The reasons for the popularity of English holidays in Kazakhstan

THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF KAZAKHSTAN
“al-Farabi” school-lyceum
Theme:
Direction: EthnoculturePerfomed: Almira Karbaeva4 gradeProject manager: S.A. Sarmolda Petropavlovsk, 2016
Content
Introduction
The meaning of the word "holiday", the types of holidays
Holidays of Great Britain.
Holidays of Kazakhstan
Comparison of British and Kazakh holidays
The reasons for the popularity of English holidays in Kazakhstan
Conclusion
The list of used literature

Introduction
English language - is one of the most important languages of international communication. Today, more and more people in the world study this language. I am one of them. Learning of foreign language assumes not only the execution of grammar exercises, learning the new vocabulary, but also familiarity with the culture of the countries which language we learn. Holidays are an integral and very important part of this culture.
Comparison the traditions of celebrating of the various festivals in the UK and Kazakhstan, and analysis of the influence of British culture on Kazakhstan holidays can speak about the relevance of the topic.
The main holidays of the two countries, which we previously mentioned, existed in different times, but until now, they have not lost their importance, because they occupy a significant place in the life of every human.
The aim of my work is to analyze and compare the holidays of UK and Kazakhstan, find out the reasons for the popularity of many British holidays in our country.
The main objectives of my work are:
To explain, what the word “holiday” means, describe the main kinds of holidays;
To describe interesting English and Kazakh holidays;
To compare several English and Kazakh holidays, to show their similarities and differences;
To analyze the reasons of popularity English holidays in Kazakhstan.
Personal importance. Today, people celebrate a huge number of holidays, sometimes they don’t guess about its meaning. I wanted to know everything about Kazakhstan and British holidays, to learn how many similar elements in the tradition of the celebration, and to see why the British holidays are popular in our country.
The novelty of our work is that we are not just compared the holidays, but also tried to compare the culture of the two countries. We also conducted a survey with the aim to ascertain the popularity of foreign holidays in our country, the reasons for this phenomenon. Based on the results of the survey, we made the appropriate conclusions, which are proposed in our work.
The meaning of the word "holiday", the types of holidays
At all times, among different peoples the holiday was a special event, it stood out among the other weekdays, and it had a special significance in the life of the family, the whole society and the country. Over the years, many memorable dates preserved in a festive culture, and appeared many ways to celebrate one or the other date. Despite the fact that all the holidays in some way various, many of them have something in common.
Holidays have always existed in the culture of different nations, and now exist in the culture of different countries. Every day some festival rattles on the planet. Holidays are prepared, they are remembered and unforgettable. They create a festive atmosphere and gather people together.
So what is a holiday? Holiday - it's a great day when people can have a good time, relax, have a parties, communicate and present gifts to each other. Holiday - it's not just the next date in the calendar, it’s moment of happiness in the soul of each person.
The main purpose of the festival - to restore harmony between people, unite them, give them a feeling of common happiness. The impression from a good holiday is stored in the soul of man for a long time, being for him a real inspiration.
Holidays perform 3 main functions: entertaining, moral and aesthetic. Since ancient times, Since ancient times, many festivals have a mystical meaning, and are also rewards to people for their work.
It’s unable to find such a period in human history, when there was no holiday, and, consequently, it is impossible to say when the first holiday appeared. At all times there were ritual dances and chants accompanied by mass celebrations and distraction from everyday burdens and hassles.
One of the main reasons of the celebration of some event is the desire to remember the moments of life that changed destiny separately taken group of people, a whole country or even the world. Celebrating different holidays, we can learn a lot about the traditions and customs of country, to discover amazing historical facts, recall the great people. The journey to the history of the holiday can become unforgettable. So, it is very interesting to listen to stories of seniors about what and how they celebrated in their times, because in some cases, tend to change traditions, because in some cases, traditions have tend to change.
