America, America,
Land of hope and liberty,
Freedom rings from every mountain,
From sea to sea.
July 4th is Independence Day. Another name for Independence Day is the Fourth of July. On this day in 1776 the final of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted.
Independence Day is a national holiday. Government offices, banks, and schools close. Most people don’t go to work. Families and friends get together outside for picnics and cookouts.
Traditionally the Fourth of July is celebrate with firing of guns and fireworks, parades open – air meetings and speeches praising “Americanism, democracy, free enterprise.”
Independence Day isn’t only day for cookouts, noise, and fireworks. It is also a day to think about freedom. The Declaration of Independence says everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence more than 200 years old, but its ideas are important today.
Everything to both of us is so new.
As you learn about the world
I learn about you,
There’s no need to fear.
Daddy will be here,
And I’ll love and care for you
Through the years.
People in the United States honor their fathers with special day: Father’s Day. This holiday is celebrated on the third Sunday in June.
Father’s Day dates back to 1909, when one daughter, a certain Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, wanted to honor her own father who had raised four sons and a daughter after her mother’s death. Although the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane in 1910 and it has been likewise observed in many other states for many decades, Father’s Day did not become a national holiday until Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to establish it as such in 1972.
Giving cards and gifts is the tradition of this holiday. Children make them in schools. Many people make their own presents. Greeting cards, stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies and other stores do a lot of business during this day.
Labor Day is a legal holiday. It is celebrated each year on the first Monday in September. It was planned as a day to honor workers in America and to give them a long weekend holiday from work.
Labor Day was started in 1882 by a union called the Knights of Labor. The first celebration was a long parade followed by a picnic in New York City. In 1894 Congress made it a legal holiday.
Labor Day is traditionally celebrated with parades, speeches, and recognition of the labor unions. Labor Day sales are a popular event held on this holiday. Barbecues and picnics are popular on Labor Day. They mark the end of the summer season. Schools usually open after this holiday.
It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween!
The moon is full and bright
And we shall see what we can’t be seen
On any other night.
Halloween is the day or evening before All Saints Day. The name is a shortened version of “All Hallows Eve” the night before All Saints Day which is celebrated on November 1st by the Catolic Church. Halloween customs date back to a time when people believed in devils, witches and ghost. They thought that these evil spirits could do all kinds of damage to property. Some people tried to ward off witches by paintings signs on their barns. Others tried to scare them away by nailing a piece of iron, such as horseshoe, over the door.
Now most of people do not believe in evil spirits. On this day they just have a nice holiday. Children dress up as ghosts and witches and go out into the street to beg. They from house to house and say: “Trick or treat!”, meaning “Give me a treat or I’ll play a trick on you”. People give them candy, cookies and apples. This custom comes from the Celts in ancient Britain who feared the coming of winter and dressed in frightening costumes so the demons of winter would think they were one of them and do them no harm. Hence, the origin of costumes for today’s celebration: It represents a devil coming to your home whom you can placate with a treat.
A favorite custom is making a jack – o – lantern. Children scrape out a pumpkin and cut the outlines of eyes, nose and mouth in its side. They light a candle inside the pumpkin to scare their friends. This custom refers to a man named Jack who still wanders around the earth lighting his way with a pumpkin lantern.
The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is Election Day. It is a legal holiday. Since 1845, by Act of Congress, this date has been set aside for elections.
On this day American citizen elect their public officials, president, congressmen, governors, mayors and judges. All states require that voters be citizens of the United States.
“Election Day” sales in stories are very popular on this day. The night of the election, people watch the election results on TV. They listen to the speeches made by the winners.
November 11th is a national holiday. Veterans Day is a day to remember and honor all those Americans who served in the armed forces and particularly those who fought during the Spanish – Americans War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. People also remember those soldiers missing in action. This day reminds people of the courage and patriotism of all men and women who serve their country.
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day so Americans would not forget the tragedies of war. In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day to honor all United States veterans. It is also a day dedicated to world peace.
