Топик: USA holidays
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day so Americans would not forget the tragedies of war. In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veterans Day to honor all United States veterans. It is also a day dedicated to world peace.
On this day, the radio and television broadcast services held at the National Cemetery in Arlington. High officials come from Washington to attend these services. They place a wreath of flowers at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All stand in silence for a few minutes at eleven o’clock to honor the memory of the serviceman killed in the two World Wars.
THANKSGIVING DAY
When Pilgrims sailed to this new land,
They met a friendly Indian band.
The Indians taught them to plant, hunt, and fish,
Then they all had a feast with many a tasty dish.
Thanksgiving Day is marked on the fourth Thursday of November in memory of the first Thanksgiving Day held by the early Pilgrim settles in Massachusetts in 1621, in gratitude for the successful harvest. They experienced difficulty in those early times and survived only with the help of American Indians who taught them how to grow and harvest indigenous foods such as squash and corn. The first Thanksgiving day lasted three days and was celebrated with their Indian friends.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national day of observance by Congress in 1941 .
Thanksgiving Day is a four – day holiday for most Americans. This is a family holiday. Families come together from near and far. In some places special religious services are held in the morning. Then comes the traditional feast. Turkey with stuffing is the main dish. It is served with sweet potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Apple cider is the drink of the day.
Football is the most popular game on this day. Usually there are several football games to watch on TV. There is Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Stores, classrooms, and homes are decorated with turkeys, pilgrims, Indians, wreaths of dried flowers, and vegetables. Horns of plenty are also very popular.
CHRISTMAS
It’s time for hanging stockings,
It’s time for riding sleighs,
It’s time for jolly greeting,
Snow and holly overeating,
It’s Christmas! Merry Christmas!
It’s the best of holidays.
Christmas is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Americans celebrate Christmas on December the 25th . It is usually a one – day official holiday, but it is proceeded and followed by festive parties. By this day people decorate fir - trees with toys and candies. Children wait for Santa Claus who comes to every house and brings them presents. Before going to bed, children leave their shoes to find in them what they want most of all the next morning.
Decorating the house with holly, ivy and mistletoe is a custom, which comes from England. Ivy means immortality. Holly is a bush with shiny red berries and glossy leaves with a characteristic shape and sharp pointy edges. Because it remains green throughout the year it was believed to hold a promise that the sun would return. Holly'’ berries symbolize Christ’s blood. Mistletoe is an interesting green parasitic plant which grows in globe – like formations high up in the branches of oak trees. Springs of it are tied together with ribbons and hung up in doorways. By custom anyone standing under the mistletoe gets to be kissed.
Christmas is a family holiday. Schools and colleges close between Christmas and New Year’s Day. People stay at home and spend the time with their families. Everybody tries to come home for Christmas. People send cards or Christmas greetings to family and friends away from home. All the members of the family exchange gifts. It is a merry holiday.
Some holidays in America have their own symbols. Here they are:
1. Presidents Day 6. Independence Day
2. Columbus Day 7. New Year’s Day
3. St. Patrick’s Day 8. Martin Luther King’s day
4. Easter 9. Christmas
5. Valentine’s Day 10. Halloween
And there are festival post cards for every holiday, which American people give the friends and relatives when they congratulate each other. Here are some postcards for some parties:
Such are the US holidays. A holiday has simply become, for most Americans, a day off from work. No matter what the holiday’s origin is, they all seem to be the same thing, though some (for example, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween) retain some individuality.
The list of literature: