Девочки, благодарю вас за участие в галерее праздников, посвящённой Дню сурка. Нам с вами удалось собрать хотя и небольшую, но всеобъемлющую коллекцию идей, каждая из которых даёт возможность посмотреть на День сурка под новой призмой. Как мы и договаривались, я отправила вам на почту небольшие виртуальные подарки в виде текста по теме галереи с заданиями.

Радует, что наша подборка уже пригодилась нашим читателям и, я уверена, ещё не раз поможет им с идеями в будущем. Мы с дочкой тоже воспользовались ими всеми и теперь с глубоким чувством удовлетворения готовы перейти к следующему празднику, которым будет День Святого Валентина.

Этот праздник отмечается 14 февраля во многих странах мира, включая все англоязычные страны, а с недавних пор и Россию. Давайте коротко пробежимся по фактам, собранным вокруг света.

Australia

During the Australian gold rush period, miners who were suddenly in possession of money from the new-found wealth of the Ballarat Mines were willing to pay a princely sum for elaborate valentines and merchants in the country would ship orders amounting to thousands of pounds at a time. The most extravagent Australian valentines were made of a satin cushion, perfumed and decorated in an ornate manner with flowers and colored shells. Some might even be adorned with a taxidermied humming bird or bird of paradise. This treasure, contained within a neatly decorated box, was highly valued, being both fashionable and extremely expensive.

America

In the United States of America, there have been many varieties of cards given over the course of the years, some of which have often been rude or even quite cruel in their humor. In the times of the Civil War, cards were flagged with rich colors accompanied by patriotic and/or political motifs. Early American valentine cards were especially lithographed and hand-colored, beautiful and distinctive in design, produced with intricate lace paper and decorated with such ornaments as beads, sea shells, cones, berries and all manner of seeds. Cards were also available decorated with seaweed or moss, in addition to dried and/or artificial flowers, all of which were attached to a string which was pulled and could then be suspended, thereby creating a three-dimensional picture. Many early American cards were imported from abroad, given the poor quality of American paper at the time which was not particularly suitable for embossing. Today, American children usually exchange valentines with their friends and there may even be a classroom party.

Britain

The poets of Britain have probably penned the majority of the best-loved romantic verses associated with Saint Valentine. Different regions of the nation celebrate their own customs to honor this day, although the sending of cards and gifts of flowers and chocolates is standard procedure throughout the entire country. One uniform custom is the singing of special songs by children, who then receive gifts of candy, fruit or money. In some areas, valentine buns are baked with caraway seeds, plums or raisins.

Scotland

In Scotland, Valentine's Day is celebrated with a festival. At this festival, there is an equal number of unmarried males and females, each of whom write their name (or a made-up name) on a piece of paper which is then folded and placed into a hat...one hat for the ladies and one for the men. The females then draw a name from the hat containing the men's names and vice versa. Of course, it is highly likely that the two drawn names will not match, in which event, it is usually expected that the male partner with the female who selected his name. This rite having been completed, the company split up into couples and gifts are given to the ladies. The females would then pin the name of their partner over their hearts or on their sleeves. A dance often follows and, at the end of the festival, it is not unusual for marriages to take place. According to another Scottish custom, the first young man or woman encountered by chance on the street or elsewhere will become that individual's valentine. Valentine's Day gifts in Scotland are frequently given by both parties in the form of a love-token or true-love-knot.

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И я снова приглашаю вас обменяться идеями, имеющими отношение к Дню Святого Валентина. Нам интересно всё: ваши поделки и игры на английском языке, подготовленные вами сценарии праздника, написанные вами информативные статьи и т.д. Чтобы присоединиться к галерее, поставьте ссылку на неё в вашем посте. Более подробные условия участия, а также список праздников, по которым у нас будут галереи, ищите здесь. А я тем временем подготовлю для вас небольшой виртуальный подарок: рассказ о празднике и задания к нему.