English Holidays Zenina Masha 7A, school 21 Ryazan- 2010

Spring!

St Davids Day St Davids day is a very important day for Welsh people. St David is patron or national saint of Wales. On March 1 st, the Welsh celebrate St David's day and wear daffodils in the buttonholes of their coats or jackets.

May Day May 1 st was an important day in the Middle Ages, the celebration of summers beginning. For that day people decorated houses and streets with branches of trees and flowers. People put a striped maypole decorated with flowers and danced round it.

Summer!

The Trooping of the Colour The Queen is the only person in Britain with two birthdays. Her real birthday is on April 21 st, but she has an official birthday, he is on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queens official birthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of the Colour.

Swan Upping On the River Thames there are hundreds of swans, a lot of these white birds belong to the King or Queen. In July the Queens swan keeper goes, in a boat, from London Bridge to Henley. He looks at all the young swans and marks the royal ones.

Highland Games In summer Scottish people traditionally meet together for competitions called Highland Games. The games always include Scottish dancing and bagpipe music.

Autumn!

The State Opening of Parliament Traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. She 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 Queens Speech.

Guy Fawkes Day Guy Fawkes was one of a band of conspirators who wanted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I and his ministers. However, the plot failed, Fawkes was caught on the 5 th of November. On November 5 th people build wood fires, on his top is a guy.

Winter!

Up-Helly-A a In the ninth century the Vikings from Norway came to the Shetlands. They came to Britain in ships and took away gold, animals and sometimes people. On Up-Helly-Aa night in January, the Shetlands dress in Viking costumes and carry the ship through the town to the sea and burn it there.

Carol Singing Originally, carols were songs performed with dancing at Christmas and other festivals. They were often sung outside houses by fantastically-dressed actors called Mummers. Many of todays carols have been written since the 19 th century as Christmas hymns celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Questions: 1.Who is the patron or national saint of Wales? 2.What do you know about maypole? 3.How many birthdays do Queen have each year? 4. When do Scottish people traditionally meet together for competitions called Highland Games? 5. When and where does the Queen sit on a throne and read the Queens Speech? 6.Who wanted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I and his ministers? 7.Where are carols often sung?

The end.