Biletul 15 favourite holiday and the traditions related

[mell]

15.Speak about your favourite holiday and the traditions related to it. Give arguments and examples to support your ideas.

[m3d31989]

The Christmas season is a time for celebrating the gift of Jesus Christ, reaching out to others, and sharing traditions with loved ones. Family time at Christmas can create some of life’s most precious memories! Even simple activities can carry a lot of meaning and greatly impact the lives of your children.
Here ATI staff from across the country share the traditions and holiday ideas that have meant a lot to their families, encouraging you to plan special times for your family and to keep Christ the central focus of your holiday celebrations.
Probably my favorite Christmas tradition growing up was doing Advent together as a family the four weeks prior to December 25. Each Sunday we gathered around the table and lit a candle in the Advent wreath—one candle for each week, until all the candles were lit.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is the decorating of the Christmas tree. Each year, we enjoy hot apple cider and molasses cookies as we decorate. With Christmas music playing in the background, we all hang our own ornaments on the tree. Our tree has never had one particular theme, except maybe ‘hodgepodge’! Yet, I think it’s one of the most beautiful trees of all, with stories and memories tucked into every branch
love Christmas! I love the smells of balsam, the sounds of Christmas hymns, and—most of all—the faces of friends and family! It is one of the most wonderful times of the year.

[musa paradisiaca]

15.Speak about your favourite holiday and the traditions related to it. Give arguments and examples to support your ideas.

"Ring out the Old ! Ring in the New !
Ring happy bells, across the snow !
The Year is going ! Let him go !
Ring out the False ! Ring in the New !"
( Alfred Lord Tennyson )

Introduction :

- holidays are official or unofficial observances of religious, national, cultural and secular events;
- holidays are often accompanied by celebrations and festivities;
- some holidays are international, but celebrated in national, specific ways;
- other holidays are national, so very particular to the countries or cultures which initiated them;

Development :

A. The New Year's Holiday - A Religious, Social, and Cultural Observance

- New Year's Day falls on January 1;
- it is the first day of the new calendar year;
- however, the majority of New Year's celebrations occur on the New Year's Eve, December 31;
- on this eve, the international custom is to send a farewell to the ending year and to acclaim the welcoming of the New Year, with joy, happiness, and crack fires;
- it is hope of future success spiritually and financially which mark the holiday;
- celebrating the beginning of the New Year and the end of the Old Year is a religious, social and cultural observance in many countries;
- the holiday is associated with the calendar, which has changed several times during the ages;
- in the Middle Ages, March 25 was the New Year's Day ( this was the feast of the Annunciation, that is the date when Mary the Virgin was told she was going to carry the Son of God;
- the Gregorian calender and the Roman catholic church chose January 1 as the beginning of the year;
- however, wherever the Julian calender was observed ( see the Russian culture, for example ), January 14 was the New Year;
- so the calendar was fundamental in the determination of the New Year;

B. The New Year's International Holiday - A Joyful Celebration in All Times

- the earliest known record of a New Year record dates from 2000 BC in Mesopotamia;
- the Babylonians celebrated the New Year when the first New Moon appeared after the Spring Equinox ( usually mid March );
- the Assyrians held their New Year in late September closest to the Autumnal Equinox;
- the Greeks chose the winter Solstice December 22 and 23 as their New Year;
- the Jewish New Year begins on the first day of the month of Tishri - September 6th, and it lasts for 2 days;
- the Chinese New Year begins in late January or early February and the holiday lasts for one month;
- the Japanese celebrate the New Year on January 1-3, by decorating the entrance to homes with ropes of straw to keep out evil spirits;
- or by using fern, bitter orange and lobster to decorate their houses because they believe that these bring them good fortune, prosperity and long life;
- in South India, Tamil, New Year is celebrated on the Winter Solstice in late December;
- on this Holiday, the Indians do pilgrimages and celebrate with boilings of new rice as traditions;

C. The New Year's Romanian Holiday - A "Good Luck, Happiness, and Success" Wish

- the festive New Year celebration in Romania is marked by various New Year traditions that were practiced by early folks;
- Romanians still honour and observe the various New Year traditions to preserve the rich cultural heritage, and ensure that the traditions are passed on to future generations;
- most of the New Year's traditions in Romania are meant to express reciprocal good luck and fortune ;
- on New Year's Eve Romanian children sing "Plugusorul" and "Sorcova";
- in their songs, they wish good luck, happiness and success to anyone willing to welcome them;
- you can hear the ringing of the bells and the bull sounds;
- the goat's game, the bear's game, and the masks' games are old Romanian traditions;
- "Sorcova" is a small branch or stick, adorned with multi-coloured artificial flowers carried by the Romanian children to touch rhythmically and lightly to their elders, and congratulate them on the occasion, and wish them a long life and a Happy New Year;
- on New Year's morning, some orthodox families toss money into the water, meant to bring them good fortune during the entire following year;
- at the midnight of December 31, Romanian peasants try the weather of the following year by using large onion peels;
- they peel off the onion following the order of the months of the year;
- they put some salt on each of the onion petals;
- on "Sfantu Vasile" Day ( which is the New Year's Day ), a person, who is efficient in witchcraft and spells, checks the level of the liquid left by the melted salt in each of the onion petals;
- this is how the people come to know about the various climactic conditions of the New Year;
- another funny New Year's Romanian tradition is the Vergel;
- Vergel is performed exclusively by unmarried young people and their parents;
- the person who practices the Vergel wants to know what the future has in store for them, and what type of partner they are going to meet in the New Year;

Conclusion :

- the earliest known record of a New Year's celebration dates from 2000 BC in Mesopotamia;
- the New Year's Holiday was and is celebrated on different days of the year, because it is associated with the calendar, which was changed or corrected many times in history;
- the way the Romanians celebrate the New Year's Holiday is the dearest to me because I am very familiar with these customs and traditions, which I also practice myself;

[Aixa]

Christmas is my favourite holiday and is the best time for me. It brings friends and family together. Everyone smells joy in the air and everyone is celebrating Jesus’ birthday. It’s a matter of opening gifts and celebrating the Lord. Christmas means having fun with your family, spending time with your family, seeing all the beautiful lights, decorating the tree, eating all the food you can eat, celebrating Jesus's birthday and buying presents for other people.
In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on 25 of December is a high point of the year.From November , it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Coloured lights decorate many town centres and shops, along with shiny decorations and artificial snow painted on shop windows. In streets and shops, Christmas trees are also decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments. By mid-December, most homes are also being decorated with Christmas trees, coloured lights and paper or plastic decorations around the rooms. These days, many more people decorate garden trees or house walls with coloured electric lights.

Christmas in Romania is a great fun time with lots of unique customs and traditions. We decorate our houses, go shopping, bake cookies and cakes, send Christmas cards and decorate the Christmas tree .Christmas songs are an indispensable part of the festivities surrounding the occasion of the birth of our Holy Father and are also a mean to spread the good cheer of the festival. One tradition is that children carry a large wooden star which is covered with shiny paper and decorated with bells and colored ribbon. A picture of the Holy Family is put in the star's center and a lighted candle is placed inside to give the effect of a heavenly lantern.The Christmas season is a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and sharing traditions with the loved ones. Family time at Christmas can create some of life’s most precious memories. My favorite Christmas traditions is the decorating of the Christmas tree. With Christmas music playing in the background, we all hang our own ornaments on the tree.
I love Christmas because for me it's one of the most wonderful times of the year.