Holidays and celebrations

Holidays and celebrations

Talk about – rozprávajte o:

Holidays and celebrations in Slovakia  –  sviatky  a oslavy na Slovensku

Holidays in English speaking countries – sviatky v anglicky hovoriacich krajinách

Family celebrations –  rodinné oslavy

1. Holidays and celebrations in SLOVAKIA:

In Slovakia people celebrate these public holidays /štátne sviatky/:

CHRISTMAS /Vianoce/ in Slovakia, Christmas is a Christian holiday /kresťanský sviatok/. People in Slovakia prepare for Christmas long before it comes => they clean and tidy up their house, clean windows, they bake cakes and buy Christmas presents for friends and family. At home they decorate a Christmas tree with Christmas decorations and lights. People usually buy a fish and some of them have it at home in the bath /vo vani/. In Slovakia, we celebrate Christmas on 24.12. – the family get together and has the Christmas dinner together – we eat soup, fish, potatoes, cakes… After the dinner, the family goes to unwrap /rozbaliť/ their Christmas presents and after that they usually watch TV or go to visit friends or their family /grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins…/

People celebrate Christmas because it is a Christian holiday – we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem. In the evening people go to the Midnight Mass /Polnočná omša/.

NEW YEAR /Nový rok/ 1st of January – we celebrate the end of the year. The last day of the year is called the New Year’s Eve, which is Silvester in Slovakia. People meet with friends, watch TV or go out to a party and have fun. At midnight they open a bottle of champagne and wish each other love, happiness, health … in the new year.
EASTER /Veľká Noc/ we celebrate Easter in spring. It is a Christian celebration – people celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ /zmŕtvychvstanie Ježiša Krista/. During Easter people paint Easter eggs, bake cakes. Boys symbolically flog girls /šibať dievčatá/ and pour water over them to keep them healthy. Girls give them painted eggs, chocolate or money in return.

2. Holidays in English speaking countries:

People in England and the USA both celebrate Christmas and Easter.

CHRISTMAS – people in England and the USA celebrate Christmas on 25.12. It is different from Slovakia => American and English children get their presents in the morning. They find them under the Christmas tree and they believe that Santa Claus brings the presents. They believe that Santa Claus wears a red dress and has a white beard – he comes on a sleigh /na saniach/. He comes down the chimney /komín/ and gives presents to good children.

Families in England and the USA have a Christmas dinner together on 25th of December => they eat a turkey and in England they have a Christmas pudding.

EASTER –

-  in England children often boil hen’s eggs and paint it with bright colours. Then they have an egg race /súťaž, závod/ => they roll the eggs down the hill.
-  In the USA children go to church and later at home they have an Easter Egg Hunt /Lov na veľkonočné vajíčka/ => they must find eggs and chocolate that is hidden in the garden – in the bushes and trees. Usually there is a special egg which is specially marked and the child who finds it wins a toy or money.

IN THE USA:
In the USA people celebrate these national holidays:

THANKSGIVING DAY /Deň Vďakyvzdania/ – 4th Thursday in November – the family get together and they have a dinner – they cook a turkey /moriaka/

=>  this holiday is celebrated since 1620 when the first people came to America on their ship called Mayflower – their first colonies were called New England and the first people were called the Pilgrim Fathers /Otcovia Pútnici/. During their first winter, over one half of the settlers died /settle = usadiť sa/. The rest of them survived /= prežili/ and learned how to farm. The following November after their 1st successful harvest /= žatva/, they celebrated and had a special “Thanksgiving” dinner – since then the Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving Day.

THE INDEPENDENCE DAY /Deň Nezávislosti/ – July 4 – it is the national holiday and a public holiday /štátny sviatok/

=> in the past American people fought for the independence of 13 colonies called the New England – these colonies were under the British control – American people wanted to be independent and they didn’t want to pay taxes /= dane/ to Britain. Because the British government didn’t agree to this, it lead to a mutiny /= vzbura/ it was the Boston Tea party – when a group of Americans threw bags of tea into the sea as a protest – this event /= udalosť/ started a war – America won the war and on July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was signed /= bola podpísaná/. The colonies became independent and that day was called the Independence day (they celebrate it as holiday in the USA now)

HALLOWEEN – 30th of October – it is a celebration of ghosts – children go from door to door – they wear masks and people give them sweets

 IN ENGLAND:
British people celebrate these holidays:

MOTHER’S DAY – 2nd Sunday in May => children give flowers and presents to their mothers
THE QUEEN’S OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY – Saturday after the 9th of June – a ceremonial meeting of the guard in the presence of the Queen.
BONFIRE NIGHT /GUY FAWKES’ NIGHT/ Noc Ohňostrojov the 5th of November – people remember the day in 1605 when a group of people tried to blow up the House of Lords with gunpowder => they were all executed and Guy Fawkes is the most famous of the conspirators => on this day people gather /zhromaždia sa/ on a field and watch beautiful bonfires to remember the event from the past.

