CUSTOMS AND CELEBRATIONS

USA:

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Easter Crosswords
• Halloween
• Memorial Day
• Valentine’s Day
• Veterans Day – 11^th November
• Independence Day – 4^th July
• Columbus Day – 12^th October

CZ:

• Christmas
• Easter Crosswords

GB:

• Christmas

Americans holidays are:

Thanksgiving – when the first people came to America from Europe in 1620 and they have a little food. The first winter was very cold and many people became ill and died. However, the Native Americans, who lived there to helped them. They gave seeds of corn and they helped them to plant. By November 1621 all of them had food and home. To thank the Native Americans settlers invited them to a special dinner to celebratied their friendship. This was a first Thanksgiving.

Today is Thanksgiving most important festival specific to theUnited States celebration on the last Thursday in November. Its last four days. Thanksgiving has became celebration of the bounty of food and of family live in America. Traditional food are turkey and cranberries. Many Americans travel for they family, anybody give money, food and clothes to homeless and childrens.

Christmas – in the USA this holiday has grown in popularity ever since. The typical symbols are: Santa Claus, decorate christmas tree, gift, traditional foods and cooky. Because some religious don’t celebrated Christmas, the Christmas has expended in „holiday season“ including Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Halloween – is older season. It is especially atractive for children in USA. They carve the inside ant of a pumpkin and they cut a face and put candle inside. The night of October 31 children go from house . They have ghastly masks (witches, magicians, monsters…) and they knocking on doors and say trick-on-treat. The owner of the house must give them smal pressent (tofee, apples…) or they will play tricks on him.

Easter Crosswords is religions festival celebrating the crucifiction and ressurection of Jesus Christ. The traditional symbol is Easter Egg.

Memorial Day is 30^th May. This day celebration honour those who died during the Americans Civil war.

St.Valintine’s Day is the day of loves. You give presents to your girlfriend or boyfriend and send a special valentine card. The commonly valentine gifts are flowers – especialy red roses and boxes of chocolate. Its 14^th February.

CZ + GB

Very popular in the Czech Republic are Christmas. We celebrate Christmas on the 24^th December in honour of the birth of Jesus Christ. We start to prepare for four weeks before Christmas Eve. This period of the time is called Advent. Children have a special calendar called a Christmas Calendar. It is usually made out of paper and it has twenty four windows. Every day the children open one of them to find a picture and piece of chocolate. During the time of Advent women are very busy cleaning the house, cooking and baking Christmas cookies and cakes. Christmas tree is a traditional symbol.

Christmas dinner starts around 6 p.m. We usually have fisch soup and deep fried carp with potato salad. The best part of the day comes after the dinner. It is opening the present. Children wait to heart two ronging bell signal from the „infant jesus“. Some people have a tradition of going to durch for midnight mass.

In Great Britain there is a Christmas Day on 25^th December. The Children find their presents from Santa Claus under the Christmas tree in the morning. Many families attend the church. Traditional Christmas dinner is turkey and potatoes.

I like Christmas atmosphere, decorated Christmas tree and shopping gifts. I sopping in last-minute and the selection of gifts is very difficult. I spend every time all money. Mainly is, that I will do pleasure for my family and friends.

Easter Crosswords – this holiday is very popular in the Czech Rrepublic. We celebrate in early spring on Easter Monday. All man and boys go from house and whip the woman with a stick. The woman give them decorated eggs or chocolate.