Page 16 - Exercise 2

Page 16 - Exercise 2

Festivals

Christmas is the biggest festival of the year. Families usually come together to celebrate it. People put up decorations and decorate a Christmas tree. In many countries people open their presents and have their Christmas meal on Christmas Eve (24 December). But in Britain people normally do these things on Christmas Day (25 December). The traditional meal is turkey with vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding. The next day (26 December) is a holiday, too. We call it boxing day. On Boxing Day, people often visit friends, or go to sports matches. They go shopping, too, because a lot of shops start their winter sales on Boxing Day.

On New Year’s Eve, a lot of people have a party to ‘see in’ the new year. They often switch on the radio or the TV to hear Big Ben in London strike midnight. Then they usually join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne. In London, Edinburgh and several other cities there are big street parties with music and fireworks.

We also celebrate Easter in Britain, but it isn’t a very big festival, like Christmas or New Year. The Easter holiday lasts four days from Good Friday to Easter Monday. People eat sweet bread buns called hot cross buns on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday people usually give chocolate Easter eggs. Some families have an Easter egg hunt in the garden. They hide small Easter eggs for children to find.