot in 1605 is celebrated with bonfires, fireworks and burning of guys. It commemorates gay Fawkes´s attempts to blow up James I. and Parlaiment.

St. Andrew´s Day- 30th November

-the patron of Scotland

Christmas

Dec.24th

The British have no traditional celebration on Christmas Eve. People spend the day shopping.

Before English children go to bed on Christmas Eve, they hang up Christmas stocking at the end of their beds and believe that Santa Claus or Father Christmas rides through the air on a sledge drawn by reindeer and comes down the chimney and fills up the stocking with present and toys..

There is also a custom of leaving out mince pies for Father Christmas to eat when he comes down with presents.

Christmas trees(conifers) are decorated with fairy lights and bright coloured ornaments with fruit and sweets. Holly and ivy are hung in the room too. A sprig of mistletoe is hung in a central position or over the door. If you catcha girl under it, you are allowed to kiss her.


.December 25 – The most festive day of Christmas-Christmas Day – In the morning children enjoy unwrapping presents.Midday Christmas dinner is a great occasion, it consist of roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and roast potatoes and Christmas pudding made of dried fruit, eggs, suet and very little flour. It is surrounded with blue flames.There is an old custom of stirring into the pudding when it is being prepared, a coin, a thimble or a ring to bring wealth, work and wedding for those who find it. +pie and cake at teatime. Professional choirs sing in the streets, at hospitals, etc.


December 26 is called Boxing Day from the custom in earlier times of giving postmen, milkmen, dustmen, newspaper boy and the like small sums of money, which they collected in their Christmas boxes. For children it marks the beginning of the pantomime season which ends at Easter. A pantomime is a traditional Christmas-time entertainment -theatre shows with music, dancing, acrobatics and clowning. Lots of people go visiting on Boxing Day or to parties in the evening..

New Year´s Eve- 31st Dec.

People stay up till midnight to see the old year out and drink a toast to the New Year. They sing and dance in Trafalgar Square. Scotish name for New Year is Hogmanay which is more celebrated than Christmas.

IN THE USA

Characteristics of the USA

A multicultural country so called melting pot, because all the people of different origin were melted into a new nation or race. They all have a common citizenship, they are all Americans, although they have different ways of life, traditions, …

DISTINGTIVE FEATURES OF AMERICANS

Mind

-they are open, optimistic, enjoying life, friendly and informal.

-they are open to any challenge or change. 

Individualism

-is based on freedom, equality, individual human and civil rights and the respect for individual skills.

-Individuals are protected by the US Constitution and laws.

.they are allowed to use guns if their property or security are threatened.

Equality

-in the sense of the same opportunities. They have the same opportunities for the start.

Self-confidence

-they are extremely self-confident, because they are taught to be, which helps them become successful.

-It is not only our skills and knowledge, but also our personal attitude that brings success.

-Self-confidence makes Americans independent and active.

American dream

-their motto is `Make your dream come true`.

-they set their goals and then follow them. They find support ands encouragement by other people and they believe that hard work can change their lives.

The way of life

-they are very flexible

-they have no problem to start from the beginning.

-movement, change and mobility ate typical features of their life.

Entrepreneurship

-they have a vision how to make money and they are well aware in the nowadays so called information age it is knowledge that is awarded that makes money and brings success.

Education

-based on pragmatism and solving practical real problems.

-are taught to be able to solve problems in their future profession.

-eduaction is connected with real life and learning process makes them face some problems in simulated situations.

-it doesn´t concentrate on accumulating facts and date tasks in many fields, but students are more specialized in what they are interested in.

-students are competitive, are trained in rhetoric to be able to present their ideas, opinions and feelings and they have the sense of fair play (no cheating).

They have a fondness for grandiosity. High buildings and cars and they have one of the biggest ecnomy. They value progress and prosperity, so money is vital important for them. `Time is money`is their well-known saying.

They don ´t appreciate leisure time, they like to work.

Women feel very emancipated and equal to men, so they don´t demand them to be gentlemen.

As for cousine special is fast food, however thanks to many nationalities you can find there any meal form alll around the world.

HOLIDAYS

They observe federal holidays, but there are also customs and traditions of different ethnic groups especially religious feasts.