In the modern world the holidays became a good occasion to unite the nation, regardless of social and material position of the people, their religious identity. However, some holidays can not unite people, but also separate them. For example we can recall the religious holidays, wich are celebrated by only a particular group of people. In any case, the holiday can be considered as event, wich form the principles and values.
In general, modern holidays can be divided into several categories, such as: folk, religious, secular, national, family, professional and other.
Folk holidays are interesting and colorful, many of them are celebrated in accordance with national customs and traditions. In these festivals take part the largest number of people, and events have informal character. Unlike them, public holidays are very official. Most of these festivals are connected with historical events that happened in the country or the world, they have accurately organized plan of holding. Family holidays are celebrated by very small groups of people, one or more families, they have personal character, but not devoid of certain traditions, which are also largely dependent on nationality.
Holidays of Great Britain.
I analyzed the calendar of holidays of Great Britain. As a result of this work, I found that there are only 37 official holidays in the UK: 5 of them are official (New Year, Christmas, etc.); 12 of them - the festivals, memorable dates, etc., which have a great importance for the country, but not a holiday in the direct meaning of the word, 13 holidays are professional . We can also mention religious festivals, there are only 7 - it is Good Friday, the Catholic Easter, the Day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Halloween, All Saints Day, Guy Fawkes Day and the Catholic Christmas.

In this project, I want to consider several UK festivals, which, in my opinion, are very interesting for their originality. Moreover, these holidays have become popular in our country. The first holiday is the Saint Valentine's Day. At the dawn of our era lived the Roman Emperor 3064510566420Claudius I. He believed that lonely man fights better for his country, and therefore forbade representatives of a strong half of humanity to marry. But one of ordinary priest Valentine commiserated to unhappy couples and under the cover of night consecrated their alliance. Soon the emperor heard about his "antics ". He gave order to arrest the poor fellow and throw into prison, sentencing to death. And priest was executed on February 14.
The second amazing, a little frightening, but at the same time, not less interesting holiday - Halloween. Halloween had a great importance, at this time, with the help of rituals, people said goodbye to the old, bad, useless things and met new. Ancient British as a gift to the gods of nature brought apples, autumn vegetables, flowers, left them under the trees or buried in the ground, asking for help and support. The night of October 31, it was decided to put a plate of fruit on the street - for the dead souls so that they could come to the help to alive.
Later Halloween moved to the United States, practically forbidden in Europe. When there were millions of Irishmen in the New World, grinning pumpkin - a symbol of Halloween, in the eve of All Saints could be found already in every home. Americans began to dress costumes in that evening and go to the neighbors, begging for food and 701040346710money. This custom is called trick-or-treat - "Угости, а то напакощу".
A similar tradition was in England – in Day of Souls they begged food from the rich people in exchange for a promise to pray for their dead relatives. The English women believed that on Halloween, they can find out the name and appearance of her fiance, guessing on thread, apple stubs and mirrors. It was also possible try to find a witch, for it people came out on the road, putting on clothes inside out.
Finally, the last interesting British holiday, I would like to tell you about is the day of Guy Fawkes. November 5, 1605 some of conspirators tried to blow up the House of Parliament with the Government, King James I, the queen and their son. Guy Fawkes and his friends were displeased the attitude of the king to the Catholics, they hoped that English Catholics would be able to seize power in the country, if they kill members of the government and the royal family. The conspirators rented a cellar under the Parliament building, and a few days before the opening of Parliament Guy hid in the basement twenty casks with gunpowder.
But the plan was destined to fail. One of the conspirators cautioned his relative, Lord Monteagle, that he did not come to the parliament on this day. Honest Lord did not want to save only his life. Soon Guy Fawkes was seized. November 5 became the day of the memories about this event.
Thus, during the four years on November 5th in Britain is arranged the night of bonfires to celebrate the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. A few days before the holiday, children make a scarecrow of Guy in full size and wear it through the streets. All this time they shout something like "trifle for Guy!". In the evening, people make great bonfires on which scarecrow is burned, launch fireworks and even bake potatoes and chestnuts on coal of fire.
