Holidays and celebrations
• family celebrations (birthdays, name days, anniversaries)
• Christmas, Easter
• public holidays, summer/winter holidays
• customs and traditions
Many countries around the world share certain holidays, such as New Year’s Day,
Easter and Christmas, but not every country celebrates them in the same ways or
even on the same day.
In Hungary we celebrate birthdays, name days, wedding anniversaries, March 15,
Easter, Whitsun, Mother’s Day, August 20, October 23, All Soul’s Day, Christmas and
New Year’s Day.
Read the following text and fill in the gaps:
WEDDINGS
In Hungary most people (1)_are__ married on a Saturday afternoon. All couples have
to get married in a registry office, and those (2)who____ are religious have a
church wedding, too. In the registry office, the ceremony is led by a registrar, and
the (3)_reception____ and their two witnesses sign the register. The (4)_bride____
wears a long white wedding dress with a veil and a train, and the
(5)_bridegroom_______ wears an elegant dark suit with a white shirt and a tie. The
bride holds a bouquet, and the bridegroom has a boutonniere. After the ceremony
there is a reception, which (6)is___ held in a restaurant, and in villages it is often
held in a big tent. At the reception several kinds of dishes are served and the new
couple (7)____ the wedding cake. At midnight the couple changes their clothes and
the so-called bride’s dance starts. All the guests (8)_dance____ with the bride and
(9)_give____ some money to the couple to contribute to their new life together.
Match the highlighted words in the text above with the following definitions:
- give (something, especially money) in order to help achieve or provide
something: (10)__contribute to___________
- a place where births, deaths, and marriages are officially recorded:
(11)__registry office____________
- relating to or believing in a religion: (12)_religious_______________
- a piece of fine material worn by women to protect or conceal the face:
(13)_veil_________
- an official responsible for keeping a register or official records:
(14)___register__________
- a long piece of material attached to the back of a formal dress or robe that
trails along the ground: (15)__train_________________
- a rich iced cake, typically in two or more tiers, served at a wedding reception:
(16)__wedding cake___________
- a formal social occasion held to welcome someone or to celebrate an event:
(17)___registrar____________
- a flower that someone wears in the buttonhole:
(18)_boutonniere_____________
- an official list or record of names or items: (19)__reception_____________
- an attractively arranged bunch of flowers: (20)__bouquet______________
NAME DAYS
Name days aren’t celebrated, for example, in English-speaking countries. In Hungary
name days are almost as important as birthdays and are celebrated in all families.
Write a composition of 8-10 sentences about the way you celebrate name days with
your family.
(21 My name day
My name day is on the 4th of May. I always get a lot of good wishes as on my
birthday. My mum is Mónika too so we always do something on our name day.
Mostly we go to a restaurant or to the cinema. On that day my dad does the
housework and often he’s waiting for us with a nice family dinner. We don’t really
celebrate as on birthdays we rather watch movies and chill. I don’t get presents
maybe some chocholate or flowers. Name days are not bad, I always having a good
time on that day and I get good wishes from all of my family members.
CHRISTMAS
Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions:
(22)_At___ Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a holiday
full (23)of___ traditions. The most important day is Christmas Eve, December 24,
when the family comes together (24)_and eat together_ the Christmas dinner. The
traditional dishes are fish soup, stuffed cabbage, poppy-seed rolls and nut rolls. The
Christmas tree is decorated (25)_with____ the dinner with sweets, brightly coloured
lights and glass ornaments, and Christmas presents are placed (26)under__of____
it. At midnight lots of families go to church (27)for___ the midnight mass. (28)On___
Christmas Day relatives visit each other and have lunch or dinner together.
In England Christmas Eve is the time for the annual office parties. Also, a lot of
English people go to a midnight mass, while others go to church (29)_at___ the
morning of Christmas Day.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
In Hungary on New Year’s Eve people usually go to parties where they eat and drink
and enjoy themselves. At midnight they drink champagne and sing the national
anthem. Then people go to the streets to celebrate and they watch the fireworks.
In England people go to parties or dance halls on New Year’s Eve. At midnight they
drink a toast to the New Year and link arms to sing Auld Lang Syne. In London
thousands of people gather to celebrate at Trafalgar Square.
Now your task is to find some information on the internet about the Chinese
New Year. How do they celebrate it? When is it? Why is it different? Write a
short composition of about 10-12 sentences. Here is a short video to help you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asluM20g6rk
(30 Chinese New Year( also called Spring Festival, Lunar New Year)
The Chinese New Year is the most important festival in China when people
celebrates the beginning of the new year based on the traditional Chinese calendar.
The next will be in the 12th of February 2021. It’s different from the Hungarien New
Year because It’s in February and It’s a 15-day festival. It take place all over the
world. To prepare for Chinese New Year many people clean their houses, they get a
haircut and buy new clothes, settle disagreemants or pay off debts. In the late night
hours at Chinese New Year Eve many Chinese families make together dumplings
which are brings good fortune to their houses like lentil at the Hungariens. Long
noodles are also a traditional dish and If you want a long life never cut the noodles
while you eating them. At this time people wear red coloured clothes because It’s the
colour of luck and they avoid black because It’s the colour of death.
EASTER
At Easter we celebrate the Resurrection, that is, the rising of Jesus Christ from the
tomb three days after his crucifixion. On Easter Sunday morning we eat ham, hard-
boiled eggs and cold pork in aspic. On Easter Monday boys visit their relatives and
friends and sprinkle women and girls with perfume or water. They get chocolate or
painted eggs, and chocolate bunnies. In England many people go to church on
Easter Sunday.
Now your task is to find out what the EGG symbolizes at Easter -according to
the Hungarian traditions. (31)__The new life
________________
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
…...IN SOME ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES
Public holidays in England are called bank holidays because on these days the
banks are closed. New Year’s Day, Easter Monday and Boxing Day are bank
holidays. May Bank Holiday is the first Monday in May. The British also celebrate St.
Valentine’s Day, May Day, the Queen’s birthday, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night and
Armistice Day.
Both Britain and the U.S.A. also celebrate some holidays which are not common in
other countries, for instance Valentine’s Day (February 14 th), April Fool’s Day (April
1st), May Day (May 1st) and Halloween (October 31st). An important Welsh holiday is
St. David’s Day (the patron saint of Wales) on March 1 st, and in Ireland, St. Patrick’s
Day (March 17th) is the day celebrating their patron saint. Midsummer’s Day (June
24th) marks the longest day of the year, and Guy Fawkes’ Day (November 5 th)
commemorates the survival of the monarchy and the King after Guy Fawkes
unsuccessfully tried to kill him in 1605.
In the United States each state has its own legal holidays but most states observe
the holidays set by the federal government. These holidays are: New Year’s Day
(January 1st), Martin Luther King’s Birthday (3 rd Monday in January), Washington’s
Birthday (3rd Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May),
Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (1 st Monday in September), Columbus Day
(2nd Monday in October), Veterans’ Day (November 11), Thanksgiving Day
(4th Thursday in November) and Christmas Day (December 25).
As in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is observed in America, a day when people wear
green for the Irish saint.
Many of the holidays have traditional foods and activities associated with them, and
nowadays it’s common to send greeting cards to family and friends on many of these
days.
On Halloween children dress up as witches or in other costumes, make lanterns of
pumpkins and light candles inside them to scare the witches away. They put on
costumes, visit houses and knock at the door, and when it’s opened, they say trick or
treat. Trick means playing a joke, and treat means getting a gift, usually sweets. This
day is celebrated both in Great-Britain and in the United States.
For further information on Halloween you can visit the following site:
https://www.eslflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/halloween-vocabulary.pdf
Are the following sentences true or false?
32, The banks are closed on public holidays in the USA __T__
33, Armistice Day is celebrated in England _T____
34, St. David’s day is celebrated in Wales _T_____
35, In 1605 Fawkes killed the king __F____
36, In the USA the holidays in each state are set by the federal government T___
37, People in the USA celebrate St. Patrick’s Day_F____
38, Children in Northern Ireland dress up in costumes on Halloween_T___
…AND MEANWHILE IN HUNGARY
Match the Hungarian national holidays A-E with their descriptions 39-41:
39, Memorial day of the 1848 Revolution (which aimed at the independence of
the Hungarian Kingdom from the Austrian Empire). There are usually
speeches and music such as the Nemzeti dal; many people wear
a cockade with the national colours red, white, and green._B_____
40, Memorial day of the 1956 Revolution, which was fought to expel Soviet
troops from Hungary and establish free elections. Also the day of the
proclamation of the Third Hungarian Republic (1989). Celebrated with
speeches and exhibitions.__C____
41, Commemoration of Hungary's first king St. Stephen, also the day of the
foundation of Hungary and "the day of the new bread". St. Stephen (Szent
István király, ca. 975 – 15 August 1038), as the first king of Hungary, led the
country into the Christian church and established the institutions of the
kingdom and the church. __A_____
A, 20 August
B, 15 March
C, 23 October
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY
Match the words with the definitions:
celebration, costume, decorate, fireworks, national anthem, national flag,
ornament, parade, present, speech, symbol, tradition
42. a thing that you give to somebody as a gift on a special occasion to show
friendship or to say thank you _present______
43. to make something look more attractive by putting things on it
_decorate_________
44. a custom or belief that is passed down through the generations or that is done
time after time __tradition________
45. a set of clothes worn in order to look like someone or something else, especially
for a party ___costume_______
46. a display of explosive devices that create noise, lights and smoke for
entertainment __fireworks__________
47. an emblem flown as a symbol of nationality_national flag________
48. a public march, usually with bands in the streets and decorated vehicles
__parade_________
49. an emblem that has acquired a conventional significance ___symbol
___________
50. an event designed to commemorate something or make something special and
enjoyable ___celebration___________
51. a country's official song which is played and/or sung on public occasions_national
anthem________________
52. a formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special
occasion__speech________________
53. decoration which is added to increase the beauty of
something__ornament_____________
GOING ON HOLIDAY
Speaking practice:
Be prepared to talk about your holidays on the basis of the following link:
https://www.lira.hu/upload/M_28/rek3/406592.pdf
THE END
