Дидактический материал по теме "Обычаи, традиции, поверья народов России и англоговорящих стран" для уроков английского языка

Министерство общего и профессионального образования

Ростовской области

государственное бюджетное профессиональное образовательное

учреждение

Ростовской области

«Волгодонский техникум информационных технологий,

бизнеса и дизайна имени В.В. Самарского»

ДИДАКТИЧЕСКИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ

ТЕМА 1.14

Обычаи, традиции, поверья

народов России и англоговорящих стран

Волгодонск

2018 г.

РАССМОТРЕНО И ОДОБРЕНО:

цикловой комиссией лингвистических и филологических

дисциплин общего гуманитарного и

социально-экономического цикла

Протокол от « 19» 06 2017г.№ 11_

Председатель ЦК ___________/Н. И. Русанова

Активизация использования лексики

Customs – обычаи

to decorate – украшать

Tradition – традиция

Christmas Eve – сочельник

Generation – поколение

Trafalgar Square – Трафальгарская площадь

Substantial – существенный

Christmas cards – рождественские открытки

Refreshment - закуска

The Easter – Пасха

Treat – угощение

Bunny – зайчик

Pancake – блин

to lit - зажигать

Shrove – масленица

Effigies – чучела

Lent – Великий пост

trick-or-treating - проделка или угощение

Contestant – участник

Witch – ведьма

To flip – подбрасывать

Lantern – фонарь

Bonfire – костер

Ghosts – привидения

Christmas tree – ёлка

Pumpkin – тыква

Отработка и закрепление лексики по теме “Traditions and customs of Great Britain”

Read the text and translate

So many countries, so many customs, as English proverb says. The combination of the words tradition and custom means a usual manner of doing something, of conduct passed on from generation to generation. Some British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. From Scotland to Cornwall, Britain is full of them. A lot of them have very long history. Some are funny and some are strange. But they're all interesting.

The full English breakfast. The tradition of having a substantial breakfast meal has existed since the 18th century. The full English breakfast became very popular after the World War I, in those days it was served at the hotels and restaurants all over the country. The full breakfast usually consists of sausages, bacon and eggs, served with toasts, fried or grilled tomatoes, baked beans and fried mushrooms. It is often eaten with a light dessert and a cup of tea, coffee or fruit juice. 

Afternoon tea. One of the most well-known English traditions is afternoon tea – light refreshments, including tea, traditionally served around 5 p. m. English people often drink tea with milk; they may or may not add sugar. Tea is usually taken along with sandwiches, crumpets, scones, cakes, jam and marmalade. Traditional tea treats also include puddings, muffins and biscuits.

Pancake Day. Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is held in February or March. It is the day, preceding the first day of the 40 days long Lent. It has been celebrated in Britain for centuries. People traditionally eat a lot of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. On Pancake Day children go from house to house asking for a pancake. “Pancake races” are held all over the Britain. Contestants have to race with frying pans flipping pancakes in the air.

The Guy Fawkes Night is a traditional celebration which is held on 5^th November. All over the country people build bonfires in their gardens. On top of each bonfire is a guy. That's a figure of Guy Fawkes. People make guys with straw, old clothes and newspapers. On November 5^th 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to kill King James I. He and a group of his friends put a bomb under the Houses of Parliament in London. But the King's men found the bomb and they found Guy Fawkes, too. They took him to the Tower of London and there the King's men cut off his head.

Christmas. Every year the people of Norway give the city of London a present… It's a big Christmas tree and it stands in Trafalgar Square. In 1846 the first Christmas cards began in Britain. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought this German tradition (he was German) to Britain. He and the Queen had a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841. A few years after, nearly every house in Britain had one. Traditionally people decorate their trees on Christmas Eve - that's December 24th. They take down the decorations twelve days later, on Twelfth Night (January 5th). British children get their presents from the socks that hang near their beds. Santa Clause climbs down the chimney and leaves lots of presents. In Britain the most important meal on December 25th is Christmas dinner. A twentieth-century British Christmas dinner is roast turkey with carrots, potatoes, peas, Brussels sprouts and gravy. There are sausages and bacon too. Then, after the turkey, there's Christmas pudding.

