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An English proverb says, so many countries so many customs. I`m fully agree with the proverb. There are many countries and nations in the world and each of them has its own customs, traditions, national clothing and symbols, traditional food, holidays, festivals, ceremonies and so on.
Traditions and customs can be ancient and modern, funny and strange. They can be connected with historical events and religion, people`s private live and royal families, but all of them are interesting and important. They make a nation special.
There are many interesting traditions and customs in Britain. My favourite and the most popular holiday in Britain is Christmas.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world send and receive Christmas cards. A traditional feature of Christmas in Britain is the Christmas tree. Traditionally people decorate their trees on Christmas Eve – that’s December 24th. They take down the decorations twelve days later, on Twelfth Night (January 5th).
Those who live away try to get back home because Christmas is a family celebration and it is the biggest holiday of the year. As Christmas comes nearer, everyone is buying presents for relatives and friends. At Christmas people try to give their children everything they want. And the children count the weeks, than the days, to Christmas. Father Christmas brings their presents in the night. Then they open them on the morning of the 25th.
There is another name for Father Christmas in Britain – Santa Claus. That comes from the European name for him – Saint Nicholas. In the traditional story he lives at the North Pole. But now he lives in big shops in towns and cities all over Britain. Well, that’s where children see him in November and December. Then on Christmas Eve he visits every house. He climbs down the chimney and leaves lots of presents.
In Britain the most important meal on December 25th is Christmas dinner.
There are numerous royal traditions in Britain, and all of them are special.
The Queen is the only person in Britain with two birthdays. Her real birthday is on April 21st, but she has an “official” birthday, too. That is on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queen’s official birthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of the Colour. Thousands of Londoners and visitors watch in Horse Guards’ Parade. And millions of people at home watch it on television. On his or her one hundredth birthday, a British person gets a telegram with congratulations from the Queen.
The changing of the Guard happens every day at Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s home in London. The ceremony always attracts a lot of spectators – Londoners as well as visitors – to the British capital.
Traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. But Parliament, not the Royal Family, controls modern Britain.
The Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a gold carriage – the Irish State Coach. At the Houses of Parliament the Queen sits on a “throne” in the House of Lords. Then she reads the “Queen’s Speech”. At the State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown. She wears other jewels from the Crown Jewels, too.
There are many beautiful and interesting holiday celebrations in Belarus. I would recommend my British friend to take part in our national holiday called Kupalle. This holiday is usually celebrated on the night of the 7th of July. In my opinion, it is one of the most mysterious holidays in Belarus.
There are a lot of legends and customs connected with this magic holiday. According to one of them, there is a constant struggle between good and evil (dark and light) in our souls. People try to help the forces of light and themselves to defeat the evil, witches and wizards. They light bonfires, dance and sing songs around them. Jumping over the fire is an act of purification. The next tradition is searching a magic flower in the forest (it blossoms only once a year as the legend says). And the one who is lucky to find it will master the language of grass, trees, birds and animals and will be happy the rest of his life.
Besides it will be interesting for my British friend to visit different Belarusian festivals. If he is interested in
Traditions, holidays and rituals link the present with the past, help pass the knowledge, experience, wisdom, skills, habits and practices of the older generations to the new ones. I`m sure that children, teenagers and young people should know and observe the traditions of their country. Holidays, traditions and rituals help pupils learn more about the history and culture of their country. Celebrating national and local holidays makes young people united and has a great impact on their character-shaping. To my mind, children should also know the origins of holidays and traditions. To conclude, our future depends on the younger generation and adults must teach them to preserve the holidays, customs, ceremonies, traditions and rituals.