The last interesting holiday is Easter. Easter in Britain had its beginnings long before the arrival of Christianity. Celebrations of spring's renewal probably date back to prehistoric times, and supposedly the word Easter itself derives from the pagan festival of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn. The hare was said to have been sacred to this goddess, and is supposedly the origin of today's Easter bunnies, though rabbits, because of their fecund reputation, have always been symbols of fertility.
Easter Sunday is a moveable feast, falling anywhere between March 22 and April 25. Its date is calculated in a similar way to that of the Jewish festival of Passover.
The most important festival of the Christian church, Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, and in Britain many people attend Easter services and receive Communion who are not churchgoers at other times. Joyous peals of bells are rung, and many churches are lavishly decorated with flowers in the spring colors of yellow, white and green. 'Easter lilies' are often displayed on the altar. Following a custom which has spread from Wales to the rest of Britain, family graves are sometimes also decked with flowers at Easter.
Easter bonnets decorated with spring flowers or ribbons originated with parishioners wearing a bright new item of clothing, or perhaps even a complete new outfit, to church on Easter Sunday. Elaborate bonnets and outfits are worn in Easter parades in Britain, including the famous one at Battersea Park in London. Easter Monday is a favorite day for funfairs with rides and roundabouts, one of the oldest traditionally being held on London's Hampstead Heath.
720090208915Coming as it did after the long fast of Lent, Easter was traditionally a season of feasting. The classic British Easter food is the Easter egg. As an apparently inanimate object which nevertheless contains the source of new life, the egg is an ancient and universal symbol of spring's re-awakening. This symbol was adopted by Christians to signify the Resurrection, and some Christians also regard the egg as a symbol of the stone rolled away from the entrance to Christ's sepulcher. In Britain today chocolate Easter Eggs, often filled with candies, are given to relatives and friends, and especially to children.
All over the United Kingdom hard-boiled eggs are painted, decorated or dyed, and then concealed around the garden for an Egg Hunt.
On Easter Monday Egg Rolling competitions take place in northern England and Scotland. Hard-boiled eggs are rolled down a slope, and the winner, depending upon local custom, is the one which rolls the furthest, survives the most rolls, or is successfully aimed between two pegs. The best-known event takes place at Avenham Park in Preston, Lancashire.
Hot Cross Buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served on Good Friday. These small, spicy buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is marked on the top of the bun. Here is an excellent recipe for hot cross buns.
Holidays of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a multinational country, so it has as old traditions as new ones. People celebrate not only religious and public holidays as Nauryz, Batyr`s day, Capital day in our country, but also many international holidays like International woman`s day, New year and Christmas.
One of the main holidays of Kazakhstan Nauryz is considered to be. Nauryz is a holiday of spring renewal in Kazakhstan. It originated among the peoples of the East long before the adoption of Islam, therefore, it deprived of religious ritual and pattern. In the eastern 695325216535calendar, Nauryz is the start of the New Year coincides with the spring equinox. For Kazakhs, this holiday is a symbol of spring renewal, the triumph of love, fertility and friendship. In the old days before the arrival of Nauryz people brought their house and farm in order, in honor of the holiday planted trees and flowers. They believed if Nauryz entered the clean house to a good owner, the disease, failure, adversity passed by his side.
In this day, Kazakh people put on the most beautiful clothes, thing songs, take part in different national contest as aitys, baiga, go to each other and give presents. The main dish of this holiday is Naurys Kozhe. This dish consists of 7 ingredients that symbolize 7 element of life: water, meat, salt, fat, flour, cereals (rice, corn or wheat) and milk. These ingredients symbolize joy, luck, wisdom, health, welfare, speed, growth and divine protection.