Выполнение после текстовых заданий

1. Find in the text English equivalents for these words and word combinations

От поколения к поколению, знамениты во всем мире, веселый, странный, интересный, традиция, завтрак, по всей стране, Первая мировая война, грибы, легкие закуски, традиционные угощения к чаю, 40-дневный Великий пост, ходить от дома к дому, сковорода, подбрасывать блины, мастерить костер, заложить бомбу, Парламент, большая ёлка, убрать украшения, спускаться по дымоходу, жареная индейка, морковь.

2. Quote the sentences in which these word combinations are used in the text

British customs, a substantial breakfast, usually consists of, a light dessert, traditionally served, with milk, of the 40 days, with frying pans, on 5^thNovember, bonfires, to the Tower of London, German tradition, get their presents, the most important meal.

3. Fill in the gaps with the words from the box.

Pumpkins, trick-or-treating, Christmas tree, ghosts, Christmas, witches, Hallowe’en, presents (2), funny, goblins, decorated, lanterns

1.

• Hello, Alex!

• Hi, Ann! Haven’t seen you for ages! Where have you been?

• Oh, I was at my relatives’.

We celebrated …… ¹. It was wonderful!

We ….. ² the house and the ……³ . I love this tradition. I bought ……⁴for my relatives and I got a lot of nice …..⁵ .

• You’re lucky. Did you go out anywhere?

• Yes, we also visited some of their friends.

• Do you plan to go there next ….⁶ ?

• Yes, I’d love to.

2. Hello, Nadia! What are your plans for October 31st?

• Hi, Pete! Don’t you know we are celebrating ….. ¹? It’s an old English tradition and we also like it.

• Yes, I heard something about it, but I never took part in it. Could you tell me about it?

• Sure! Listen. On that day many homes are decorated and lit by .….²made from ….³ that have been hollowed out.

• Really? That’s interesting. Go on, please.

• We dress up as …..⁴, ……⁵ and ……⁶ and go ……⁷ to neighbours.

• But why?

• Well, it’s an old tradition. Besides, it’s rather …⁸ .

1. 1) Christmas, 2) decorated, 3) Christmas tree, 4) presents, 5) presents, 6) Christmas)

2. 1) Hallowe’en, 2) lanterns, 3) pumpkons, 4) goblins, 5) ghosts, 6) witches, 7) trick-or-treating, 8) funny

Обобщение знаний по теме “Traditions and customs of Great Britain”

Find 10 hidden words

традиция

королева

праздновать

чай

национальный

фестиваль

праздник

индейка

обычай

страна

Read the text and put the missing word from give below.

Christmas in Different Parts of the United Kingdom

In the north of England up to the middle of the 20^th century, it (1) ________ common to find a dish of “Mugga” on the Christmas Eve table. This (2) __________ a kind of wheat porridge, sweetened with honey, which (3) ________ before the main meal, and also throughout Advent, which is the month leading up to Christmas. It (4) _________ a remnant left over from Viking times. But it (5) ________ up in similar forms all over Europe. In Poland for example they (6) ______ “Kuia” which is a cereal dish made from wheat, fermented overnight in milk, sweetened with honey and spiced. In Scotland they (7) _______ “Athol Brose” which is made from oats. It also has whisky in it and (8) _______ as a drink!

1. A. is B. are

C. was D. had been

2. A. is B. are

C. was D. had been

3. A. ate B. eat

C. eats D. was eaten

4. A. has been B. was

C. is D. are

5. A. turned B. was turned

C. turn D. turns

6. A. has B. have

C. had D. have had

7. A. have B. has

C. had D. have had

8. A. is served B. was served

C. serves D. served

HABBITS AND WAYS

Text 1

Holidays and customs

Imagine you are in a medium-sized English town. It is Saturday morning in April and the market place is full of noise. You hear the sound of music, at least one accordion, a drum, tin whistle and fiddle. As you come closer you see an interesting site. There are some men dressed in white clothes but decorated in the strangest way with bright ribbons, flowers and small bells. They dance, leaping into the air, stamping their feet, and perform the most complicated pattern of movements. They perform a Morris Dance and what they are doing is anything up to eight hundred years old.

Now you are at the seaside. It is the end of July and the school holidays have just begun. There is a strange little red and white striped tent, and sitting in front of it on the sand, a whole crowd of little children laughing and shouting. They are watching a puppet theatre, Punch and Judy. Mr. Punch in his bright red clothes is, as usual, hitting Judy over the head with a stick, while Toby, the dog, patiently watches.

