Секция
(направление): Английский язык
Рождественские традиции Великобритании и России.
(Christmas
traditions in Great Britain and Russia)
Павлова Полина
Андреевна
обучающаяся 9«а» класса МОУ средней общеобразовательной школы № 6
г. Кондопоги
Руководитель Волкова
Екатерина Сергеевна
учитель английского языка
МОУ средней общеобразовательной школы
№ 6 г. Кондопоги
2016 г.
Contents
I. Introduction.
The aims of the research……………………………………………………3
II. Christmas
in Great Britain……………………………………………………………….4
III. Christmas
in Russia………………………………………………………………………6
IV. The
comparison of different traditions…………………………………………………..8
V. Conclusion….……………………………………………………………………………10
VI. Resources
used…………………………………………………………………………...11
VII. Supplements………………………………………………………………………….…..12
Christmas comes but once a year
Introduction. The aims of the research
People have been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ for more than two thousand years. Christmas is one of the brightest Christian holidays. The word " Christmas" comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse" ( Eng . Mass of Christ - Mass of Christ) .
This holiday is one of the most popular in
Great Britain and in Russia, too. It`s a family holiday. Stores, post offices, banks
and business houses close for the day. Schools and colleges close between Christmas
and New Year`s day in the UK (December,23- January, 2
The day before the holidays begin, the schools have Christmas parties and
programs. There are ten days of holidays from New Year to Christmas in the
Russian Federation.
The people stay at home and spend the time
with their families. Everybody tries to come home for Christmas. Traditionally
all relatives and friends get together and give each other presents. People send
cards and Christmas greetings to their family and friends. They wish them “A Merry
Christmas” and “ A Happy New Year”. But what is the real meaning of Christmas?
-- These joyful days are the days of mercy , kindness and forgiveness.
When we were in primary school we joined
school folk club. We sang Christmas carols visited different families of our class,
wore masks and sowed rice wishing happiness, health and good luck. Certainly we
also got treat for our greetings. The most important feeling was a great joy, which
we brought and got at that unforgettable time!
We decided to
clarify Christmas history, as well as differences in the celebration of it .
The aims of our work are
• To study Christmas
traditions in Great Britain and in Russia
• To save national customs
and traditions
So the Objectives of our research
are
• To get acquaintance
with Christmas holiday in our country and in the UK
• To compare and find
out differences and similar features of celebrating
• To analyze teenager`s
attitude to Christmas
Christmas in Great Britain
Everybody knows that in Great Britain Christmas
is celebrated on the 25-th of December . The first information about the celebration
of Christmas by Christians belong to the 4th century. But don`t forget that originally
east Christian churches set Christmas Day on the sixth of January. However the
Roman church changed the date on the twenty- fifth of December , because it was
another pagan holiday of an invincible sun. In ancient times midwinter festival had always been celebrated by many peoples. The approach
of winter, as the days grew shorter and colder and the sun seemed to threaten to
disappear entirely, was a time of fear. But the shortest day meant that winter was
on the turn and that ahead was the promise of spring, the warmth of the sun and
the return of vegetation to the fields. And a new date (December 25)
symbolized the victory of Christianity. Now the Sixth of January in England is
the day of Christening or The Twelfth night.
In the UK Christmas time begins from Advent.
It`s 4 weeks of Lent before Christmas. People bring home
"Advent Wreath “ with 4 red candles and put it on the table. They light
every candle in turn only on Sundays. The last white candle is put in the center
of Advent Wreath and light on Christmas Eve as a symbol of the Christ`s birth who will come the
world to light the darkness .The Bible
says that Mary had trouble finding shelter on the night Jesus was born. So on Christmas Eve, some people light candles in the window.
They symbolize a welcome to cold people.
Children like a lot special advent-calendars
with little 25 doors for every date. A picture or a verse is hidden behind them.
They open only one door every day. People prepared Christmas greetings beforehand.
Christmas
cards are properly sent to anyone with whom one is at all acquainted. Many people
keep a list of cards sent and received from year to year.
Carol singing is one of the main
parts of Christmas. In the evening children come to the door of a house and sing
for a person who lives in this house. Then he or she gives children nuts, candies
or coins. In the past it was a way to gather
donations to monasteries and orphanages .Today it`s just a fun.
