East­er

East­er – it’s a big reli­gious hol­i­day, because Chris­tians cel­e­brate the Res­ur­rec­tion of Jesus Christ. The date of cel­e­brat­ing changes every year. It falls on one of spring Sun­days. Sev­en weeks before East­er – it is the Lent. Peo­ple must not eat the ani­mal prod­ucts and meal 7 weeks.

Peo­ple pre­pare for the cel­e­bra­tion dur­ing the last week, which we name Holy Week. Of course, the cus­toms relat­ed with this day are dif­fer­ent in every coun­try. For exam­ple, East­er cakes and East­er eggs are the tra­ ... Читать дальше »

April’s Fool

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Maslenitsa

There are many holidays and festivals in Russia. But Maslenitsa is the most original Russian festival. It lasts the whole week (from Monday till Sunday) and includes many events. Furthermore, according to archeological evidence Maslenitsa may be the oldest surviving Slavic holiday.

Maslenitsa originated from pagan times. This holiday symbolized the beginning of spring. The Slavs welcomed the Sun and made pancakes. They believed that a hot pancake is a symbol of the sun. Later Maslenitsa became a Christian holiday. The festival starts right before the Great Lent, so it is the last chance to bask in worldly delights. During the Maslenitsa week people enjoy almost any food, except meat.

Historically the festival was devided in two parts. The first three days were called a Small Maslenitsa. During this time people worked, cleaned, cooked pancakes and prepared for the main events o ... Читать дальше »

MY FAVOURITE SEASON!

Spring is a beautiful time of year. In the spring the snow melts,the grass is green, birds come from the south. The temperature in spring is above zero and therefore it's warm outside. I like spring, because in spring the days are sunny and bright, birds sing and the days get longer.

CHRISTMAS

England is a country with long standing  traditions in celebrating Christmas.  Some of them are well-known, especially from English movies and literature.

Every year all cities and small towns are decorated with Christmas trees and fairy lights. The biggest Christmas tree is situated on Trafalgar Square, but there are lots of smaller ones in public places all around the country. The most popular are different evergreen trees such as pine, spuce, fir.  In modern England many people prefer artificial trees instead of real ones.

The tradition of Christmas tree came from early modern Germany, where Christians brought evergreen trees to their homes. The legend says that the 1^st  English Christmas tree was placed in the royal home of  Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.  Of course nobody forgets to hang a mistletoe, called “kissing bough”- you should kis ... Читать дальше »

Little Snowflake 

Day of People’s Unity

Unity Day (also called Day of People’s Unity or National Unity Day; Russian: День народного единства, Denʹ narodnava yedinstva) is a national holiday in Russia held on November 4 (October 22, Old Style). It commemorates the popular uprising which expelled Polish–Lithuanian occupation forces from Moscow in November 1612, and more generally the end of the  ... Читать дальше »