Easter Customs in Northern Ireland

These days people enjoy chocolate eggs at Easter, but there was a time in Northern Ireland when duck eggs would have been eaten in large quantities on Easter Sunday - with a competition to see who could eat the most! It was also a traditional pastime to paint hard-boiled eggs with faces and roll them down a hill. Easter was an important occasion, people liked to look their best and it was often the first outing for new clothes and a beautiful Easter bonnet. Numerous fairs were held on Easter Monday or, if you were lucky, you'd go on a day trip to somewhere like Bangor.

Task 6. Check yourself questions:

1. What are the origins of Christmas?

2. What are traditional Christmas decorations?

3. What is the symbolism of holly?

4. What is traditional Christmas food?

5. What are popular entertainments for Christmas?

6. Where do Highland Games take place and what happens there?

7. How do people in Scotland celebrate the New Year?

8. What Scottish holiday is celebrated on the 25^th of January?

9. What Welsh holiday is celebrated on the first of March?

10. What festival in Wales helps to preserve the Welsh language?

12. What are other traditional holidays in Wales?

13. What is the origin of the Red Dragon of Wales?

14. What do you know about St Patrick?

15. Why did young people go to Gretna Green?

Task 7. Classify the following into four groups: English traditions, Welsh traditions, Scottish traditions and Irish traditions.

Tartan, Red Dragon, afternoon tea, Eisteddfod, tug of war, tossing the caber, love spoons, Flambaux, red double-decker, leek, white ribbon, Cymanfa Ganu, Burn’s Night, shamrock, bagpipes, first footing, singing “Auld Lang Syne”, wishing wells, harp, throwing stones in the fire, haggis, pearlies.

Task 8. Match up the names of events and places where they happen.

1. Eisteddfod a) St Martins in the Field

2. Highland Games b) Llangolan

3. Pearly Kings and Queens Gathering c) Scotland

4. Noson Lowen d) Braemar

5. Hogmany e) Wales

Task 9. Use Internet resources to find additional material about customs and traditions in the UK. The presentation of your information may take the form of a panel discussion.

Theme 10. Going out

Task 1. Before reading discuss where you and your friends usually go out. Then read the information below and find similarities and differences in British and Russian cultures.

Basic facts:

• In the United Kingdom People do not frequently invite friends to visit them at home, they prefer to go to a pub or to a restaurant, or to the theatre together.

• You can find a pub even in a small village, in cities there are hundreds.

• Beer Festivals is a tradition in Britain supported by pubs.

• The Gentlemen's Club is an English institution, a place where like-minded men could meet.  Many of the clubs were politically based, their origins being coffee houses.

• Britain is a very theatrical nation with old theatrical traditions.

• Theatre in Britain is a powerful instrument of education as well as art and culture.

• Class distinctions usually predetermine where people prefer to go out.

1. Pubs.