16.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS, CUSTOMS, CELEBRATIONS

 Public holidays
 Customs
 Traditions – CR x ESC
 Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween

Holidays:

 The origin of the word „holiday“ is „holy day“

 Holidays originally represented special religious days
 Nowadays, holidays are special days that we honor to remember the specific events that
occurred in the history of our nation and the civilization
 Each country has a different number of „days off“ (as we also call holidays)

Czech Public Holidays:

 January 1 – New Year’s Day; the beginning of the independent Czech Republic (1993)
 Easter
Spring time, the dates vary each year
The most important Christian holiday
A mixture of Christian and pagan traditions
House decorating, eggs decorating, boys whipping
Telling rhymes (carolling)
A lot of chocolate sweets given to kids
Shots of alcohol for men
 May 1 – Labour Day
celebrates working people , Day of Love - lovers kiss under blooming cherry trees
 May 8 – Liberation Day
The end of the Second World War in Europe
Placing wreaths at memorials of the victims of WWII.
 July 5 – Saints Cyril and Methodius Day
Two brothers who brought Christianity to Central Europe in the 9th century
 July 6 – Jan Hus Day
A priest and reformer who was burned in Kostnice because he criticised Catholic
representatives for unholy behaviour
 September 28 - St. Wenceslas Day
Day of Czech Statehood
The day when the whole nation remembers the main patron of the Czech state
Masses in the name of St. Wenceslas are held
 October 28 - Independent Czechoslovak State Day
On this day the Czechoslovak state declared independence at the end of the First World War
(WW I) in 1918
On this day the president of the republic gives honours to people who did special deeds
(depends on the president ;-))

 November 17 - Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy

A day when we remember very important milestones from our history.
 In 1939, Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and proclaimed it the Protectorate of Bohemia and
Moravia. Czech students demonstrated against the occupation and the demonstration was
brutally suppressed. In reaction,Czech universities were closed by the Nazis on November 17.
In 1989 the Velvet Revolution started as a student demonstration against the communist
régime
 December 24 – 26 / Christmas time
A celebration of the birth of baby Jesus
A Christmas tree is decorated
Traditional diner consists of fish soup and carp fillet with potato salad
Presents under the Christmas tree
People often go to a midnight mass
December 25 and December 26 (St. Stephen’s Day), Family reunions

USA:

 There are 10 federal national holidays in the US

 Most federal holidays don’t have specific dates, but are celebrated on a certain day, usually
Monday. That way, states and companies have a long weekend

Date Holiday

January 1 New Year’s Day

January 15 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(a man who worked for equal rights among all races)
February 19 Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day)
May 28 Memorial Day (This holiday is held to remember the soldiers

who were killed in wars

July 4 Independence Day (Freedom from British rules)

September 3 Labor Day (celebrates working people)
October 8 Columbus Day

(commemorates explorer Christopher Columbus’ landing in

the New World in 1492)

November 12 Veterans Day (it honors all veterans of any war)

The End of November Thanksgiving Day
-one of Americans’ favorite holidays
-it’s held on the fourth Thursday of November
-historically held as thanks for a good harvest
-families gather together for a good meal
-Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn and
pumpkin pie are traditionally served at Thanksgiving.
These dishes were introduced as a new food source to the
Europeans when they arrived)
 December 25 Christmas Day

- family time
- opening gifts in the morning time
- ham served with mash potatoes
- a cookie and a glass of milk is served for Santa Claus in front

of the entrance door the night before

Others: Halloween (masks, costumes, candies), Valentine‘s Day (Valentine’s hearts, cards,
flowers, going for diner or for a drink, going to the cinema…)

Great Britain:

Date Holiday Countries in GB

1 Jan New Year's Day National

17 Mar St Patrick's Day Northern Ireland

Spring time Easter (Good Friday , Easter Monday) National

7 May May Day National

30 Nov St Andrew's Day Scotland

25 Dec Christmas Day National

(Opening the gifts from Father Christmas, family time, turkey or goose roast
beef and plum pudding are served; pulling a „cracker“ – a paper tube filled
with a paper hat or a trinket.)

26 Dec Boxing Day National

(In the past, gentry would give presents /money to servants)

Others: Pancake Day, All Fools Day - playing jokes on people (April 1), Guy Fawkes Night –
fireworks, bonfires (November 5), Mothering Sunday (4st Sunday in Lent)

More about some of the holiday and festivals in the USA and GB:
Independence Day
Independence Day is celebrated on 4th July because this is the day when Declaration of
Independence was issued (1776). Every July 4th Americans have a holiday from work. People have
barbecues with friends and family. They eat hamburgers, hot dogs and baked beans.
There are parades and afternoon fun activities. One of the most popular activities is the three-legged
race. There are American flags everywhere and in the evening big fireworks displays in the cities.

