Christmas_ in _England

Christmas in England

• Christmas is probably the most festive time of the year, a season of gift-giving and celebration.
• We all know that Christmas is a religious holiday which marks the birth of Jesus Christ.

• But did you also know that some of the traditions are adapted from rituals dating back to a time before Christianity?
• Many pagan peoples regarded the winter solstice as a time of celebration. Anticipating the return of spring, people decorated their homes with evergreen plants, a symbol of eternal life.

• Some early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus."O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born",

• Mistletoe was especially popular, as it was believed to have magic powers.
• People hung sprigs of mistletoe in their homes and kissed beneath them as a gesture of friendship

• At pagan festivals there was also a lot of singing and dancing going on – “dancing in a circle” is the original meaning of the word “carol”.

• Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, was a German. When he moved to England, Christmas trees had already been popular in Europe, but not in England. In 1841, Prince Albert put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle.

• As the whole country was very keen on the royal family, people enthusiastically took up the custom of decorating a tree at Christmas.

• Still now the English keep these traditions up: they sing Christmas carols and dance around in circles, they kiss beneath the mistletoe and decorate their homes with Christmas trees.

Answer the questions

What did pagan peoples celebrate at this time of the year?

• the birth of Jesus Christ
• the winter solstice
• the magic powers of mistletoe

What does the word »carol« originally mean?

• to dance in a circle
• to sing Christmas songs
• to sing and dance around the Christmas tree

According to the text, which statement is correct?

• The royal family were the first Europeans who had a Christmas tree.
• Many people went to Windsor Castle to see the Christmas tree.
• Queen Victoia had a German husband.

• Учитель английского языка
• Стародубова Наталья Евгеньевна

Использованные ресурсы:

• http:// http://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/countries/holidays/christmas/traditions
• http://www.hellasmultimedia.com/webimages/christ-htm/back-christ.htm
• http://feelslikechristmas.com/