These are just two examples of customs which, despite television and other social changes, are alive and well in England. There are many, many more, some of them are local that they are known in the villages where they take place. Many villages have Maypoles which are decorated in early summer and around which children dance.

In the matter of holidays the British are less well-off than other Europeans. Most people have only three weeks paid holiday per year, and the bank holidays put Britain at the bottom of the list of Common Market countries as far as public holidays are concerned. British “bank holidays” are New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Only when the UK joined the E.E.C. did New Year's Day become a public holiday. The patron saints days are not celebrated with a holiday. They are St. David's Day (March 1^st) in Wales, St. George's Day (April 23^rd) in England and St. Andrew's Day (November 30^th) in Scotland. Only Ireland, both North and South, has a holiday on St. Patrick's Day (March 17^th).

Punch and Judy «Панч и Джуди» (традиционное уличное кукольное представление наподобие русского Петрушки; его главные действующие лица: горбун Панч с крючковатым носом – воплощение оптимизма, и Джуди – его жена, неряшливая и нескладная).

Toby Тоби (кличка собаки одного из главных действующих лиц в представлении «Панч и Джуди»)

Bank holiday официальный выходной день (общий день отдыха, помимо воскресенья)

Good Friday Великая пятница

Easter Monday первый понедельник после Пасхи

May Day день первого мая

Spring Bank Holiday весенний день отдыха ( в мае или начале июня)

Summer Bank Holiday летний день отдыха (в августе или сентябре)

Christmas Day Рождество (25 декабря)

Boxing Day день рождественских подарков (26 декабря)

The patron saints days дни святых, считающихся покровителями той или иной части Великобритании

St. David's Day день св. Дэвида (национальный день Уэльса, 1 марта)

St. George's Day день св. Георгия (национальный день Англии, 23 апреля)

St. Andrew's Day день св. Андрея (национальный праздник Шотландии, 30 ноября)

St. Patrick's Day день св. Патрика (национальный праздник Северной Ирландии, 17 марта)

1. COMPREHENSION

1. Read the text. Are these statements true or false? If false, rewrite them with the correct information.

1. The market place is full of the sound of music, at least one accordion, a piano, a bagpipe and fiddle.__________________________________________________________________________

2. A Morris Dance is a very popular modern dance. _______________________________________

3. The traditional heroes in a British puppet theatre are Punch, his wife Judy and their dog Toby.

1. Mr. Punch in his white clothes is as usual cooking dinner for his wife and dog.______________________________________________________________________________

1. Television has killed traditional English customs.________________________________________

1. New Year's Day has always been a public holiday in Britain._______________________________

Key: 1 c, 2 e, 3 a, 4 f, 5 b, 6 d

1. VOCABULARY

Match the words similar in meaning:

1. medium a) difficult

2. fiddle b) rich

3. complicated c) average

4. leap d) act

5. well-off e) violin

6. perform f) jump

III WRITING

A personal letter. You are in Great Britain. Write a letter to a friend telling him/her about the customs or holidays of people in Great Britain.

1. Think about any British custom you know about. Note down 5 words about it. Use them in your letter.

2. Use this plan to help you write.

Greeting: Dear + name: friendly and informal.

Paragraph 1: Why are you writing? What is the letter about? What is your opinion of the custom or holiday? Two sentences.

Paragraph 2: What can you see, hear, smell, taste? Describe the best/worse thing about this custom or holiday. Say what you think about it. Three sentences.

Paragraph 3: When and where is this custom or holiday observed? How do you spend the morning, afternoon, evening? What is the most? Least interesting thing you have seen or done? Would you like this custom or holiday to be celebrated in our country? Why/ why not? Three sentences.

Paragraph 4: Closing remark. Will you write again? Do you want our friend to write back? Two sentences.

Sign off: Will you see your friend soon? Keep it friendly and informal.

TEXT 2

Ghost and Witches

Hallowe'en means “holy evening”, and takes place on 31^st October. Although it is a much more important festival in the United States than in Britain, it is celebrated b many people in the UK. It is particularly connected with witches and ghosts.

At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in potatoes and other vegetables and put a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play difficult games such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands.

In recent years children dressed in white sheets knock on doors at Hallowe'en and ask if you would like a “trick” or a “treat”. If you give them something nice, a “treat”, they go away. However, if you don't, they play “a trick” on you, such as making a lot of noise or spilling four on your front doorstep.

