Топик: Традиции и праздники в США
Take the quiz first, then read about the history of Thanksgiving to find out about the answers you missed! When you're finished, I would appreciate it if you would sign the guestbook to let me know what you learned!
Pearl Harbor Day ( December 7)
In Memoriam:
At dawn on Sunday, December 7, 1941, naval aviation forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet center at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and other military targets. The goal of this attack was to sufficiently cripple the US Fleet so that Japan could then attack and capture the Phillipines and Indo-China and so secure access to the raw materials needed to maintain its position as a global military and economic power. This would enable Japan to further extend the empire to include Australia, New Zealand, and India (the ultimate boundaries planned for the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere"). The prevailing belief within the Japanese military and political establishment was that eventually, with the then expected German defeat of Great Britain and Soviet Russia, the United States' non-involvement in the European war, and Japan's control of the Pacific, that the world power structure would stabilize into three major spheres of influence:
Christmas (December 25)
At Christmas, people remember when Jesus Christ was born and the Christian religion started. Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, about two thousands years ago. The people who followed Jesus' teaching were the first Christians.
Today, Christmas is a very important time in the Christian year, but it is also very important to those who do not go to church. It is a time for buying and giving presents, having parties, and being with family.
People start to get ready for Christmas in late October or early November. Shop - keepers decorate their shops with lights, trees and other decorations, and shoppers start to look for presents. Shops get very busy and stay open later. People with family and friends in other countries often send them cards and presents, and everyone begins to make plans for the coming holiday.
Many children have parties at school, and many adults have parties at work in December. Most people have 25 and 26 December off work, and many have a week off, from 25 December to 1 January. They usually spend this time at home with their family or visiting family who live far away.
The Christmas holiday begins on 24 December: Christmas Eve. People often stop work early and have a drink together, or finish their Christmas a shopping. They cover the presents in special papers, and put them under the tree.
Many people go to church at midnight on Christmas Eve. They hear the Christmas story and sing carols.
Christmas Day ( 25 December ) is a holiday. Children usually wake up very early. They look in their stockings to see what Santa put there for them. After breakfast they open their other presents around the tree.
Christmas dinner is in the afternoon and is the biggest meal of the day. Before they start to eat, people pull crackers. The crackers make a loud noise, and have a small game and paper party hat inside.
Dinner is usually turkey with lots of winter vegetables and then hot mince pies or a Christmas pudding.
At three o'clock many people in Britain turn their televisions on because the Queen say
"Happy Christmas " to everyone.
A lot of people go for a walk in the afternoon or play with their new games.
In the evening, people eat cold meat, and Christmas cake ( a kind of fruit cake ), fruit and nuts, but they are usually not very hungry because of t5heir big dinner.
Another British Christmas tradition is the pantomime. A pantomime is a kind of play with a children's story ( like Cinderella or Aladdin ) and lots of music and songs. Children like pantomimes because they can join in and make a lot of noise. They often go with their school or family.
The Christmas season ends on the twelfth day after 25 December, which is 6 January. Most people take down their Christmas trees and decorations by this date, and some people think it is bad luck not to do that.