Before Christmas all shops and
supermarkets are crowded, everybody want to buy a present. Giving gifts for
Christmas is an old tradition. Three wise men came to the baby Jesus and gave
him gold, frankincense and myrrh. In Great Britain children get presents in
their stocking, which they hang on the fireplace. They believe that Father
Christmas bring them gifts.
According to the legend, one kind man had three daughters. His
wife died. The daughters wanted to get presents on Christmas but their father
didn`t have money. Kind St. Nicolas heard the girl`s plight and at night he
threw three gold coins down the chimney where they fell into their stockings
the girls had hung by the fireplace to dry.
On the Christmas Eve people decorate
their houses in the traditional way with holly, ivy and
mistletoe. It was considered that holly frightened off witches, and ancient druids
thought a mistletoe was a sacred plant and symbol of an eternal life.
Germans were the first, who used
the Christmas tree in the celebrations, and Martin Lyuter adorned the top of a fir
tree by a star which symbolized a Bethlehem star, appearing above a stable where
Jesus Christ was born. Now Christmas trees are usually put up in the houses.
They are always decorated with light, tinsel and angels . Little packets with nuts and candies are hung on the tree.
Children
trim their Christmas tree with strings of colored lights.
One of ancient British tradition is a Christmas log. Vikings brought
this ceremony to England. On Christmas they cut an enormous tree, and throughout
the year it laid. And only on next Christmas it was brought in a house, and it burned
for a long time .
There are some superstitions associated with
Christmas. If a Christmas log doesn`t burn completely
to the ash, misfortunes will expect its owners. To
see a familiar face in the blaze of a Yule log ’ at Christmas is the sign of an
early marriage with the person seen. To
become engaged on Christmas is a sure sign of good luck in marriage. To be born on Christmas day is the prediction of a care-free
life. At Christmas parties people often use mistletoe to decorate the rooms. Kissing
a girl under the mistletoe insures good fortune. If
a girl stands under the mistletoe this is an invitation to being kissed by any man. If she refuses it is bad luck; if she is kissed seven times in one day she will marry
within a year.
First of all Christmas is a religious
holiday. British churches have Christmas Eve services. They usually begin just
before midnight on Christmas Eve and end early Christmas morning.
Most
people in the UK celebrate Christmas, even if they are not religious. There will
be Christmas trees, presents, carol singing, mulled wine (warm, spiced red wine),
mince pies (small pies with a sweet fruit filling) and if it snows, snowmen and
snowball fights! The traditional Christmas dinner is a whole roast turkey with roast
potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Christmas pudding for dessert (a steamed sponge
pudding with dried fruit) some gingerbread cookies— but each family has its own
variations.
So, Christmas is a lovely holiday
for all the people in Great Britain. It is usually a one-day official
holiday, but it is preceded and
followed
by festive parties, and marked by special church services, gift giving and feasting.
It is getting money for Christmas people, join Christmas clubs and also Christmas
seal. (Christmas seals are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season.
for charitable programs.)
Christmas in Russia
In Russia people began to celebrate Christmas in the tenth century . Unfortunately it was banned during the Soviet times. Russian date of celebrating Christmas differs from British. We remember that Russia uses the Gregorian calendar (since 1918.) like many other European countries and churches. But the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates religious holidays according to the Julian calendar. So that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on 7 January.
In our country Christmas is always marked with a special attitude. Christmas brings the end to all quarrels. Before this holiday parents told their children , about Jesus, who was born in the cave and about the wise men who came to worship him and give gifts . And thanks that, children learned to respect traditions, Christian values and wisdom from a very early age. They understood that Christmas was not only presents but first of all it was sharing and love.
There were many symbols of Christmas: a fir tree (an evergreen tree means an eternal life) and Christmas wreath (it symbolized the wheel of life, without beginning or end), Christmas star (a Bethlehem star ).In the old days our ancestors were waiting for Christmas for the whole year, and they prepared carefully for it. The house certainly was cleaned, Christmas tree was decorated , the holiday table was ready.
There is a 40-day Lent preceding
Christmas Day, when Christians do not eat any meat. The Lent period ends with the
first star in the night sky on January 6. It`s a symbol of Jesus Christ's birth. There are several long services in the churches on Christmas Eve. Many Christians go there to
attend a Christmas liturgy that evening and night
The first star also signal to the start
of the "Holy Supper “, which consists of 12 dishes, one to honor
each of the Twelve Apostles. As a strictly Lenten meal, meaning without meat, it
begins with prayer led by the father of the family. The main dish during the holy supper is Kutya
or sochivo porridge. This sweet dish contains whole grains, nuts ,honey and poppy
seeds. The grains represent hope, while the honey and poppy seeds represent happiness
and peace.
