Реферат: My Day in Great Britain

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Parliament is the most important authority in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. Parliament first met in the 13th century. <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In 1689 Mary II and William III became  the first constitution monarchs. They could rule only with the support of the Parliament. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only once during the Cromwell republic. Succession to the throne is hereditary but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent. Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is expected to be politically neutral, and should not make political decisions. Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important executive and legislative duties including opening and dissolving Parliament, singing bills passed by both Houses and fulfilling international duties as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II who was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

The House of Lords comprises about 1,200 peers. The house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of Commons. As well as having legislative functions, the Lords is the highest court of appeal.

The House of Commons consist of members of Parliament who are elected by the adult suffrage of the British people in general elections which are held at least every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies each of which elects one Member of Parliament. The Commons therefore, has 650 Members of Parliament. The party which wins the most seats forms the Government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The functions of Commons are registration and security of government activities. The house is presided over by the Speaker. The government party sits on the Speaker’s right while on his left sit the members of the Opposition.
5. Education in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>


In <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> and <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Wales</country-region> compulsory school begins at the age of five, but before that age children can go to a nursery school, also called play school. School in compulsory till the children are 16 years old.

In Primary School and <place w:st=«on»><placename w:st=«on»>First<placetype w:st=«on»>School children learn to read and write and the basis of arithmetic. In the higher classes of Primary School (or in Middle School) children learn geography, history, religion and, in some schools, a foreign language. Than children go to Secondary School.

When students are 16 years old they may take an exam in various subjects on order to have a qualification. These qualifications can be either G.C.S.E. (General Certificate of Secondary education) or “O level” (ordinary level). After that students can either leave school and start working or continue their studies in the same school as before. If they continue, when they are 18, they have to take further examinations which are necessary for getting into university or college.

Some parents choose private schools for their children. They are very expensive but considered to provide a better education and good job opportunities.

In <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> there are 47 universities, including the Open University which teaches via TV and radio, about 400 colleges and institutes of higher education. The oldest universities in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> are <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Oxford and <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Cambridge. Generally, universities award two kinds of degrees: the Bachelor’s degree and the Master’s degree.

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Traditions and holidays of <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Great Britain</country-region>


English traditions can classified into several groups: traditions concerning the

   Englishmen’s private life (child’s birth, wedding, marriage, wedding anniversary); which are connected with families incomes; state traditions; national holidays, religious holidays, public festival, traditional ceremonies.

What about royal traditions? There are numerous royal traditions in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>, some are ancient, others are modern.

The Queen is the only person in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> with two birthdays. Her real birthday is on April 21st, but she has an “official” birthday, too. That is on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queen’s official birthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of the Colour. It is a big parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiers at Horse Guard’s Parade in <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>London..

Traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. But Parliament, not the Royal Family, controls modern <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. The Queen travels from <place w:st=«on»><placename w:st=«on»>Buckingham<placetype w:st=«on»>Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a gold carriage – the Irish State Coach. At the Houses of Parliament the Queen sits on a “throne” in the House of Lords. Then she reads the “Queen’s Speech”. At the State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown. She wears other jewels from the Crown Jewels, too.

In <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> as in other countries costumes and uniforms have a long history.

One is the uniform of the Beefeaters at the <place w:st=«on»><placetype w:st=«on»>tower of <placename w:st=«on»>London. This came first from <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>France</country-region>. Another is the uniform of the Horse Guards at Horse Guard’s Parade, not far from <place w:st=«on»><placename w:st=«on»>Buckingham<placetype w:st=«on»>Palace. Thousands of visitors take photographs of the Horse Guards.

Britannia is a symbol of <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. And she wears traditional clothes, too. But she is not a real person.

Lots of ordinary clothes have a long tradition. The famous bowler hat, for example. A man called Beaulieu made the first one in 1850.

One of the British soldiers, <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Wellington, gave his name to a pair of boots. They have a shorter name today – “Wellies”.

There are only six public holidays a year in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Great Britain</country-region>, that is days on which people need not go in to work. They are: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank <place w:st=«on»>Holiday, Boxing Day.


So the most popular holiday in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> is Christmas. Christmas has been celebrated from the earliest days of recorded history, and each era and race has pasted a colourful sheet of new customs and traditions over the old.

On the Sunday before Christmas many churches hold a carol service where special hymns are sung. Sometimes carol singers can be heard in the streets as they collect money for charity. There are a lot of very popular British Christmas carols. Three famous ones are: “Good King Wenceslas”, “The Holly and The Ivy” and “We Three Kings”.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world send and receive Christmas cards. Most of people think that exchanging cards at Christmas is a very ancient custom but it is not right. In fact it is barely 100 years old. The idea of exchanging illustrated greeting and presents is, however, ancient. So the first commercial Christmas card was produced in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> in 1843 by Henry Cole, founder of the <state w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Victoria and <place w:st=«on»><placename w:st=«on»>Albert<placename w:st=«on»>Museum, <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>London. The handcoloured print was inscribed with the words ’A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to you’. It was horizontally rectangular in shape, printed on stout cardboard by lithography.

A traditional feature of Christmas in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> is the Christmas tree. Queen <state w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Victoria’s husband, <city w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Prince Albert, brought the German tradition (he was German) to <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. He and the Queen had a Christmas tree at <place w:st=«on»><placename w:st=«on»>Windsor<placetype w:st=«on»>Castle in <metricconverter productid=«1841. A» w:st=«on»>1841. A few years after, nearly every house in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> 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).