3. Family celebrations

In Slovakia people celebrate these family celebrations:

Birthday -  my relatives /príbuzní/ often get together on my birthday. My family comes for a visit. They bring me presents and congratulate me. They wish me love, health, happiness and all the best. Then we have lunch and celebrate. On my birthday I sometimes go out with my friends or have a party or a barbecue at home.
Name’s day – we celebrate it similarly to /podobne ako/ our birthday
Wedding – svadba – young couple /bride and the bridegroom/ and the family go to church and they get married. After that there is a big party with a lot of food and music. The family gives the new husband and wife many presents and they congratulate them – they wish them love and happiness and many children.
Christening – krstiny – the family get together and bring presents for the baby. Then they go to church and the baby is christened. After that the family usually goes home and they celebrate together – they have a lunch, cakes and so on.

Vocabulary:

celebrate – oslavovať
celebration – oslava
holiday – sviatok, prázdniny, dovolenka
prepare for – pripraviť san a
long before it comes dlho predtým, ako prídu /Vianoce/
tidy up – upratať
bake cakes – piecť koláče
present – darček
decorate a Christmas tree – ozdobiť vianočný stromček
decorations – ozdoby
lights – svetlá
get together – stretnúť sa
Christmas dinner – vianočná večera
together – spolu
soup – polievka
after the dinner – po večeri
grandparents – starí rodičia
aunt – teta
uncle – strýko
cousin – bratranec, sesternica  
a Christian holiday – kresťanský sviatok
the birth of Jesus Christ – narodenie Ježiša Krista
the last day of the year – posledný deň v roku
it is called – volá sa
the New Year’s Eve = Silvester
meet – stretnúť sa
have fun – zabávať sa
at midnight – o polnoci
a bottle of champagne – fľaša šampanského
wish each other love, happiness, health – želajú si navzájom lásku, šťastie, zdravie
in spring – na jar
during – počas
paint Easter eggs – maľovať veľkonočné vajíčka
symbolically – symbolicky
boys pour water over them to keep them healthy – chlapci na nich lejú vodu, aby boli zdravé
in return – za to /Girls give them eggs and chocolate in return. = Dievčatá im za to dajú vajíčka a čokoládu./
both – obaja, obidvaja
different from  odlišné od
get – dostať
find – nájsť
under the Christmas tree – pod vianočným stromčekom
believe – veriť
wear – nosiť
a red dress – červené oblečenie, šaty
down the chimney  dole komínom
turkey moriak
boil hen’s eggs – uvariť kuracie vajíčka
bright colours – jasné farby
they roll the eggs down the hill – kotúľajú vajíčka dole kopcom
church – kostol
chocolate that is hidden in the garden – čokoláda, ktorá je skrytá v záhrade
bush – krík
specially marked – špeciálne označené
a toy – hračka
since 1620  od r. 1620
ship – loď
the first colonies were called New England – prvé kolónie sa volali Nové Anglicko
over one half of the settlers died – viac ako polovica usadlíkov zomrela
the rest of them survived – zvyšok prežil
to farm – farmáriť
following – nasledujúci
since then – odvtedy
fight for /min. čas fought – fought/ bojovať za
independence – nezávislosť
government – vláda
agree to – súhlasiť s
lead to a mutiny – viesť k vzbure
throw /min. č. threw – threw/ hodiť, vyhodiť
bags of tea – vrecia čaju
ghost – duch
go from door to door – ísť od dverí k dverám
sweets sladkosti
meeting – stretnutie
the guard – stráž
the presence of the Queen – prítomnosť kráľovny
remember – pripomínať si, spomínať
try /min. č. tried – tried/ skúsiť, pokúsiť sa
to blow up the House of Lords with gunpowder – vyhodiť do vzduchu Dom Lordov pušným prachom
execute – popraviť
famous – slávny
conspirator – sprisahanec
bonfire – ohňostroj
the past minulosť
wish – želať, priať
all the best – všetko najlepšie
barbecue – opekačka
couple – pár /dvojica/
bride – nevesta
bridegroom – ženích
get married – zosobášiť sa
husband – manžel
wife – manželka
the baby is christened – bábätko je pokrstené