Halloween
Halloween is celebrated on October 31. Among the old Celts it was the last day of the year and the
beginning of winter when witches and ghosts were supposed to celebrate their rites. When the
pagans were Christianized, the holiday was converted to the Eve of All Saints ´Day when the Christian
Church honours the memory of the dead. Halloween is celebrated in the north of England and in
Scotland. It is generally celebrated in the USA and Canada. Children celebrate it by dressing up in
Halloween costumes with masks over their faces. Carrying baskets or bags they go their friends’ and
neighbours´ houses, they knock at the door or ring the bell. When people come to the door, the
children say: “Trick or treat”, which means “Give us a treat or we will play a trick on you.” The people
treat the children with sweets, fruit or money. The most common trick is soaping the windows of
houses and cars (i.e. drawing pictures on the windows with soap). A favourite custom is to make a
jack-o´- lantern from a pumpkin which is scraped out and in which eyes, a nose and a mouth are cut
and then a candle is lit inside. People sometimes give parties on Halloween. The guests wear fancy
costumes and masks and the rooms are decorated with paper moons, witches and ghosts.

Veterans’ Day
The celebration is held on November 11 in the USA and honours the veterans of all wars.

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is celebrated on 4th Thursday in November. It is a national holiday in the USA and it was
first celebrated in 1621 by the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth colony, Massachusetts, on their first
harvest. They landed in the USA in their ship Mayflower in December 1620. Their first winter was
hard and a lot of people died. Next year in spring they started to grow food with the help of Indians.
They showed the pilgrims how to grow new kinds of plants and how to cook. In autumn 1621 they
celebrated their first harvest together. They wanted to thank God and the Indians for many things –
the good harvest, their new home, new life and new friends. Thanksgiving is a family holiday. People
have their traditional dinner consisting of turkey, sweet potatoes, beans, corn with cranberry sauce,
autumn vegetables, cider and pumpkin pie.

In GB, December 26th is called Boxing Day from the custom in earlier times of giving postmen,
milkmen, dustmen and newspaper boys small sums of money, which they collected in their Christmas
boxes. A pantomime is a traditional Christmas time entertainment but it is not a play without words.
It is a theatre show based on a fairy tale or traditional story with music, dancing, acrobatics and
clowning. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Peter Pan are the most favourite fairy tales for
dramatization.

Easter
Easter is a spring festival. It is connected with pre-Christian (Teutonic and Celtic) tradition; originally
it was a festival celebrating the spring equinox. The Christians commemorate Jesus´ crucifixion (Good
Friday) and his resurrection (Easter Sunday). The symbols of Easter are: eggs, rabbits (Easter Bunny),
daffodils, baby animals – chicks, ducklings, and kids. On Easter Sunday children hunt for eggs all
around the house, garden or even in parks. There is a tradition of “egg roll” in Britain and the USA.
You stand on the top of a hill and roll the eggs down. The winner is the person whose egg reaches the
bottom of the hill first. There is a traditional Easter Egg Roll in front of the White House in
Washington on Easter Monday. The British eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. They have young
lamb, spring peas, new potatoes and eggs for Easter Sunday diner.

Remembrance Day
On 11th November people in Britain remember those killed in the two world wars. There is a
ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, in which two minutes ´silence honours all men who
fought in defence of their country. People wear paper poppies made by disabled veterans. The
money raised by the sale of these poppies is given to charities involved with people who suffered in
the wars. The bright red wild flower became a symbol of World War I after the bloody battle in a field
of poppies called Flanders Field in Belgium.

St. Patrick´s Day

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. A lot of Americans came from Ireland. Every year on March
l7th cities with a large population of Irish Americans have parades. You can see millions of shamrocks
on St. Patrick´s Day and everything is green. Green is one of the national colours of Ireland. People
wear something green on this day; shops prepare green food such as green bread, green pasta, green
ice cream and green milkshakes. In many pubs they serve even green beer and most restaurants
offer an Irish menu. People wish each other “A happy St. Patrick´s Day” and the Irish wear buttons
with “Kiss me I´m Irish”. People have parties where they sing Irish songs and eat Irish food. In Britain
St. David´s Day (the patron saint of Wales, 1st March), St. George´s Day (the patron saint of England,
23rd April) and St. Andrew´s Day (the patron Saint of Scotland, 30th November) are also celebrated.

