XVIII Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
Праздничные традиции в России и Великобритании
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя III степени
Полная версия работы доступна во вкладке "Файлы работы" в формате PDF
Introduction:
Nowadays there are many holidays, each of them has a certain meaning. To understand peoples of other countries, it is not enough to know only the language, it is necessary to know culture and history of the country. Therefore, it is very significant in our days to study culture and traditions which include learning features of various holidays and customs adopted by peoples of Russia and Great Britain. The main holidays of these countries existed and still exist. They have not lost their concept because they are an integral part of every person’s life. I really like English and I would like to connect my future profession with language learning, that’s why I need to know as much as possible about the country of the language being studied. I decided to start from the holidays because they represent history of the country. We have learned about the main holidays on our English lessons, but there wasn't enough information, so I decided to research this topic. When you study culture and traditions of another country and compare them with your own one, you learn a lot of new things about your country.
The aim of the project: identifying the features of the festive traditions of Great Britain and Russia.
Tasks:
to find out which holidays are important to both countries;
to analyze traditions of celebrations in both countries;
to identify similarities and differences between the traditions;
to create an online game «Festive traditions of Russia and Great Britain».
The project's product: a game with the main traditions of holidays in Russia and the UK.
The object: festive traditions of the Russian Federation and the UK.
Methods of work: search, analysis and comparison of information.
The practical value of the project is that the product can be used in English lessons at school to broaden student’s horizon; everyone can use it for general development.
The target audience: teachers of English,students of secondary and high school.
The history of the festive traditions in Russia
In the 20th century the government introduced new national holidays: the 1st of January – New Year's Day, the 12th of March – Day of the overthrow of the autocracy, the 18th of March – Paris Commune Day, the 18th of April – Holy Saturday, the 19th – 20th of April – Easter, the 1st of May – International Day, the 7th of November – the anniversary of the October revolution. This list quickly and significantly changed. For example, International Day was renamed International Workers' Day in the mid - 1930s.
The next significant holiday that emerged in the USSR was Victory Day in 1945. In 1965, the second Victory Parade was organised on Red Square. From that year, the 9th of May became a day off. The tradition of this holiday is that citizens of each city organise a solemn parade and demonstration, lay flowers at war memorials and launch festive fireworks in the evening.
T he second trend of ceremonial traditions in Russia was the return of Christian feast days to the public sphere. Easter and Christmas were widely celebrated. On Christmas, there was a tradition of caroling – going from house to house and singing songs. But traditions have changed and now, just as on New Year's Day, it is a customary to put up Christmas tree, congratulate relatives and give them presents. On Easter, people paint eggs and prepare Easter dishes such as kulichi, curds and other Easter dishes.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1996, October Revolution Day was renamed Consent Day, based on a certain decree of mitigating confrontation and reconciliation of all sorts of strata of Russian society. Since 2005, the holiday has been moved to November 4 and is called People's Unity Day. Festive concerts, demonstrations and meetings are organised and held by political parties in many Russian cities this day.
Holiday traditions have changed over the years, some of them have lost their value and others have gained. For example, Russians prefer such holidays as Christmas, Defender of the Fatherland Day, International Women's Day, Spring and Labour Day and Russia Day. All holidays are different and so are their traditions. For example, on Defender of the Fatherland Day it is a customary to congratulate and give gifts to men and people who fought in the war. As for International Women's Day, women are given compliments and gifts. On Spring and Labour Day, some people like to work in dachas, while others go out for a picnic with a family or friends. On Russia Day, people wear ribbons with the national flag of Russia, organise concerts and performances.
Festive traditions in the United Kingdom
T
o begin with, the word holiday comes from the phrase “holy day”, which was dedicated to worship in the past. The British also have many weird festivals such as Straw Bear Festival, Scare crow Festival, Kissing Friday, Blessing of the Throat's Day, Cheese Rolling Championships, Bog Snorkelling Championship and others.
L ooking at the history of the official holidays, we can learn a lot. It is believed that the tradition of celebrating Christmas in Britain was spread by Augustine of Canterbury, who held a mass baptism of the English on Christmas Day in 597. On Christmas Day, the main British Christmas tree is set up and decorated in Trafalgar Square in London. After Christmas comes Boxing Day, when the British either go to each other's houses with presents or stay home to watch films and eat leftovers from Christmas dinner. As for New Year's Day, until 1752 the British celebrated Christmas and New Year at the same time, according to the Julian calendar of the time. In 1752 Britain switched to the Gregorian calendar and the date of New Year moved from the 25th of December to the 1st of January. Now New Year is considered less significant than Christmas. Before New Year's Eve, Brits make New Year's resolutions and goals for the coming year.
Speaking about Valentine's Day, we’ve learnt that during the late Middle Ages in England there were legends that linked the life of St Valentine to secret marriages of lovers. In the 14th century the English writer Geoffrey Chaucer romanced this popular belief in a poem called “The Parliament of Birds”. Since then the holiday, named Valentine's Day (the day of St Valentine’s execution), has been celebrated in Britain. It is common for lovers to give each other Valentine's cards and gifts and arrange surprises.
Britons celebrate Easter since Christianity has been spread in the country. Many Easter traditions came before the Christian era. Easter celebrations begin as early as Good Friday, when cross buns are baked at dawn and served for breakfast. Sunday dawns with religious services and organ music concerts in British churches. There are children's parties in parks and restaurants with egg-hunting contests.
H alloween originated in the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, which was celebrated in late October and was associated with supernatural forces. When the British Isles were converted to Christianity, many of the pagan festivals persisted, getting a new name. Samhain became All Hallowed Soul's Eve, but it was soon shortened to Halloween. Nowadays families amuse themselves by carving pumpkins and decorating their homes, which are then hung on windowsills or outside the house to scare passers-by. Children dress up in scary costumes and go door to door begging for sweets or money with the words Trick or Treat.
A s for Guy Fawkes' Night, it is known that on the night of the 5th of November in 1605, a group of conspirators attempted to blow up the British Parliament. One of the co-conspirators, named Guy Fawkes, wanted to light a fuse under the gunpowder room, but he was arrested. Parliament called for Londoners to hold a feast to celebrate the king's saving life and to light fires in the streets. A scarecrow of Guy Fawkes was made and burned.
The origins of May Day are unknown. The festival was not based on a magical ritual guarding the fertility of crops, it was an expression of the community's ideas of happiness and pleasure. The emphasis of the festival was on solidarity and human unity rather than anything supernatural. On May Day people dance around a beautiful May tree, which is decorated with colourful ribbons and placed in the centre of the village. The tree is usually made of wooden poles held together by a thick rope.
T he Irish began celebrating St Patrick's Day in the 10th century. It was also celebrated in other European countries where there was an Irish diaspora. In the early 17th century, the Catholic Church included this day in the liturgical calendar. Christian and pagan traditions are closely intertwined in celebration of this day. On St Patrick's Day it is a tradition to wear green clothes.
The British prefer Christmas, St Valentine's Day, Easter, May Day, Halloween, St Patrick's Day and Guy Fawkes' Night as official occasions.
A comparison of festive traditions in Russia and Great Britain
Comparing Russian and British holiday traditions, I would like to note that the Russian system of celebrations represents a fusion of religious and secular holidays came from the 20th century. The holidays in Great Britain resemble ours but are based on other historical events. Also, the Russians prefer New Year more, while the British like Christmas more.
Differences in the holidays lie in the different nature and factors of residence. That's why our country has celebrations related to natural conditions that do not exist in the United Kingdom and vice versa. Some traditions have been preserved, this made it possible not to lose the identity of the states.
Conclusion
I believe that the aim of the project has been achieved. While working on the research project, I’ve learned a lot about different holidays, compared traditions and features of their celebration in the UK and Russia. In conclusion, I’d like to say that some holidays are similar to each other and some are completely different in the way they are celebrated and in the events which they are timed.
Sources of information
http://lhistory.ru/statyi/istoriya-prazdnichnyh-dnej-v-rossii
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Patricks-Day
https://www.nur.kz/leisure/holidays/1792201-den-pobedy-tradicii-prazdnovania/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day
https://www.culture.ru/materials/50422/paskha-svetloe-khristovo-voskresenie
https://skyeng.ru/articles/prazdnik-rozhdestva-v-amerike-i-rossii/
https://teachershelp.ru/holidays-and-festivals-in-great-britain/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guy-Fawkes-Day
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
https://images.app.goo.gl/jF1JZeF8o9LXgMbaA
https://images.app.goo.gl/Yxg2vVuCmnHkzN617
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https://images.app.goo.gl/aW6aAXdEJira9AD8A
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https://images.app.goo.gl/TV6iSAQXL1cfRC6S7