2713355850900On the 1st of May Kazakhstan celebrates one of the most bright and kind holidays – The day of Unity of Kazakh people. The day of Unity is a holiday of friendship, harmony and understanding, which are so necessary for the country, where more than 150 nationalities live. A large family of Kazakhstan includes Kazakh, Uzbeks, Russian, Ukrainians, Germans, Koreans, Uighurs, Kyrgyz, Chinese, Jews, Armenians, Georgians, and many others. Every nation has unique traditions, but altogether they are people of Kazakhstan. It is the main idea of this holiday.
Great emotional charge that it carries in itself is associated with not only a sense of spring awakening of nature, but also the perception of May 1 as a general celebration, rallying all Kazakhstanis. Bright spring festival is held in every city in Kazakhstan friendly march through the main streets of the cities, as well as carrying out a plurality of entertainment events.
A very important event not only for Kazakh people, but also for all Muslims is Kurban-Ait - feast of sacrifice for the sake of God. People begin celebrate this holiday early in the morning. They put on clean beautiful clothes and go the mosque for the Morning Prayer.
As the victim Muslims bring different pets. The sacrificial animal must be bold, big and beautiful. It should be no flaws, which badly affect on the quantity and quality of meat. Therefore, we cannot sacrifice the lame, blind, or sick animals. It is advisable to use a third of the meat for the feast of family, to give one-third of the poor among the neighbors and relatives, and a third give in charity to those who request it.
On this day, every Muslim should invite guests and make dastarhan. People congratulate each other, visit their relatives and friends and give presents.
Comparison of British and Kazakh holidays
The aim of my work was to compare British and Kazakh holidays and their traditions. We found out that there are similar holidays in both countries. But there are also some differences. For example, the most holidays in Britain and the USA are religious, while the most holidays in Kazakhstan are public.
Moreover, British people are very conservative, and it is possible to see how they follow their traditions, many of which haven`t changed for ages. Kazakh people often think that new traditions are better than the old ones. However, today we can notice that Kazakh people begin to return to old traditions and customs in celebrating holidays.
At the same time, when borders were opened, Kazakh people and other nations, which live in Kazakhstan, began to take some traditions and customs from Western culture. Over the past ten years, we have adopted such European festivals as Valentine's Day, Halloween and even Christmas Day.
Let`s consider concrete examples of holidays that are celebrated in Great Britain, America and Kazakhstan.
728980558165For British people Christmas is more important holiday than New Year, but traditions of celebrating of New Year and Christmas in Kazakhstan and in English-speaking countries are similar. Christmas is the most important holiday in Great Britain. It is celebrated on December 25th. British people give each other gifts, decorate the Christmas tree, looking for Santa Claus, listen to speech of the Queen. Kazakhstan's Christmas Celebration has some differences. Kazakhstan Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. However, during this holiday people also give each other gifts, they go to each other, listen to the president's speech and waiting for Father Frost in Kazakhstan. Therefore, we can see that these holidays have much in common.
Another festival came from Russia to Kazakhstan and has already become a real Kazakh – it`s Maslenitsa. In the UK and in Russia people celebrate Maslenitsa. Tradition of celebrating this day is similar in both countries. British bake pancakes; organize competitions in speed of cooking and eating them. Maslenitsa is a very important holiday for many Orthodox, perhaps this is because after its celebration, many observe Lent. Maslenitsa is much brighter, more interesting in Kazakhstan than in the UK.
2348865537210Celebrating of mother`s day is connected with the annual spring festival in honor of the Greek Rhea, the mother of all children. Every second Sunday in May, the British mothers become queens of the day. Children give cards, flowers, congratulate their mothers. The similar traditions we can see in Kazakhstan. On the 8th of March International woman`s day is celebrated in our country. Women get presents and congratulations from husbands, children and friends. There are a lot of concerts and other entertainment events in this day.
From the foregoing it can be concluded that, despite the very serious differences between Kazakh and British holidays, there are some similarities that speak of some common human values, such as the worship of the mother, the friendliness and hospitality, faith in God.