April Fools´Day
April 1 – It is named after a custom of playing practical jokes or tricks on people. If you manage a
good joke then you can call the person “April fool!”

DESCRIBING PICTURES:

Describe the pictures, please. (Talk about the atmosphere, meal, people, customs...)

USEFUL VOCABULARY

Ash Wednesday - the 7th Wednesday before Easter

baptism - a sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth
bar mitzvah -a traditional coming-of-age ritual for Jewish boys
birth certificate - a copy of the official document giving details of a person's birth
carnival - a traveling show featuring rides and games
celebration - a joyful occasion for festivities to mark some happy event
christening - giving a Christian name at baptism
Christmas Eve - the day before Christmas
event - something that happens at a given place and time
fancy dress - a costume worn as a disguise at a masquerade party
fasting - abstaining from food
festival - an organized series of acts and performances
Good Friday - Friday before Easter
gravestone - a stone that is used to mark a grave
graveyard - a tract of land used for burials
inherit - receive from a predecessor
Lent - a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
parade - a ceremonial procession including people marching
Ramadan - the ninth month of the Islamic calendar
ribbon - any long object resembling a thin line
Shrove Tuesday - the last day before Lent
will - the capability of conscious choice and decision
wreath - a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamentation

Easter Velikonoce Christian křesťanský

bunny zajíček holiday svátek
basket košík resurrection] zmrtvýchvstání
eggs vajíčka crucifixion ukřižování
cross kříž New Testament Nový zákon
fertility plodnost Lent [lent] období půstu (40 dní před Velikon.)
fast postít se, půst prayer modlení
lamb beránek moveable feast pohyblivý svátek
carol koleda full moon úplněk
bun buchta willow vrba
egg hunt hon za vajíčky Ash Wednesday Popeleční středa
decorate zdobit Maundy Thursday Zelený čtvrtek
painted egg malované vajíčko Good Friday Velký pátek
religious náboženský Holy Saturday Bílá sobota
Easter carolling pomlázka (zvyk) Easter Sunday Velikonoční neděle
pletená
Easter stick Easter Monday Velikonoční pondělí
pomlázka

Christmas:

snowflake sněhová vločka presents dárky

snowman sněhulák wrap presents balit dárky
Merry Christmas Veselé Vánoce carp kapr
Xmas Vánoce (slangově) potato salad bramborový salát
Christmas Eve Štědrý večer toast přípitek
Christmas tree vánoční stromek magic kouzlo
bell zvonek Christmas spirit duch Vánoc
star hvězda chimney komín
candle svíčka comet kometa
mistletoe jmelí miracle zázrak
Bethlehem betlém Christmas atmosphere vánoční nálada
carols koledy Christmas rush vánoční shon
tradition tradice punch punč, grog
traditional tradiční pumpkin pie dýňový koláč
celebrate slavit, oslavit stockings punčochy (nad krb)

decorations ozdoby sleigh sáně

customs zvyky reindeer sob
Christmas card vánoční přání holy svatý, nebeský
fireplace krb wish přání
Christmas cookies vánoční cukroví Santa Claus Santa / Ježíšek
gingerbread perníček North Pole severní pól
PAIR WORK

 Talk about Czech public holidays. When?/Why? etc…

 Name some of the US or British public holiday. When?/Why? etc…
 When is your favorite holiday celebrated?
 Is there is a person or god connected with these holidays?
 How do you decorate the inside/ outside of your house for some of the holidays?
 What special foods are associated with your favorite holiday?
 What is your favorite public holiday memory? Tell us about it.
 What is your worst public holiday memory? Tell us about it.
 What is best present you ever received?
 Do you celebrate public holidays differently now than you did when you were a child?
 What holiday is the most exciting in your country?
 Why do we celebrate Easter?
 Do you have any special family traditions?
 What do you think of Father's Day? Mother's Day? Parent's Day?
 Is there any non-religious holiday that has a special meaning for you?

MUSIC TERMINOLOGY

SINGING/ SPEAKING TECHNIQUE

What do we need when singing/ speaking on stage:

• Hard palate
• Soft palate
• Tongue
• Nose
• Teeth
• Vocal cords
• Lips
• Larynx
• Air
• Lungs
• Abdominal muscles
• Diaphragm (midsection)
• Back muscles , muscles between ribs ...and brain J