Ask me if I participated in any traditional celebrations.
Did you take part in any traditional celebrations?
What did you do ?
Did you make any special things or clothes for the holiday?
What holidays were your favourite?
Did you have any family traditions?
4. Which festival in Belarus will you recommend your British friend to visit?
I would recommend to see "Kupalle" because it is the most romantic and mysterious holiday. I think my British friend would be excited to jump over the fire and look for a magic fem-flower.
Kupala is the old pagan Belarusian god of the sun whose feast is at Midsummer, after the Soltice day. 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 in our soul. People try to help the forces of light to defeat the evil witches. They light bonfires, dance and sing folk songs around them and young girls and boys jump over the fire, holding their hands together. Fire is believed to have a purifying effect, cleaning off sins. Another attribute of the Kupala feast is girls making wreaths of wild flowers and wear them on heads and then, at dawn, throwing them into the river or lake and letting them float. And one of the main moments of celebration is the search for a magic fem-flower which blossoms only one night a year and is believed to bring happiness.
Are you proud of your national holidays and traditions?
Yes, I am proud of our national traditions; they are unique and make us feel a little bit different from other nationalities. For example, the celebration of "Kupalle" is romantic and mysterious. When we celebrate Victory Day I feel proud of our people who went through great difficulties and showed courage and heroism.
CARD № 21
Let’s talk about any Enlglish-speaking country.
What English-speaking countries do you know? Tell me about any of them.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are English speaking countries. They are situated in different parts of the world and differ in many ways. The nature of these countries, their weather and climate and way of life of their people differ. Each country has its own history, customs, traditions, its own national holidays. But they all share a common language. English is the language of the people who left England to make their names in new countries. But I would like to tell you about The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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To understand fully any country’s political system, one needs to understand something of its history. This is especially true of the United Kingdom becauseits history has been very different from most other nations and, as a result, its political system is very different from most other nations too.
We probably need to start with the year of 1066, when William the Conqueror from Normandy invaded what we now call England, defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold and established a Norman dynasty. The Normans were not satisfied with conquering England and, over the next few centuries, tried to conquer Ireland, Wales and Scotland. They succeeded with the first two and failed with the last despite several wars over the centuries.
The UK is a parliamentary monarchy and the Queen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The UK Parliament in London is at the heart of the political system in Britain and is the legislative body for the UK and British overseas territories. Parliament has two legislative parliamentary bodies, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister now is Theresa May, the leader of the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister’s Office is at Downing Street, 10.
The House of Commons is the lower chamber but the one with the most authority. The Commons is chaired by the Speaker. Each of the 650 members in the House of Commons represents a geographical constituency.
The House of Lords is the upper chamber but the one with less authority. Its members are not elected and appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minster. The House of Commons consists of democratically elected Members of Parliament from various different political parties. Elections are held every five years. There is no fixed number of members in the House of Lords, but currently there are 826 members.
Today there are four major political parties in the British parliamentary system, the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrat Party.
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Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of iron and steel products, machinery and electronics, chemicals and textile. One of the industries is shipbuilding.
Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centres are Oxford and Cambridge universities. They are considered to be the intellectual centres of Europe. The education is not free, it is very expensive.
London is the capital of the UK, the greatest town and port on the British Isles. It’s a political, economic and commercial centre. London is one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than 8 million people. It’s more than 2 thousand years old. London is worth sightseeing. The West End is famous for its beautiful monuments and palaces, fine parks, fashionable shops and big hotels. The East End is quite different from the West End. It’s the district of factories, plants and docks. The narrow streets and poor houses present contrast to the homes of the rich people in the West End.
Sightseeing tours in London usually start in Trafalgar Square. There is the Nelson’s Column in the centre of the square. From Trafalgar Square you can go along down Whitehall and see the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben. Behind there is the Thames and Westminster Bridge. Buckingham Palace attracts attention, as well. It’s the royal residence. Westminster Abbey is famous for the memorials of many great people of Britain. The Tower of London was a fortress, a royal residence, a prison and now it is a museum. London is famous for its green parks. The greatest is Hyde Park (with the famous Poet’s Comer there). London is the centre of the country’s cultural life. There are many picture galleries and museums there. The National Gallery houses a priceless collection of paintings. The British Museum is the most famous in the world. In London we can meet the past and the present, the old and the modem. It’s a city of contrasts and no doubts it’s amazing to see and enjoy every masterpiece in architecture and art.
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