Hallowe'en канун дня всех святых, 31 октября (в некоторых местах сохраняется традиция ходить с фонарями, сделанными из тыквы, картофеля, турнепса и других овощей со вставленной в них свечкой)

“trick” or “treat” проказа или угощение

1. COMPREHENSION

1. Answer these questions:

1. When does Hallowe'en take place?

2. Is this holiday more important in he UK or in the USA?

3. What do people prepare for this holiday?

4. How do children dress for the holiday?

5. What is a usual “ trick” they might play on you?

2.Are the following statements true or false? If the statement is false, correct it.

1. Once people believed that ghosts could be seen the night of 31 October.

2. Halloween is more popular in the UK than in the USA.

3. People are very serious on Halloween and never have parties.

4. Children are not allowed to dress up for the night.

5. Children make a lot of noise or spill flour on front doorsteps if they are treated well.

II. VOCABULARY

Match the words and their definitions:

1. Holy a) having happened a short time ago

2. Recent b) connected with God or with religion; very special and sacred

3. Trick c) very unpleasant, terrible

4. Treat d) something that you do to deceive somebody in order to make him/her

stupid or to cheat him\her

1. Horrible e) to act or to behave towards sb\sth in particular way

Key: 1 b, 2 a, 3 d, 4 e, 5 c

TEXT 3

Christmas

If you want to catch a train on the 24^th of December you may have difficulty in finding a seat. This is the day when many people are travelling home to be with their families on Christmas Day, 25^th of December. For most British families, this is the most important festival of the year, it combines the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ with the traditional festivities of winter.

On the Sunday before Christmas many churches hold a carol service where special hymns are sung. Sometimes carol-singers can be heard on the streets as they collect money for charity. Most families decorate their houses with brightly-coloured paper or holly, and they usually have a Christmas tree in the corner of the front room, glittering with coloured lights and decorations.

There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas but perhaps the most important one is the giving of presents. Family members wrap up their gifts and leave them under the Christmas tree to be found on Christmas morning. Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their beds on Christmas Eve, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and bring them small presents, fruit and nuts. They are usually not disappointed! At some time on Christmas Day the family will sit down to a big turkey dinner followed by Christmas pudding. They will probably pull a cracker with another member of the family. It will make a loud crack and a coloured hat, a small toy and a joke will fall out!

Later in the afternoon they may watch the Queen on TV as she delivers her traditional Christmas message to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. If they have room for even more food they may enjoy a piece of Christmas cake or eat a hot mince pie. The 26^th of December is also a public holiday, Boxing Day, and this is the time to visit friends and relatives or watch football.

Carol – кэрол (рождественская песня религиозного содержания, славящая рождение Христа)

Charity – благотворительность

Holly – остролист (вечнозеленое растение с красными ягодами)

Christmas pudding – рождественский пудинг (с изюмом, цукатами и пряностями)

Mince pie – сладкий пирожок (круглый со сладкой начинкой)

1. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false one.

1. It is difficult to find a seat in a train on 24^th of December.

2. Christmas Day is a family holiday.

3. No charity is done at Christmas time.

4. Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their beds on Christmas Eve hoping that Father Christmas will take them.

5. On Christmas Day the Queen and the royal family visit thousands of people and bring them small presents.

1. Match the words with their definitions.

1.carol a) money or gifts given to help people who are poor, sick, etc.

2. gift b) a religious song of joy and praise sung at Christmas

3. hymn c) a small tree with dark green sharp leaves and red berries, or the leaves

and berries of this tree used as a decoration at Christmas

4.charity d) a song of praise, especially to God, usually one of the religious songs of

the Christian church

5.holly e) something that you give someone on a special occasion or to thank them

CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS AND HOLIDAYS IN RUSSIA

The Russian love for holidays is known the world over. We adore holidays, indeed. But who does not? Perhaps our love for holidays is special for its indiscrimination – anything goes, just give us a chance to break the daily working routine and indulge into the surfeits of merry-making, eating and drinking. Of course, every holiday is good in its own way and we are not indifferent to their meaning and ritual side. Yet, it is not rare in this country that holidays vary both their attributes and meaning. 

