Christmas traditions and customs in Great Britain.

Objectives: to generalize the knowledge of pupils about New Year and Christmas traditions and customs in Great Britain and Ukraine: to develop listening and speaking skills; to involve pupils into communicative activities by means of group work.

PROCEDURE

I. INTRODUCTION
Greeting

II. MAIN PART
Brainstorming

Crossword

1. The month of the year, when the Catholics celebrate Christmas.
2. Traditional Christmas song.
3. It falls in winter.
4. The beginning of the day.
5. Santa Clause fills it with presents for the children.

The key-word is….. (Christmas)

Aim
T. The theme of our lesson is “Christmas traditions and customs in Great Britain”. Today we shall generalize our knowledge about Christmas traditions and customs in Great Britain and Ukraine, we shall listen to the recording about Christmas customs in Britain, we’ll speak about these customs and traditions.

Conversation.
T.
1. When do English people celebrate New Year’s Day?
2. What do they usually have?
3. Why do English people turn on the radio at midnight?
4. What can you see at Piccadilly Circus?

T. And now let’s have a listening. Listen to the recording and be able to answer the question: What Christmas customs are there in Britain?

CHRISTMAS

There are lots of Christmas and New Year traditions in Britain.

For example, 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. Also in central London, Oxford Street and Regent Street always have beautiful decorations at Christmas. Thousands of people come to look at them.

In 1846 the first Christmas cards began in Britain. That was five years after the first Christmas tree. 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 later, 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 the 5th). 

An older tradition is Christmas mistletoe. People put a piece of this green plant with its white berries over a door. Mistletoe brings good luck, people say. Also at Christmas British people kiss their friends and family under the mistletoe.

Before Christmas, groups of singers go from house to house. They collect money and sing traditional Christmas songs or carols. There are a lot of very popular British Christmas carols. Three famous ones are: “Good King Wenceslas”, “The Holly and The Ivory” and “The Three Kings”.

Answer the questions.
1. What Christmas customs are there in Britain?
2. What country gives the city of London a present?
3. Where does the Christmas tree stand?
4. When was the first Christmas tree?
5. Who brought this tradition from Germany?
6. When do people decorate their trees?
7. What is the mistletoe?
8. What does mistletoe bring according to the custom?
9. What must people do under the mistletoe?

Christmas Customs and Traditions in Great Britain

In Britain, the sparkling eyes of children are what can catch your eye, if you visit the country around Christmas. Planning for this grand festival begins before the commencement of December; it includes food discussions with the family, collecting decorative items, cleaning houses, organizing gifts, baking pies and sending Christmas cards across to families and friends. A fact that most of the people don't know is that Christmas cards were first created in 1840 in this country itself and since then, have become an inevitable part of Christmas celebrations throughout the world. The essence of love among people is regenerated through the goodness of the occasion and even the family members living abroad are not left untouched of the warmth. Read on to know more on how Christmas is celebrated in Great Britain. If you are looking to be a part of Christmas celebrations that are a perfect fusion of 'modern' and 'traditional', Great Britain is where you should be heading.

Christmas Celebrations

Heart Throbbing Feast

Arrangements for the much sought after Christmas feast is done until the meal is ready to be consumed. The table seems extremely tempting and is gorgeously decorated with fruits and candles. The Christmas pudding must contain thirteen ingredients, of which, one is for Jesus and the rest for the twelve disciples. A silver coin is dropped in the pudding mix which is meant to bring prosperity and good luck to the family. Turkey, served with cranberry sauce, and potatoes are the centre of attraction of the entire feast. The Christmas pudding must have a holly placed on top of it.

Santa's Gifts

Children of Great Britain write letters to Father Christmas, believing that the letters would float up the chimney and fly across to the North Pole and deliver the message. No wonder then that they get excited and place their stockings beside the fireplace so that Santa Clause can place their gifts in them. These are unwrapped on Christmas morning. Children also place a glass of sherry with a mincemeat tart as thanks to Santa for bringing presents. People usually give each other poinsettia plants as the red and white petals of this flower are said to represent the purity of Christ's blood. 

Christmas Evenings

After a heavy meal, all members of the family watch the customary Christmas special speech by the British Monarch. In the evening, people pay visits to their relatives around Britain. Certain churches have services in which every child is given a candle wrapped in a red ribbon. These candles represent Jesus Christ and the red ribbons symbolize the blood of Jesus and the God's love for the entire world.

Brightly Lit Christmas Trees

The brightly shining Christmas trees on the eve of Christmas make for a great view. The trees are decorated with candies, cookies and bulbs and are taken down only twelve days after Christmas. The tradition of Christmas trees can be traced down to Prince Albert who brought this tradition, all the way from Germany, to the kingdom of Queen Victoria, who was then his spouse. 

A Change In Ancient Traditions

This festival is all about culture and customs. However, not all traditions observed in the country are old. For example, roasted turkey, with Brussel sprouts and gravy, is the main attraction of the English Christmas feast in the twentieth century while it wasn't so in the nineteenth century. In those days, goose was considered the traditional meat for Christmas. This implies that the traditions aren't really sacrosanct; they do change over time.