6.The reasons for the popularity of English holidays in Kazakhstan
Nowadays American culture has a great influence on Kazakh people, for example: 90 % of information in the Internet in English, 85% of Kazakh people wear jeans and watch American films, over 30 % eat fast food every day. Moreover, many young people celebrate such American holidays as Halloween, St. Valentine`s Day and other in Kazakhstan. I think, it`s very interesting, why they celebrate them. Maybe, there aren`t enough holidays in our country? I collected a group of people and made worksheets to explain this fact.
Our group consists of 20 people of different ages and nationalities: 3 men and 17 women; 10 people are from 7 to 12 years old; 5 people are from 14 to 20 years old; over 30 years old – 5 people.
People could give several answers on some questions in my worksheet.
Worksheet
1. What the most important Kazakh holidays does your family celebrate?
A) New Year - 17
B) Birthday - 12
C) Nauryz - 3
D) March 8 - 7
E) Batyr Day - 3
F) Christmas - 3
G) Victory Day – 2
2. Do you celebrate religious and public holidays?
A) Yes - 19
B) No – 1
3. What are the traditions you follow during the celebration?
A) The decoration of Christmas tree - 16
C) The decoration of the house - 3
D) visiting relatives – 8
E) visiting friends – 5
F) singing a song – 1
4. What British and American holidays do you know?
A) Christmas - 7
B) Halloween - 8
C) St. Patrick's Day - 1
D) Independence Day - 1
E) Valentine's Day - 12
F) Thanksgiving Day – 1
5. What do you think is it good to celebrate the holidays of other nations? (Valentine's Day, Halloween, etc.).
A) Yes - 11
B) No - 3
C) does not all – 6
6. What do you think, why many Kazakh and Russian holidays were forgotten?
A) I do not know - 8
B) there is no significance - 4
C) we doesn`t value our traditions - 4
D) no information - 13
E) the change of generations - 9
F) it depends on the upbringing - 7
7. Do you celebrate British and American holidays?
A) Yes - 12
B) No – 8
Conclusion
New Year is the most important holiday in Kazakhstan for 85 % of respondents. For 60% of people it is their birthday; for 15% - Nauryz; for 35% of people – International woman`s day. Less important holidays for Kazakh people are Batyr`s day and Christmas – 15% of respondents, Victory day – 10% of people.

55% of Kazakh people believe it`s normal to celebrate foreign holidays. 15% think it isn`t normal to celebrate foreign holidays in our country and 30% has some doubts about the answer.

According to our research, the most popular foreign holiday in Kazakhstain is St. Valentine`s Day. 60% of people think so. At the second place is Halloween with 40%. Christmas finishes our list with 35%.

Foreign holidays has the biggest popularity among young people in our country. There are several reasons why these holidays become popular. At the first, today the world is opened and different cultures have a great influence on each other. At the second, Kazakhstan is a multinational country, so every nation has traditional holidays. Public holidays and foreign holidays unite people of different religions and nationalities.
We can use the results of our research in real life. For example, the results can be important for marketers to decide which holiday goods will sell best. The research results can be applied in the entertainment industry. According to the interests of people, different theme parties, concerts and other performances can be made for some of the most popular foreign holidays. People also can use our project in educational aims on lessons of culture studying and English to explore the peculiarities of celebrating traditions of Kazakh and British cultures.
The list of used literature
Kurylenko Y. «400 English topics for students» M .: 2004.
VK Mueller. New English-Russian Dictionary. M.: 2001.
Smirnitskiy AI Russian-English dictionary. M.: 2002.
«Britain in brief», V.V. Oshchepkova, I.I. Shustilova;
«Dictionary of British language and culture», publishing house «Longman»;
«Kazakh family. Holidays and traditions», publishing house «White City»;
«Life and culture of Russian cities», M.V. Korotkov.
http://www.homeenglish.ru/otherbritain.htm
http://www.calend.ru/holidays/0/0/1263/
http://www.wday.ru/