Thus, Russian holidays present a mixture of new and old, religious and secular, professional and private. National holidays reflect multicolored Russian history. Christian traditions were combined with pagan ones and therefore strongly connected to the seasons and agricultural cycle. Church holidays were mixed with those introduced during the communist regime. And we do not mind: every holiday deserves celebration. When a national holiday falls on a weekend day people enjoy additional day-off because it is considered to be unfair to miss either a holiday or a weekend.

January 1 - The New Year 

The New Year is the first in calendar and in popularity. It will be true to say that now the New Year is a greater holiday than Christmas in Russia. Long before December 31 sparkling fir trees appear in the streets, shops, offices and houses, bringing the joy of festive preparations and hope for happy miracles in the coming New Year. It is time to make wishes and presents to all friends and relatives. Children are looking forward for Father Frost (actually he is Grandfather Frost - Ded Moroz in Russian) and his granddaughter Snow Maiden (Snegurochka) to arrive at night and leave presents under the fir-tree. The grown-ups traditionally stay up for the whole night, making merry with friends and relatives.

The New Year celebrations slip to Christmas festivities and go on till January 8 - all these days from December 31 to January 8 are official days off now.

The celebrations start at about 11 pm, when the family is seated at the festive dinner. Shortly before 12 pm they toast “for the old year”, remembering and paying tribute to the good things it brought about. It is a custom in Russia to listen to the speech of the head of state broadcasted over TV and radio. The President traditionally summarizes the achievements of the past year and wishes Happy New Year to the citizens of Russia.

After the speech, at midnight sharp, the country listens to the Kremlin chimes, which signalize the beginning of the New Year. The chimes are followed by the country’s hymn.

During these exciting minutes all are drinking Champaign and wish each other Happy New Year. Afterwards lots of people like to go outdoors to let off all sorts of fireworks and bangers, and lit Bengal lights. Festive performances with songs, dances and games are held at the central squares of cities and towns.

As for lovers of peace and silence, their day will come to, when after the uproarious New Year’s night the streets turn unusually quiet and calm for a few days, even in megalopolises like Moscow.

New Year Popular Beliefs

There is a whole range of beliefs concerning the celebrations of the New Year. The most famous saying asserts: “As you meet the New Year, so will you spend it”. Thus everyone does one’s best to celebrate this decisive holiday merrily and in the hearty company of friends and family.

They also say, that one must “leave all the debts to the old year”, i.e. return the debts before the beginning of the coming year. On the New Year’s Night one ought to be wearing brand new clothes, which at the best should be of the “lucky colours” of the year to come.

One of the most significant and breath-taking elements of the New Year’s Night is making wishes. They believe that the utmost wishes made on the New Year’s Night will surely fulfill in the New Year. There is a unique method of making wishes that gives almost a hundred percent fulfillment guarantee: while the chimes are striking twelve, one should write the wish on a sheet of paper, burn it on a candle, mix the ashes in his/her glass of Champaign and drink it before the chimes cease striking.

January 7 - Christmas
Russian Christmas comes two weeks later than in other countries, on January 7. This difference is due to the Orthodox Church that follows the Julian (old style) calendar. However, our 'spacious soul' cannot but feel with the rest of the world celebrating this fairy holiday on December

Christmas came to Russia in X century to substitute for pagan festivities of the winter solstice. Traditionally, people celebrated the Christmas Eve (January 6) with their families. The next day, however, carousing and merrymaking started, including masqueraded visits to neighbors with song singing, round-dancing and playing traditional games. Russian Christmas is rich with beautiful traditions. One of them is called Kolyadki. At Christmas night young people put on fancy dresses, gather in a noisy crowd and go in every house on their way, singing carols and merry songs. Hosts of the houses thank singers with all the kinds of sweat stuff like candies, chocolates and pastry. Among other Christmas traditions are wishes of wealth and happiness for everybody and snowball games.

It was a custom for young ladies to tell fortune on these days; lots of fortunetelling methods have kept till days - yet they are not so widely used, of course. In Soviet times they abolished Christmas as an official holiday. In spite of that, it was still secretly celebrated by many people.

January 14 - The Old New Year's Day
Discrepancy between church calendars leads to the fact that January 14th corresponds to January 1 in the Julian calendar. And for those people who celebrate Christmas on 7 of January it is logical to meet the New Year seven days later. Others prefer not to lose a good chance to welcome the New Year twice.