On this day, the radio and television broadcast services held at the National Cemetery in Arlington. High officials come from Washington to attend these services. They place a wreath of flowers at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All stand in silence for a few minutes at eleven o’clock to honor the memory of the serviceman killed in the two World Wars.
When Pilgrims sailed to this new land,
They met a friendly Indian band.
The Indians taught them to plant, hunt, and fish,
Then they all had a feast with many a tasty dish.
Thanksgiving Day is marked on the fourth Thursday of November in memory of the first Thanksgiving Day held by the early Pilgrim settles in Massachusetts in 1621, in gratitude for the successful harvest. They experienced difficulty in those early times and survived only with the help of American Indians who taught them how to grow and harvest indigenous foods such as squash and corn. The first Thanksgiving day lasted three days and was celebrated with their Indian friends.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national day of observance by Congress in 1941 .
Thanksgiving Day is a four – day holiday for most Americans. This is a family holiday. Families come together from near and far. In some places special religious services are held in the morning. Then comes the traditional feast. Turkey with stuffing is the main dish. It is served with sweet potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Apple cider is the drink of the day.
Football is the most popular game on this day. Usually there are several football games to watch on TV. There is Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Stores, classrooms, and homes are decorated with turkeys, pilgrims, Indians, wreaths of dried flowers, and vegetables. Horns of plenty are also very popular.
It’s time for hanging stockings,
It’s time for riding sleighs,
It’s time for jolly greeting,
Snow and holly overeating,
It’s Christmas! Merry Christmas!
It’s the best of holidays.
Christmas is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Americans celebrate Christmas on December the 25th . It is usually a one – day official holiday, but it is proceeded and followed by festive parties. By this day people decorate fir - trees with toys and candies. Children wait for Santa Claus who comes to every house and brings them presents. Before going to bed, children leave their shoes to find in them what they want most of all the next morning.
Decorating the house with holly, ivy and mistletoe is a custom, which comes from England. Ivy means immortality. Holly is a bush with shiny red berries and glossy leaves with a characteristic shape and sharp pointy edges. Because it remains green throughout the year it was believed to hold a promise that the sun would return. Holly'’ berries symbolize Christ’s blood. Mistletoe is an interesting green parasitic plant which grows in globe – like formations high up in the branches of oak trees. Springs of it are tied together with ribbons and hung up in doorways. By custom anyone standing under the mistletoe gets to be kissed.
Christmas is a family holiday. Schools and colleges close between Christmas and New Year’s Day. People stay at home and spend the time with their families. Everybody tries to come home for Christmas. People send cards or Christmas greetings to family and friends away from home. All the members of the family exchange gifts. It is a merry holiday.
Some holidays in America have their own symbols. Here they are:
1. Presidents Day 6. Independence Day
2. Columbus Day 7. New Year’s Day
3. St. Patrick’s Day 8. Martin Luther King’s day
4. Easter 9. Christmas
5. Valentine’s Day 10. Halloween
And there are festival post cards for every holiday, which American people give the friends and relatives when they congratulate each other. Here are some postcards for some parties:
Such are the US holidays. A holiday has simply become, for most Americans, a day off from work. No matter what the holiday’s origin is, they all seem to be the same thing, though some (for example, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween) retain some individuality.
The list of literature:
1. “Holidays Go Round and Round”; Authors: Kathleen Carroll, Marina Novikova. St Petersburg, 1996, Triada Publishing.
2. “Английский для поступающих в ВУЗы”; Authors: Цветкова И. В., Клепальченко И. А., Мыльцева Н. А. Москва, ГЛОССА, 1995.
3. “95 устных тем по английскому языку”; Author: Занина Е. А. Москва, Айрис Рольф, 1997.
4. “Spotlight on the USA”; Author: Natalia Timanovskaya. Тула, Автограф, 1996.
5. “Living in the United States”. Intercultural exchange series. Copy right 1994.
6. “Happy English 2”; Authors: Татьяна Клементьева, Джилл Шэннон. Обнинск, Титул, 1996.
7. “English”. Еженедельное приложение к газете “ Первое сентября”, N 7, 9, 11, 17, 18, 20, 29, 32, 36, 42, 1994.