Martin Luther King´s Day-3rd Monday in January.

-M.L.King was a black leader and civil-rights compaigner. He demanded racial equality.

Lincoln´s Birthday-12th February

-Some states still celebrate it instead of the Presidents´ Day.

Washington´s Birthday- 22nd February

-commemorated by public ceremonies. Some states still celebrate it instead of the Presidents´ Day.

The Presidens´Day- 3rd Monday in February

-All presidents of the USA are honoured

EASTER

-not a national holiday.

-many people give children dyed eggs and sweets. In some families they organize an egg hunt-children look for eggs which the adults hid somewhere in the house, yrad or garden.

-there is a traditional Easter Egg Roll in front of the White House in Washington on Easter Monday.

Memorial Day

-4th of Monday in May, Americans killed in all the post wars and most recently all the dead. Flowers and flags are placed on the graves of the war dead + marks the beginning of the summer.

Father/Mother Day

Independence day

July the 4th. Each city has its own ceremony and parades, band concerts and firework displays in the evening. This day commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, thus establishing the USA.

Labor Day

1st Monday in September – honours all the working people. Day of rest. Marks the end of the summer season.

Columbus Day

October the 12th – anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Halloween – October the 31th.

Veterans Day

November the 11th .- honours the veterans of all wars.

Thanksgiving

4th in November – national holiday in the USA and aCanada, first celebrated in 1621 by the Pilgrims settlers of Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, on their first harvest. Now it is an occasion for the whole family to be together. It is celebrated by a traditional dinner whose main course is roasted turkey.

Christmas

-is not a national holiday in the USA, but since most Americans are Christians, almost all shops are closed and people have a rest day on the Christmas Day and New year's Day.

In the USA, it is not a family holiday, families invite friends to join them at Christmas dinner and often give parties at Christmas time. On Boxing Day most shops are open although people have a day off.

They also decorate their houses with garlands and wreaths and eclectric coloured lights – inside and outside house +gardens.

The January sales begin just after Christmas both in the USA and in Britain.

Most large shops sell off their old stock at low or bargain prices.

IN SLOVAKIA

STEREOTYPES

Positives:

-it is said that Slovak people are hard-working, friendly, hospitable, although they are not very rich.

-we are more formal than Americans , but less than British.

-they are usually proud of their traditions and they try to keep them by staying traditional.

-they're more cheerful, prefer working in a team, unlike the often calculating, individualistic westerners.

-education here is valued fairly well, most adults go to college.

-the difficult conditions cause that people here are great fighters in the meaning of fighting to get a better job, to have a better life and building career.

Negatives:

-Slovak people can be quite conservative when it comes to race. People here don't really think outside of the box and are not very open minded.

-we are not so easy-going, because life in Slovakia is not easy. It´s quite stressful that´s why they are more pesimistic.

-they can be sometimes jealous.

-they are scared to leave the traditions and try something new.

-are very controllable, sometimes behave like sheep-especially when it comes to politicial parties.

-they are not so calm and cool like Japaneese. For example if there was an earthquake, they

wouldn´t queue up and wait patiently for the food.An anarchy would start.

-we don ´t have a similiar vision of how to get money like Americans and if we have, it just doesn´t

work.

-we are not disciplined-that´s why we can´t become successful unless we are very,very talented.

-we are not willing to do something for the society, we can be quite selfish. But the reason why we are like that is because there are kids or Gypsies who always destroy any attempt to make our lives easier, better, more beautiful.

What we are proud of:

-our nature-High Tatras, Slovensky kras a raj,...also caves, waterfalls, 1500 of natural mineral resources,

-our historical buildings-Old Town in Bratislava, castles, churches,museums,..

-our traditions, especially folk traditions (in villages there are still people who wear these national costumes)

-our sport representatives (especially hockey players)

-our appearance

-national cuisine-it´s very tasty.

What we are ashamed of:

-garbage in the streets

-alcoholism and homeless people

-bad infrastructure (educational system, bad roads,......)

-bad services (when a tourist comes it is hard for them to find a place to go where you could find high quality of services)

-typical for us is family – quite common 2-3. There live 2 generations under one roof(ch + p). Both parents work – women want to make a career. Evenings people spend together.

