Lesson 17 – Celebrations and Holidays

There are many holidays and festivals celebrated in the USA, the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries. Let's find out a little about some of the most popular ones. Probably the best known holidays are Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day in the USA and St. Patrick's Day.

Christmas is usually observed on Christmas Day (December 25). Families and friends usually get together at Christmas to celebrate, have festive meals together and to bring gifts to each other. Most Christmas customs in the USA have been adopted from the United Kingdom but some have also come from countries like Italy and Germany. Perhaps the most common custom is decorating the Christmas tree.

Everybody probably knows that the old man who brings Christmas presents to people is called Santa Claus or (in Britain) Father Christmas. Children usually hang up a Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve which Santa fills with presents. Of course we all know that there's no real Santa Claus and it's usually the parents who put the presents there but kids believe that it is Santa. People then open their Christmas presents in the morning on Christmas Day. The children can't wait to see the presents and they often wake up their parents early in the morning.

Christmas dinner is usually eaten in the early afternoon on Christmas Day. Every country has its favourite traditional dish which is eaten at Christmas. In the USA and UK roast turkey, roast beef or other roast meats are usually eaten with potatoes. The American Christmas dinner also often includes ham and a typical pie. Various cakes are a must on this occasion. The British also love their well-known Christmas pudding.

Easter is one of the major religious festivals and not just in the UK. It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring. It means that it can take place on various Sundays in March or April. Easter is associated with various traditions and customs. Easter eggs are a very old tradition. Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom. Real eggs were used in the UK before they were replaced by today's chocolate Easter eggs.

Thanksgiving Day is a public holiday in the United States. It's celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. For some people it's even more important than Christmas. It originated as a harvest festival when it was first celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World. It is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal which usually includes turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and vegetables. For many people, Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for what they have. Thanksgiving Day parades are also held in some cities.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31 and is usually connected with wearing costumes. Halloween celebrations are over 2000 years old and date back to the time of the Celts. They include costume parties and trick-or-treating when children dress up in costumes and visit homes asking for sweets or small gifts by saying “trick or treat”. Some families also carve Halloween pumpkins to make them look like faces and then place lights or candles inside them.

St Patrick's Day originated in Ireland and is celebrated on March 17. It is also celebrated in the US as there are many Irishmen who immigrated to America. One of the best known traditions associated with St. Patrick's Day is wearing green clothes because green is the Irish national colour. Also green and Irish food is eaten on this day. Some people even serve and drink green beer!

And last but not least, let's not forget about Valentine's Day which has become very popular in many countries. It is celebrated on February 14 by millions of people worldwide these days. It is usually considered to be a celebration of people in love. On this day, people usually send cards called valentines, flowers, chocolates and other gifts as an expression of their love.