Zadanie
Read the text below and decide whether the sentences in the table are true or false.
In English speaking countries the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey (pieczony indyk) with vegetables and sauces. For dessert lovers there is fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. Mince pies (paszteciki), pastry cases filled with a mixture of chopped dried fruit are also very popular. In the USA, dinner is usually roast turkey, goose (gęś), duck (kaczka) or ham served with cranberry sauce (sos żurawinowy), then plum pudding or pumpkin pie (ciasto z dyni) followed by nuts and fruit. In British Columbia, Canada Christmas turkey may be accompanied by either fresh or smoked salmon (łosoś). In the USA and Canada Christmas celebrations are very similar.
The majority (większość) of people celebrate Christmas with the exchange of gifts and greetings and with family visits. For many, the day begins on Christmas Eve with the Midnight Mass. But there are also some differences. In some Canadian provinces, a big winter festival, called Sinck tuck, is celebrated by the Eskimos, with dancing and a present-giving party. In the USA homes are decorated with holly (ostrokrzew) and mistletoe, most have a Christmas tree hung with electric lights, baubles (świecidełka, błyskotki) and candy canes (laski cukierków) but if you’re waiting for Santa Claus be prepared that he may arrive in different ways in different states: In Hawaii Santa Claus arrives by boat, in California, he sweeps in on a surf board.
The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red robe (toga), and leaves presents in stockings (pończochy) on Christmas Eve. In England the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day because boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.
In New Zealand Christmas is combined with summer holidays, so as well as present-buying and parties, families are preparing for trips to the beach. Christmas in Australia is also often very hot. Some Australians have their Christmas dinner at midday on a local beach. Other families enjoy their day by having a picnic. Australians surround themselves with the Christmas Bush, a native plant which has little red flowered leaves.
In Scotland, Christmas has traditionally been celebrated very quietly. On Christmas day, people sometimes make big bonfires and dance around them to the playing of bagpipes (dudy) but the Scottish people have their big celebrations on New Year’s Day, called Hogmanay. The Welsh are great lovers of music and every year at Christmas, carol singing is the most enjoyed activity. Taffy (toffi) making is one of the most important things of the Welsh Christmas. This involves the making of a special kind of toffee from brown sugar and butter. It is boiled and then pulled so that it becomes lovely and shiny.
There is one thing that never changes: Christmas is fantastic!
TRUE or FALSE
1 In English speaking countries the traditional Christmas dinner is roast lamb. true false
2 In the USA and Canada Christmas celebrations are completely different. true false
3 In the USA homes are decorated with popcorn and candy canes. true false
4 In Hawaii Santa Claus doesn’t arrives on sleigh. true false
5 In New Zealand and Australia people have their Christmas meal in the beach. true false
6 In England Father Christmas leaves presents in stockings on Christmas Eve. true false
7 Christmas in Australia is always very cold. true false
8 The Welsh never sing Christmas carols. true false
9 In every English speaking country people exchange Christmas presents. true false
10 In Scotland Christmas is more celebrated than a New Year’s Eve Party. true false
Answers
1 – false; 2 – false; 3 – true; 4 – true; 5 – true; 6 – true; 7 – false; 8 – false; 9 – true; 10 – false.
Christmas customs – zwyczaje świąteczne
In Great Britain a typical dish at the Christmas table is the Christmas pudding. The preparation of this dish is a tradition according to which every member of the family stirs a pudding mixture. They make a wish also. It’s important to stir the pudding from east to west direction if you want your wish to come true. They also put a silver coin into the mixture. The one who finds it while eating will have luck all the year.
W Wielkiej Brytanii typową potrawą na świątecznym stole jest świąteczny pudding. Przygotowanie tego dania jest tradycją, według której każdy członek rodziny miesza miksturę. Wypowiadają też wtedy życzenia. Ważne jest, aby mieszać pudding w kierunku od wschodu do zachodu, jeżeli chcesz, aby Twoje życzenie spełniło się. Do mikstury wkłada się także srebrną monetę. Ten, kto ją znajdzie podczas jedzenia, będzie miał szczęście cały rok.
In the USA and Great Britain people get presents on the St. Stephan’s Day which is on the 26th of December. The day is known as Boxing Day. On that day in Victorian times churches were giving boxes of goodies for the poor.
W USA i Wielkiej Brytanii ludzie dostają prezenty w dzień św. Stefana, który jest 26 grudnia. Dzień ten znany jest jako Boxing Day (Dzień Pudełek, a nie Dzień Boksu!). Tego dnia w czasach wiktoriańskich kościoły rozdawały biednym pudła z różnymi rzeczami.
In the USA people decorate their houses with chains and all the things connected with Christmas. Post boxes are decorated in the beginning of Advent and they look really beautiful for many weeks.
W USA ludzie dekorują swoje domy łańcuchami i innymi rzeczami, które kojarzą się ze świętami Bożego Narodzenia. Skrzynki na listy są dekorowane na początku adwentu i wyglądają naprawdę pięknie przez wiele tygodni.