-Slovak girls are often considered very pretty.

(BEHAVIOUR AND MANNERS)

-Clothes are socially important, especially in large cities. If you are not well-dressed, be prepared for stares.

-when you enter someone’s house, you are expected to leave your shoes at the door. Your host will offer you a pair of slippers.

-If you have a date, bring flowers, but always give an odd number (even numbered bouquets are reserved for funerals).

-Men should go first when entering the bar or house.Man are expected to be gentlemen.You have to protect a woman.

-When you are offered a drink, you are expected to clink glasses and to make eye contact. Slovaks are quite passionate drinkers.

-Drivers are impatient and do not respect speed limits. It is rare to see a driver who goes prescribed speed (50 km/h) in a village.

COUSINE

-Traditionally in peasant households, five meals are taken: early in the morning upon rising ( raňajky ), a snack at about ten A.M. ( desiata ), the main meal of the day at noon ( obed ), another snack around four P.M. ( olovrant ), and supper in the evening after chores ( večera ).

-Sheep cheese with small dumplings, bryndzové halušky , is among the most typical Slovak dishes.

-Other typical food is potato pancakes - haruľa, legume soup, mutton and lokše.

-Growing wine has also long been a tradition. Drinking hard spirits or plum brandy is also a tradition.

SPORTS

The most popular sport is football. Every twentieth person plays football professionally. Ice hockey is popular too and especially after the obtaining gold medal from World Championship in 2002. Among other favourite sports are cycling, skating, swimming, volleyball and basketball as well.

HOLIDAYS

Slovak people have a lot of festivities which have roots in their history. Some of these traditions are connected with family life, some with Roman Catholicism or with they year as it was passing by. At present most of these customs are slowly disappearing, but in villages most of these traditions are still alive.

Fašiangy

One of the oldest is fašiangy festival held at the end of February or the beginning of March. People walk down the street dressed in funny costumes, sing and dance to celebrate the end of winter and welcome the coming spring.

Easter

The next day, Lent starts-the period of the forty days from Ash Wednesday to the day before Easter, during which Christians give up food or activities they enjoy in memory of Christ´s suffering. Easter is a Christian festival in Slovakia. People go to church to commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday. In the eastern part of the country they carry baskets full of food that is eaten during easter. (e.g. bread, sausages, hard-boiled eggs, cakes)Even small children have their own baskets with sweet baked lamb in it. During this special mass the priest walks among paople and consecrates the food. Then people pray the Lord , go home and eat this food during the whole festival.On Easter Monday boys go from house to house and splash girls with plaited whips and wash them with water so they will be healthy and strong all the next year. The boys are given coloured eggs as a reward. +alcoholic drinks.

All Saint´s Day

-held on1st November.

-people go to cemeteries to commemorate their relatives and friends who died. They light candles and pray for their loved ones rest in peace. The cemeteries are beautiful that evening with hundreds of candles burning at night.

Christmas

The nicest festival of the year is Chistmas, especially Christmas Eve (24th December) and Christmas Day (25th December). On 24th December people decorate a Christmas tree and prepare a special Christmas dinner which is served in the evening. It consists of waffles with honey and garlic, nuts and apples that are cut in two.If they are healthy , you will be healthy and happy in the following year. Then Christmas soup (sauerkraut with mashrooms and klobasa or thick lentil/ mushroom soup) is served, followed by potato salad and fried carp, with tropical foods and sweets at the end.

New Year´s Eve

-the celebrations in Slovakia are the same as everywhere else in the world. Everyones dances, sings, and enjoys the last hours of the year. At midnight, everyone drinks champagne and toasts (pripíjať si) for happiness and prosperity in the new year, hoping that it will be better than the previous year. We continue celebrating until early in the morning and we come home tired. Many people make New Years resolutions promising themselves to give up bad habits in the following year.

Some holidays are connected with our history. For example:
The Day of the Estamblishment of Slovak Republic –1.1
The Day of St.methodius and Cyrils – 5.7
The Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising –SNP-29.8
The Day of the Slovak Constitution-1.9-Ustava
The Day of the fight for the freedom and democracy-17.11
Our Lady of Sorrows-15.9

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