Festivals and Holidays of Great Britain Исполнитель

Festivals and Holidays of Great Britain

The Shakespeare Festival

Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, became the site of the first Stratford jubilee in 1769. On the site of Shakespeare’s own house a wooden amphitheatre was built, and two wagons arrived with fireworks. The neighbouring villages and towns were crammed with visitors. Medals were issued in copper, silver or gold with Shakespeare’s likeness on them. There was ringing of bells, firing of cannon at 5 o’clock in the morning, breakfast in the town hall, speeches and, of course, Shakespeare’s plays on the stage. This continued for three days.

Every year, on April 23, representatives of all nations walk from the theatre to the poet’s tomb in the church in Stratford-on-Avon.

Eisteddfod

The national Welsh Eisteddfod is devoted to music, literature and the arts. It is a competitive festival and is held the first week of August. All the proceedings are in the Welsh language. Prizes are awarded for music and prose, for verse and drama, for painting and craftwork. Thousands of people attend.

Eisteddfod is not only an important cultural event, but also a great social gathering, where hundreds of old friends meet to renew their friendships. Many families come for the day and bring their picnic baskets with them. The audience remains at the Eisteddfod from 11 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. Many of the present day Welsh singing stars started their careers at the Eisteddfod. Among the performers you can find children’s choirs, women’s choirs, mixed choirs and male choirs, which attract thousands of people.

The festival includes a colourful ceremony of the Crowning of the Bard. In the pavilion there is a throne on a platform. Trumpets sound and the Arch-druid, the main leader of the festival, calls out the name of the winning poet. The poet is led to the platform and robed in purple and crowned with golden oak leaves. The winner receives a small cash award, but the homage given to the poet at his coronation is boundless.

New Year

The celebration of New Year’s Eve is one of the oldest rites known to man. Julius Caesar set January 1 as the starting date of the new year and that is what it has been ever since. In Scotland, New Year’s Eve has always been one of the most important annual events. One Scottish New Year custom is the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight. When the clock strikes 12, everybody stands in a circle, crossing their arms and holding hands with those who are on either side, merrily singing Robert Burns’ poem:

Should old acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind

Should old acquaintance be forgot

And days of old lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne,

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

And here’s a hand, my trusty friend

And here’s a hand o’ thine,

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

The Scots also have a custom called first-footing. Young men wander from house to house after midnight, visiting with their neighbours. The first young man to enter a house is known as the first-foot. He has the right to kiss the girl who answers the door.

In England, New Year has never been as popular a holiday as it is in Scotland and most other countries.

April Fool ‘s Day

In England, April Fool’s Day is linked with spring, with the return of the sun and warmth. In Scotland an old name for April Fool’s Day is April-cuckoo. On this day, people play harmless jokes and pranks on friends and family.

Some jokes are played on larger groups of people. For example, on April 1, some time ago, a well-known TV commentator introduced a brief documentary film about spaghetti. He gave a description of the harvest in the spaghetti fields in Italy, with statistics about the previous year’s crop, and there, before their very eyes, the viewing public saw Italian farmers picking long strands of spaghetti off trees. Many of the viewers were completely taken in.

The Veteran Car Run

This annual celebration provides the brightest and most exciting motoring spectacle of the year and a wonderful opportunity to see fine old cars running along the road in all the glory of paint and polish. The veteran cars taking part must be at least 60 years old. The owners, drivers and passengers wear the Costumes of that period to harmonize with their vehicles, which one could call museum pieces. The London Brighton Run is not about speed but quality of performance

Comprehension Questions

1. What does the Stratford Jubilee celebrate?
2. What does Eisteddfod celebrate? Is English an important language at Eisteddfod?
3. In which area of Britain is New Year’s Eve especially popular?

Discussion Questions

1. Which holidays of Great Britain do you also celebrate? Are any of your holidays similar to theirs? (For example, is there an Uzbek “Eisteddfod”?)