Презентация к уроку английского языка для 6 класса "Традиции и обычаи английского Рождества"

Christmas: customs and traditions

Colours of Christmas  

The colours most closely

associated with the

Christmas season are:

red , white and green .

Some say that this is because of

the red and green plants of

wintertime contrasting with the

white snow.

Red

means love and reflects our warmth and

love for each other.

It is also the colour that is considered the

greatest excitement .

As a religious symbol it stands for fire ,

blood , and charity .

The holly berries and poinsettias

are two winter plants traditionally

used as Christmas decorations.

Green

means hope and the eternal

longing for spring and all the

promises of the future.

Green is the symbol for nature,

youth, and the hope of eternal

life.

Christmas is a feast of hope,

with a newborn child as its central

symbol .

White

means purity and is represented by the

crystalline form of water and the snowflake.

White is the religious symbol which stands

for light, purity, joy and glory.

White is seen in the robes of Christmas

angels, and in Santa’s beard, as well as in

Christmas snow and snow flakes.

The old man with the sack

'Father Christmas' (or 'Santa Claus') has become the human face of Christmas.

Pictures will be seen

everywhere of the old man

with long white beard, red

coat, and bag of toys.

Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before Christmas and many children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true.

The old man with the sack

In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole, and arrives through the sky on a sledge pulled by reindeer.

He comes into houses down

the chimney at midnight and

places presents for the children

in socks or bags by their beds or

in front of the family Christmas

tree.

The old man with the sack

In shops or at children's parties, someone will dress up as Father Christmas and give small presents to children, or ask them what gifts they want for Christmas.

Christmas can be a time of

magic and excitement for children.

Father Christmas is based on a real person.

St. Nicholas, which explains his other name 'Santa Claus’.

Who was he?

Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it.

It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire!

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper.

It is believed that Martin Luther , the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles .

• While coming home one dark winter's night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home.
• He attached candles to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century.

It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.

Stockings  

• Legend says that Saint Nicholas loved to give gifts.

• Many years ago, Saint Nicholas heard of a poor, widowed man who had three unmarried daughters. This man had hardly enough money for food and clothing for his daughters. In those days if a woman did not have a dowry her chances of marriage were not good.
• Saint Nicholas was traveling through their village and overheard some of the villagers talking about this man's troubles. The oldest daughter had hung her stockings to dry by the fireplace one evening and the next morning she found a lump of gold in one. No one knew where this money came from, but she now had a dowry and could marry.
• Shortly after, gold was found in each of the other sister's stockings.

Boxing Day

In English-speaking countries, the day following Christmas Day is called 'Boxing Day'.

This word comes from the custom which started in the Middle Ages around 800 years ago: churches would open their 'alms boxe' (boxes in which people had placed gifts of money) and distribute the contents to poor people in the neighbourhood on the day after Christmas.

Christmas Food

When people gather to celebrate this holiday, there is a wide assortment of food.

The English traditionally serve goose,the Germans

suckling pigs, and in America the holiday dinner

usually enters around a turkey.

Many foods have special meaning at Christmas.

Mince meat pies have long been a traditional Christmas food.

Many years ago they were made with a mixture of beef, chicken and spices that was meant to symbolize the gifts the Wise Men brought to the manger .

The pies were shaped like a manger with an image of the baby Jesus on top. Today mincemeat is made of raisins and other dried fruit in the traditional pie shape.

Christmas breads and cakes can be found in most countries that celebrate the holiday

Gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries.

At Christmas time gingerbread makes its most impressive appearance. The baking of lebkuchen ( a gingerbread cookie ) and elaborate gingerbread houses is a custom that originated in Germany and quickly caught on in North America .

Families throughout the world prepare special holiday foods together.

Baking sugar cookies shaped like holiday symbols and decorated by the family with frosting, sprinkles or candy pieces is a popular tradition in the United States.

The Candy Cane

Candies have been associated with the holiday season since bakers began experimenting with sugar and chocolate centuries ago.

There is more than one legend telling the beginning of the candy cane. Some say they first appeared in the 17th century as white sugar sticks and another credits a candymaker from Indiana at the turn of the 20th century. No one knows for sure when candy canes became red and white striped, or when they were first shaped to resemble a cane, but they are now a part of our Christmas history.

Christmas quiz

1. When was Christmas first celebrated?

Around 100 AD

In the 4th Century

1935

2. Where did the Christmas tree tradition originate?

Germany

Israel

New England

3. Who probably was the first man to illuminate a Christmas tree with candles?

Pope John I

Martin Luther

St.Nicolas

4. What country was St. Nicholas born in?

Israel

Turkey

Germany

5.The candy cane legend says that it originated with a candy maker from where?

Turkey

Indiana

Germany