Old New Year’s Fortune-Telling and Carol-Singing

The most popular customs of Christmastide, which coincides with the Old New Year, are fortune-telling and kolyadki (carol-singing). Divination is special on the Old New Year’s Eve. Almost everybody did it in olden days: the elderly people wanted to know about life, girls and boys about their intended, mothers about health and fortune of their children, and thrifty managers about business success.

The most common divination about future life was the one with spoons: the spoons are left on the table when everyone goes to bed. Everyone remembers his spoon and in the morning finds out how it lies: if it is just the way you put it before, everything will be fine, but if the spoon has somehow turned upside down, you should take care of your health and guard yourself against troubles.

One of the Old New Year’s divinations about getting married is to overhear conversations at somebody’s doors: if a girl hears “go” she will soon be married, and if it happens to be “sit”, she will have to wait longer for her intended to arrive.

Actually, there were a great number of divination ways and methods, yet the majority of them have been forgotten.

February 23 - Man's Day
February 23 is celebrated all over Russia as the Homeland Defender’s Day. Now a public holiday, it was first established in 1922 as the Red Army Day and from 1949 to 1993 it was named Day of the Soviet Army and the Navy. Nowadays, however, it has gained a more general sense of the “Man’s Day”, as a just match for the Women’s Day following it on the calendar. Daddies, granddaddies, brothers, boyfriends, husbands and sons (i.e. all possible defenders) and, certainly, those who have served or are serving the army, get their share of greetings and presents on this remarkable day.

March 8th - International Women's Day
  Russian women adore this holiday, when attention and care of men is guaranteed. On this day, it is traditional for men of all ages to give presents and flowers to women. Particular attention is paid to women inside their families.

Russian women hardly ever recollect that this holiday originated as a day of rebellion of women struggling to equal their rights with the men's ones.

At a second International Socialist Women's Conference organized in Copenhagen in 1910 Klara Zetkin, a champion of women's rights, proposed to fix 'a day of the struggle for women's rights', i.e. for equal opportunities.

As years went by, the holiday lost its original purpose and meaning, though in many countries it is the time for the feminists' rallies and the day of the struggle against the opposite sex.

In Russia, on the contrary, it is a day of affection and concord between the sexes. In a way, it is similar to such holidays as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. It is a lovely holiday celebrating the beauty of women blossoming and nature awaking in spring. 

Russian Orthodox Easter (Paskha) 
  Paskha is the highest celebration of the Orthodox Church. At midnight the church service starts.

It is a good time for visiting friends and relatives. People greet each other with words "Christ is risen" and "Indeed risen..." and treat each other with brightly colored boiled eggs, a symbol of Easter. The holiday table is served with such specialties as paskha (rich mixture of sweetened curds, butter and raisins) and kulich (Easter sweet bread). The Paskha is traditionally pyramid-shaped which is symbolic of Christ’s tomb.

The Russian Easter egg tradition dates back to pre-Christian times when people saw eggs as fertility symbols and as devices of protection. Eggs represented renewal or new life. When Russian Orthodoxy was adopted, eggs took on Christian symbolism. One example of this is how red eggs symbolize the blood of Christ. The color red has strong symbolism in Russian culture.

Eggs may be cracked with nails as a reminder of Christ's suffering on the cross. Additionally, one egg may be cut into pieces—one piece for each family member at the Easter table to eat. Why do you have Easter eggs at Easter? Very simply, Christians have eggs at Easter because pagans used to celebrate the coming of spring with eggs (which were a sign of new life and rebirth). When Christianity spread and conquered pagan cultures, the old customs got absorbed into the new religion.

May 1 - Mayday
The Mayday holiday on the1st of May started to be regularly celebrated in Russia since 1890. Until recently this holiday was called the International Solidarity Day of Workers and was one of the major Soviet holidays, widely celebrated by people all over the country with Mayday parades with bright banners, balloons and spring flowers. During the Soviet rule demonstrations of workers and even military parades were held on the 1st of May on the Red Square, Moscow. On the second day of the holiday mayovkas – alfresco public merrymaking - traditionally took place. In the 1990s the holiday lost its ideological meaning in Russia and in 1992 it was renamed into the Holiday of Spring and Work.

