Famous englishmen

London is the home of many famous Englishmen. Some were born there. Some lived there all their lives. Others lived in London only for a short time but all gave something to this great city.

One of the first names of importance was that of Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet. He lived most of his life in London. Chaucer held official posts in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

William Shakespeare also lived in London, but he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. He had lived there for more than twenty years. He acted at the Globe Theatre and most of his plays were written in London.

Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, spent most of his time in London. He designed many beautiful churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Another famous London figure was one of England’s greatest seamen, Admiral Nelson. He has a very special memorial in Trafalgar Square. On top of it stands a figure of Nelson. It is called the Nelson Column. Equally famous is the general under whose command the army at the battle of Waterloo in 1815 was led. This was the Duke of Wellington. His house stands at Hyde Park corner. It is sometimes known as Number One, London. Like Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Wellington was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Customs and traditions

Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Foreigners coming to England are struck at once by quite a number of customs and peculiarities in English life. Some ceremonies are rather formal, such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour, the State Opening of Parliament.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great English national holiday and in Scotland it is not observed at all. But six days later, on New Year’s Eve the Scotts begin to enjoy themselves. All the shops and factories are closed on New Year’s Day. People invite their friends to their houses. Greeting and presents are offered.

The many non-religious traditions associated with Christmas are in fact not very old, dating back only to the 19^th century. These are mostly for children. On Christmas Eve, children hang stockings at the end of their beds or over the fireplace. They are told that Father Christmas or Santa Claus arrives at night from the North Pole on his flying sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, climbs down the chimney and fills each stocking with presents. The children open their presents – put there secretly by their parents – on Christmas morning.

Lunch is the most important point of Christmas Day. The traditional lunch consists of roast turkey with vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding, which is made with dried fruit and brandy. Sometimes a coin is put in the pudding as a surprise.

The day after Christmas Day is called Boxing Day (probably after the church alms box which was opened for the poor on that day) and this too is a public holiday.

The united states of america

After its 200^th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that inspired many appellations – “Land of Opportunity,” “Melting Pot,” “God’s Country,” is still referred to us as a land of superlatives – “the richest,” “the greatest,” “the most.”

What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries.

The United States lies in the central part of the North American Continent between the two oceans: the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Friendly Canada to the north and friendly Mexico to the south are the only countries bordering it.

The USA consists of three separate parts. They are the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska separated by the Canadian territory and the rest major part of the USA. The states differ very much in size, population and economic development.

There are many big cities and towns in the USA: New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, and Los Angeles are the biggest of them.

The United States of America is a parliamentary republic. The government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).

There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolized by a “donkey”) and the Republican (its symbol is an “elephant”). The US President is both head of state and government. He is elected for a four-year term. Presidential elections are held every leap year on first Tuesday after first Monday in November. The President is assisted by Secretaries who are the heads of the executive departments. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president who was elected four times.

The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who are appointed for life. It is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is constitutional or not.

The form of US government is based on the Constitution of September 17, 1787, adopted after the War of Independence.

The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states and the House represents the population according to its distribution among the states.

In 1790 the US Congress decided to build a capital on the Potomac River along the Virginia-Maryland border. President Washington selected the area which was named the District of Columbia after Christopher Columbus. The capital was originally called Federal City and later was renamed after the nation’s first president.

STATISTICS. 300 million people live in America. The capital is Washington D.C. It’s the fourth largest country in the world.

FACTS AND FIGURES. The USA is a federal republic. It has 50 states and one Federal District – the District of Columbia. Forty-eight of the states are joined together. The largest state Alaska is separated by Canada and Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean, these two states were the last to join the USA in 1959. Each state has its own governor and its own laws.

THE FIRST AMERICANS. Prehistoric people came from North East Asia into America 37,000 years ago. These became the ancestors of the American Indians. 1000 years ago Vikings arrived from Scandinavia. In 1492 Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ America. He arrived in the Bahamas on the 12^th of October 1492.

HISTORY IN BRIEF.

1607: The Pilgrim Fathers from England landed in New England.

1664: The British captured the town of New Amsterdam from the Dutch and

named it New York.

1775: The American War of Independence began.

1776: America became independent on the 4^th of July.

1789: G. Washington became the first president.

1848: They discovered gold in California. The ‘Gold Rush’ began.

1865: It was against the law to keep slaves.

1890: The Americans finally beat the Indians at the battle of Wounded Knee.