"Customs and Traditions"

There are many customs and traditions in  England.  And  I  would

like to tell you some of them. First tradition is  called  "Wrong

side of the bed" When people are bad tempered we  say  that  they

must have got out of bed on the wrong side.  Originally,  it  was

meant quiet literally. People belive that the way  they  rose  in

the morning affected their behaivor throughout the day. The wrong

side of the bed was the left side. The left  always  having  been

linked with evil.  Second  custom  is  called  "Blowing  out  the

candles" The custom of having candles on birthday cakes goes back

to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis, godess of the moon

and hunting, used to place honey  cakes  on  the  altars  of  her

temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the full  moon

and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the  middle

ages when German peasants  lit  tapers  on  birthday  cakes,  the

number lit indicating the person's age,  plus  an  extra  one  to

represent the light of life. From earliest  days  burning  tapers

had been endoued with mystical significance and  it  was  belived

that when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and

ensure a happy year ahead. And the last tradition I would like to

tell you is called "The 5th of November" On the 5th  of  November

in almost every otwn and village in England  you  will  see  fire

burning, fireworks, cracking and lighting up the  sky.  You  will

see too small groups of children pulling round  in  a  home  made

cart, a figure that looks something like a man but consists of an

old suit of clothes, stuffed with straw. The children will sing:"

Remember, remember the 5th of November; Gun powder,  treason  and

plot". And they will ask passers-by for "a penny for the Guy" But

the children with "the Guy" are not likely to know  who  or  what

day they are celebrating. They have done this more or less  every

5th of November since 1605. At that time James the First  was  on

the throne. He was hated with many  people  especialy  the  Roman

catholics against whom many sever laws had been passed. A  number

of catholics chief of whom was Robert Catesby determined to  kill

the King and his ministers by blowing up the house of  Parliament

with gunpowder. To help them in  this  they  got  Guy  Fawker,  a

soldier of fortune, who would do the actual work. The  day  fixed

for attempt was the  5th  of  November,  the  day  on  which  the

Parliament was to open. But one of the consperators  had  several

friends in the parliament and he didn't want them to die.  So  he

wrote a letter to Lord Monteagle begging him to make some  excuse

to be  absent  from  parliament  if  he  valued  his  life.  Lord

Monteagle took the letter hurrily to the King. Guards  were  sent

at once to examine the cellars of the house  of  Parliament.  And

there they found Guy Fawker about to fire a trail  of  gunpowder.

He was tortured and hanged, Catesby was killed, resisting  arrest

in his own house. In  memory  of  that  day  bonfires  are  still

lighted, fireworks shoot across the November sky and  figures  of

Guy Fawker are burnt in the streets.

Customs and traditions of english speaking countries.

     Every country and every nation has it's own traditions and customs.It's very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about  the history and life of different nations and countries.One cannot speak about England without speaking about it's traditions and customs .They are very important in the life of English people.Englishman are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There are six public holidays a year in G.B.. Cristmas day is one of their favorite holidays.It's celebrated on the 25-th of december. There are some traditions connected with it.One of them is to give presents to each other.It is not only children and members of family.It's a tradition to give cristmas presents to the people you work with.Another tradition is to send cristmas cards.All these cards are brightly and coloured.Most of big cities of G.B.,especially London, are decorated with coloured lights and cristmas trees. On Trafalgar Square, in the center of London stands a big cristmas tree.It is a gift from the people of Oslo.It is over 50 feet  high. Many families celebrate cristmas day in the open air near the cristmas tree in order to catch the spirit of cristmas.Children find cristmas presents in their stockings.The traditional english dinner on cristmas is turkey and pudding.Other great holidays are:FatherТs day,MotherТs day,Helloween and other.