May 9 - Victory Day
The 9th on May is a very significant nationwide holiday of the victory of the Soviet people over fascist Germany in the Great Patriotic War. Honouring the memory of soldiers who rescued the world from fascism, the Russians solemnly celebrate this holiday starting from 1945. However, it was declared an official day off not before 1965. In the course of time the celebrating ceremonies of the Victory Day have somewhat changed: the military parades, which were held annually before, are nowadays arranged only in the good round figure years; and there are no longer the earlier indispensable demonstrations of workers held on the 9th of May.

Still, the holiday keeps up its meaning, commemorating the millions of people fallen in World War II. There are both joyful and mournful moments in this holiday: meetings of veterans, laying wreaths to the monuments of Glory and beds of honour, the minute of silence, and the night salute in celebration of the victory over fascism. 

June 12 - Independence Day
The Independence Day of Russia or the Day of Russia is one of the "youngest" public holidays in this country. On the 12th of June 1990 in the course of sovereignization of the republics of the USSR the 1st Congress of People's Deputies of RSFSR adopted the Declaration of the state sovereignty of Russia. In 1994 this day was declared as the national holiday. Officially it is the most important modern public holiday in the country, but for most of the Russians it remains just a formality. 

July 7 - Ivan Kupala

This holiday is equivalent to the Holiday of St. John the Baptist and relates to water. To celebrate this day young people gathered near river and ponds, sang songs and danced. Mass baths were taken in that day. In the evenings fires were burned and young people tried to jump over the fires holding each-others' hands. If after the jump hands were still together, it meant a sign of close wedding. People went deep into the forests in pairs and alone to find a fern flower, said to blossom at Ivan Kupala night only and to fulfill wishes.

According to an old belief, Ivan Kupala personifies the blossoming of powers of nature. The rites are based on worshipping water and the sun. From times immemorial it was customary to make ritual bonfires on banks of rivers and lakes on the Eve of Ivan Kupala.

 Purifying bonfires were the major peculiarity of Kupala Eve. They danced around bonfires, of course, to the accompaniment of live music. Young folks would throw wreaths over the bonfires and jump over them. Those who jumped higher were believed to live happier in future. In some places peasants even made their cattle go through this fire to protect it from pestilence. Mothers burned their ill children’s underwear to make all illnesses burn down, too. The youth and kids after jumping over bonfires would arrange boisterous merry games and races with one another. Playing race and catch was invariable on this night. By an old pagan belief on Kupala Eve, which is the shortest night in the year, one should not sleep, since all evil spirits come alive and are quite active.

On the Eve of Ivan Kupala the youth would look for their intended ones and choose their destinies: girls launched wreaths with lit candles on water and boys were to catch them – whose wreath he gets, she will be his wife.

It is not a public holiday, yet is still remembered and loved by some people. The same concerns Troitsa, another holiday manifesting the mixture of pagan and Christian traditions.

Troitsa (the Trinity) 
On Troitsa (the 50^th day after Paskha) the houses were usually decorated with fresh green branches. The maiden's clothes were put on young birch-trees and songs and dances round the birch-trees took place. The garlands made of birch branches and flowers were put into water for fortune-telling.

November 4 – The Day of National Unity

Since 2005 Russia has celebrated a new holiday - the so-called Day of National Unity, commemorating the anniversary of the Russian people’s victory over the Polish invaders back in 1612.

Almost four centuries back in early November the Russian levy en masse headed by merchant Minin and Prince Pozharsky kicked the interveners away from Moscow and put an end to the so-called Time of Troubles.

In fact the new holiday was introduced to replace the public holiday of the October Social Revolution, later renamed into the Day of Accord and Reconciliation on November 7. According to the majority of observers, the main reason for this shift of the day off was the intention to erase totally any associations with the anniversary of the October Social Revolution (7 November 1917).

Professional Holidays

Along with national holidays Russia has many other holidays, professional holidays (Day of the miner, Day of the fisherman, etc) making the major part of them. Some professional holidays have a fixed date, whereas most of them fall on the 1st, 2nd, etc. Sunday or Saturday of this or that month. The Teacher’s Day, which was established in the USSR in 1965 is widely celebrated in Russia; initially it was marked annually on the second Sunday of October. In 1994 the holiday was shifted to the 5th of October and since then Russia has celebrated the International Teacher’s Day together with other countries.

Brief History of Russian Cuisine

Russia stretches from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, neighboring many other countries. Russians speak Russian and share the same culture and traditions nationwide. An essential part of every nation is its cuisine. Ethnographers start studying every nation with its cuisine because it can reveal its history, everyday life and traditions. Russian Cuisine is no exception and is a very important part of Russia and its history.