The next day there
is another Christmas menu. The Main Russian Christmas dish is a goose with
apples. Today's Russian Christmas meal is impossible without sweet: cakes and pies.
There were pancakes, jelly fish, pig with porridge and roast, jelly meat , honey
cakes, stewed fruit on festive Russian table
The table was decorated in a special way. Straw
was placed under the tablecloth to signify the manger in which Christ laid. Some
iron thing was specially set under the table. Everyone who was sitting at the table,
put feet on this thing. Iron was considered a symbol of the fortress and health.
In the past Russian people (children and adults) went out in the streets from house to house singing Kolyada or Christmas songs about the birth of the Savior. As a rule, a violinist joined to them. The group of carolers wore costumes and masks, brought Christmas star and glorified Christ. The masters of the houses gave money, sweets, honey cakes to carolers. It was even a great sin not to open the door for such guests. We can read the descriptions of bright and merry Christmas festivals of Old Russia in many books written by Gogol, Shmelyov and many others authors.
The comparison of different traditions
|
|
Great
Britain
|
Russia
|
|
Christmastime
|
From November
|
From December
|
|
Date
of celebrating
|
25-th December
|
7-th January
|
|
Christmas
symbols
|
Christmas
tree, Bethlehem Star, candles, angels
|
|
Advent Wreath,
candy cane, Christmas log, Advent calendar
|
Christmas
wreath,
|
|
Christmas
traditions
|
Christmas carols
and dramas .Charity, Love , Forgiveness
Christmas
cards and greetings
|
|
Christmas
dish
|
Christmas
pudding,
Christmas roast
turkey
Christmas cake, gingerbread
cookies
|
Kutya porridge, Christmas
goose (or a
chicken), jelly meat , honey cakes, stewed
fruit
|
|
Christmas
presents
|
Children find
gifts in their stockings hanging on the fireplace
|
Children find them under Christmas Tree
|
We asked our classmates some questions about
Christmas traditions in the UK and in Russia. The first question was about the date
and the reason of celebrating. Everybody knows when and why people celebrate this
holiday. Only half of the respondents keep it.
The next question was about
Christmas dish. It was found that the ninth-grade students knew few traditional British
Christmas dish such as Christmas turkey and pudding but pupils couldn`t remember
traditional Russian
cuisine for Christmas. They named roast chicken,
jelly meat, potatoes and many salads as holiday meals in their families.
The main questionnaire’s item
was concerned Christmas symbols. We were surprised that our friends mentioned more
British symbols than Russian. The pupils said people in Great Britain connect this
feast with wreath, candles, candy cane, angels, Santa Claus, stockings and presents.
There were only Christmas tree and Bethlehem star among Russian associations.
It is explained by the fact
that for a long time the Christmas holiday has remained in the shadow of New year in our
country.
Conclusion
Christmas is celebrated in Russia and in the UK, but there
are different religions in these countries (Orthodox and Anglican) ; so that
the dates are various.
The history of the holiday is the same in Russia and Britain.
Although Russian knew Christmas later then the British. Christmas traditions and
symbols are very similar. In Great Britain Christmastime begins earlier then in
Russia. The meaning of some symbols are diverse but in a whole all of them
are related with the Birth of Jesus Christ.
Many Christmas traditions in Russia became New Year`s in
Soviet times. For example in England they buy presents and Christmas trees
before Christmas and we buy them before New Year. In England children received
presents from Father Christmas or Santa Claus and in Russia all surprises are from Father Frost for New
Year`s Day
The most important thing that nowadays
people in our countries could life through the event which was two thousand
years ago like people of that time feeling great joy, hope and love.
If
you do find, after the holidays, that you have forgotten someone, get in touch with
them by telephone or note or the Internet
![The first star is a signal to the start of the "Holy Supper “, which consists...](https://documents.infourok.ru/0a1a1089-15d7-467d-b64c-9d2d36267261/0/slide_21.jpg "The first star is a signal to the start of the "Holy Supper “, which consists...")
Оставьте свой комментарий
Авторизуйтесь, чтобы задавать вопросы.