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..

Those who live away try to get back home because Christmas is a family celebration and it is the biggest holiday of the year. As Christmas comes nearer, everyone is buying presents for relatives and friends. At Christmas people try to give their children everything they want. And the children count the weeks, than the days, to Christmas. They are wondering what presents on December 24th. Father Christmas brings their presents in the night. Then they open them on the morning of the 25th.

There is another name for Father Christmas in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region> – Santa Claus. That comes from the European name for him – Saint Nicholas. In the traditional story he lives at the North Pole. But now he lives in big shops in towns and cities all over <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. Well, that’s where children see him in November and December. Then on Christmas Eve he visits every house. He climbs down the chimney and leaves lots of presents. Some people leave something for him, too. A glass of wine and some biscuits, for example..

December 26th is Boxing Day. They went from house to house on December 26th and took boxes made of wood with them. At each house people gave them money. This was a Christmas present. So the name of December 26th doesn’t come from the sport of boxing – it comes from the boys’ wooden boxes. Now, Boxing Day is an extra holiday after Christmas Day.

But the tradition of the December 26th hunt is changing. Now, some people want to stop Boxing Day Hunts (and other hunts, too). They don’t like foxhunting. For them it’s not a sport – it is cruel.

Usually a dark-complexioned man was chosen, and never a woman, for she would bring bad luck. The first footer was required to carry three articles: a piece of coal to wish warmth, a piece of bread to wish food, and a silver coin to wish wealth. In some parts of northern <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> this pleasing custom is still observed. So this interesting tradition called “First Footing”.

On October 31st British people celebrate Halloween. It is undoubtedly the most colourful and exciting holiday of the year. Though it is not a public holiday, it is very dear to those who celebrate it, especially to children and teenagers. This day was originally called All Hallow’s Eve because it fell on the eve of All Saints’ Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. According to old beliefs, Halloween is the time, when the veil between the living and the dead is partially lifted, and witches, ghosts and other super natural beings are about. Now children celebrate Halloween in unusual costumes and masks. It is a festival of merrymaking, superstitions spells, fortunetelling, traditional games and pranks. Halloween is a time for fun.

Halloween is something called Beggars’ Night or Trick or Treat night. Some people celebrate Beggars’ Night as Irish children did in the 17th century. They dress up as ghosts and witches and go into the streets to beg. And children go from house to house and say: “Trick or treat!”, meaning “Give me a treat or I’ll play a trick on you”. Some groups of “ghosts” chant Beggars’ Night rhymes:

Trick or treat,

Smell our feet.

We want something

Good to eat.


At Halloween parties the guests wear every kind of costume. Some people dress up like supernatural creatures, other prefers historical or political figures. You can also meet pirates, princesses, Draculas, Cinderellas, or even Frankenstein’s monsters at a Halloween festival.

March 1st is a very important day for Welsh people. It’s St. David’s Day. He’s the “patron” or national saint of <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Wales</country-region>. On March 1st, the Welsh celebrate St. Davids Day and wear daffodils in the buttonholes of their coats or jackets.

On February 14th it’s Saint Valentine’s Day in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. It is not a national holiday. Banks and offices do not close, but it is a happy little festival in honour of St. Valentine. On this day, people send Valentine cards to their husbands, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends. You can also send a card to a person you do not know. But traditionally you must never write your name on it. Some British newspapers have got a page for Valentine’s Day messages on February 14th.

This lovely day is widely celebrated among people of all ages by the exchanging of “valentines”.

Midsummer’s Day, June 24th, is the longest day of the year. On that day you can see a very old custom at <place w:st=«on»>Stonehenge, in <place w:st=«on»><city w:st=«on»>Wiltshire, <country-region w:st=«on»>England</country-region>. <place w:st=«on»>Stonehenge is on of <place w:st=«on»>Europe’s biggest stone circles.

And every June 24th a lot of them go to <place w:st=«on»>Stonehenge. On that morning the sun shines on one famous stone – the Heel stone. For the Druids this is a very important moment in the year. But for a lot of British people it is just a strange old custom.

April 1st is April Fool’s Day in <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>. This is a very old tradition from the Middle Ages (between the fifth and fifteenth centuries). At that time the servants were masters for one day of the year. They gave orders to their masters, and their masters had to obey.

There are some British traditions and customs concerning their private life. The British are considered to be the world’s greatest tea drinkers. And so tea is <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>Britain</country-region>’s favourite drink. The English know how to make tea and what it does for you. In <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> people say jokingly: ‘The test of good tea is simple. If a spoon stands up in it, then it is strong enough; if the spoon starts to wobble, it is a feeble makeshift’.

Every country has its drinking habits, some of which are general and obvious, others most peculiar. Most countries also have a national drink. In <country-region w:st=«on»><place w:st=«on»>England</country-region> the national is beer, and the pub “pub”, where people talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax.

The word “pub” is short for “public house”. Pubs sell beer. (British beer is always warm). An important custom in pubs is “buying a round”. In a group, one person buys all the others a drink. This is a “round”. Then one by one all the people buy rounds, too. If they are with friends, British people sometimes lift their glasses before they drink and say: “Cheers”. This means “Good luck”.

And as you know, the British talk about the weather a lot. They talk about the weather because it changes so often. Wind, rain, sun, cloud, snow – they can all happen in a British winter – or a British summer.
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