Russian cuisine dates back to the 10th century.  Old Russian cuisine became really diverse by the 15th century. Of course it was influenced by natural and geographical conditions. The abundance of rivers, lakes and forests contributed to the appearance of dishes made from fish, game, mushrooms and berries.

In the fields they planted different grains like rye, oat, wheat, barley, buckwheat and others. They made grain porridges (каша) from it of different kinds. Porridge (каша) has always been a traditional national dish. Russians eat porridges throughout their lives: young kids eat manna-croup kasha, adults like buckwheat kasha.
As the Old Russian saying goes «Каша - матушка наша, а хлебец ржаной - отец наш родной» - (Porridge is our mother, bread is our father).
From the early times in Russia they used dough to make noodles(лапша), pelmeni (пельмени),vareniki (вареники), brown rye bread (черный ржаной хлеб) without which one cannot imagine the Russian cuisine. By the X century they got wheat grain and an assortment of pastry increased largely -  they started baking karavai (каравай), kalach (калач), pies ( пироги), pancakes (блины), oladii (оладьи) and others.

In the 9th century the most common ingredients were turnip (репа), cabbage (капуста), radish (редька), peas (горох), cucumbers (огурцы). They were eaten raw, baked, steamed, salted, marinated.  Potatoes did not appear until the 18th century, and tomatoes until the 19th century. Up until the beginning of the 19th there not hardly any salads. The first salads were prepared from a certain vegetable. That's why they got names like : cabbage salad (салат капустный), cucumber salad (салат огуречный) or potato salad ( картофельный). Later on the recipes became more complex and many salad were made from many different vegetables, sometimes with fish or meat, and they got more interesting names too: Spring (Весна), Health (Здоровье),  Sea Gem (Морская жемчужина) and others.
Hot liquid dishes appeared from the early times as well: first fish soup (уха), shchi (щи), and later borsch (борщ), rassolnik - sour soup (рассольник), and then different sorts of Soyinka (солянка). In the XIX century these liquid dishes were named Soups (супы)

Among drinks popular were kvass (квас) and different wild berries' drinks. Spices (Пряности) were used extensively since the XI century. Russian and overseas merchants brought clove (гвоздика), cinnamon (корица), ginger (имбирь), coriander (кориандр), bay leaf (лавровый лист), black pepper (черный перец), olive oil (оливковое масло), lemons (лимоны) etc. Russia was trading with western countries and was a passing way to China. 
Tea (Чай) was first brought to Russia in the XVII century. As for alcoholic drinks, in the Old Russia they drank low-alcohol drinks based on honey and berries. Vodka was first brought to Russia in XV century, and was immediately banned and did not appear until the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the middle of XVI century. At that time the first Tsar Bar was opened (Царский Трактир).

Russian cuisine was not only unique because of the ingredients they used but because the food was cooked in the Russian Stove (в русской печи). They baked bread in them, brewed kvass and beer, and on stoves they dried food. And they were generally used to heat houses and many people slept on them.
The food cooked in stoves was delicious because it was heated evenly from all sides. Russian stoves are no longer used these days, even in the countryside. They have been replaced by electric stoves and microwave ovens. In the old times the food of the elite class was no different from what the common people ate. By the XVII century the food of the elite became more sophisticated, differing not only in quantity but in the serving manner and ingredients.

Tsar feasts were very pompous and huge with a great variety of dishes. The number of dishes could reach 150-200.

The sizes of dishes increased, and the duration of the banquet.  They normally started at lunch time and continued eating till late night.
XVIII century was a new era in the development of Russian society.  Piter I not only transferred the capital to St. Petersburg closer to the Western Europe and changed the calendar, he changed many traditions. Russia was becoming more and more influenced by western European cuisine, first German and then Dutch and French.
The Russian aristocracy was hiring foreign chefs that totally replaced lady-cooks. The Russian cuisine got dishes like sandwiches (бутерброды), salads (салаты) and bouillon (бульон), and a choice of pan fried dishes (beefsteaks, entrecote, meat patties (котлеты), as well as sauces (соусы), желе (jellies), creams etc. Russian tratirs (трактиры) were replaced by restaurants with waiters and hosts. Most of this did not affect the common people.
Russian food was also diverse in different parts of the country because of the different climates and nature of those parts.