Let's talk about customs and traditions of an English-speaking country

British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain, they often think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more to Britain than just those things. In Britain customs and traditions play a more important part in the life of people than in other countries. A custom is the usual way of behaving or acting. A tradition is a custom, opinion or belief handed down from one generation to another, often orally or by practice. The British are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Some of them are very old games or plays. There is the Marbles Championship where people in beautiful clothes with ribbons and bells on them dance to traditional music with handkerchiefs or big sticks. The British Champion wins a silver cup known among folk dancers as Morris Dancing.

May 1st isn't a public holiday in Britain, but the 1st Monday after it is. There are many May Day Celebrations, especially in the country. People erect a maypole then, a tall pole with ribbons hanging from the top. Young children dance round it, holding the ribbons. Teenage girls sometimes enter for the May Queen competition.

Halloween is a day on which many children dress up. The day was originally called All Halloween's Eve, because it fell on October 31, the eve of all Saint's Day. Nowadays children dress up in costumes and go from door to door where they knock on the door, or ring the doorbell, and yell 'Trick or treat!' The idea being that the owners of the house give the children a treat (sweets or money) or the children will play a trick on them.

'Remember, remember the 5th of November' are the words of an old English song. In 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes had planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill James I. But he was caught and hanged. And still the British remember Guy Fawkes' Night or Bonfire Night. On November 5th children put their 'Guys', figures made of sacks and straw dressed in old clothes, on the bonfire, burn them and light their fireworks.

A popular Scottish event is the Edinburg Festival for music and drama held each year. A truly Welsh event is the Eisteddfod, a national festival of traditional poetry and music, with a competition for the best new poem in Welsh and for the best choir.

Some ceremonies are traditional, such as a Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour, the State Opening of Parliament. The Ceremony of Trooping the Colour is one of the most fascinating. It is staged in front of Buckingham Palace. It is held annually on the monarch's official birthday on the second Saturday in June. The Queen is escorted by Horse Guards riding to the Parade. The ceremony is accompanied by the music of brass bands.

To know customs and traditions means to understand the people and their culture better. It has always been interesting for me to learn about Great Britain and its traditions. I hope one day I'll be able to go there to see it with my own eyes.

 

Let's talk about modern means of communication

Modern technology is rapidly spreading all over the Earth. Every office is equipped with a personal computer, an answer-phone, a fax machine and a photocopier. Every teenager is able to use a video recorder, a camera or an MP3 player.

Ask a teenager or an adult if they can do without TV or the internet and most of them will honestly be surprised at the question. Radio and television play an important role in our life, they give the full coverage of the latest events, comment on political and domestic affairs, contribute to the development of the information network.

Personal computers are being used in almost every field today. For instance, they can pay wages, reserve seats on planes, control satellites in space, work out tomorrow's weather, play chess and compose music. Supposing we had neither television nor the internet in our modern world, we wouldn't be able to obtain the necessary information as quickly as possible, we would lose an important source of education and communication.

The most popular means of communication nowadays is the mobile phone. In Albania it is not unusual to see an older person riding a donkey while talking on a mobile phone. In India you can see a beggar making or taking a call on a cell phone. Advanced models of mobile phones enable users to access the internet, send and receive e-mail and text messages, watch TV, listen to music, take photos, navigate by the Global Positioning System and phone.

At the same time addiction, distraction, interruption are perhaps the most recognized problems associated with popular communications and media technology. Let's consider the example of two newlyweds in a European country. According to a news report, they 'were on the phone constantly - in their cars, at the gym, even calling each other from different rooms inside their own house'. For many people the thought of being out of contact for even an hour is unbearable.

If to speak about disadvantages of television, there are people who wouldn't miss their favourite chat shows or football matches for anything in the world. Such people must remember that one can get addicted to TV, as it is a habit-forming drug impossible to resist. There are people who stop participating in any sports activities. Others stop going out to communicate with their friends and relatives. Doctors keep reminding us that constant viewing inevitably degrades the eyesight. Sitting slows down the blood circulation and turns you into a couch potato.

George Bernard Shaw used to say that maximum of opportunities is always combined with maximum of temptation. This saying can be fully applied to modern means of communication and technical progress.

 

Let's talk about sport

It goes without saying that doing sports is very important for every person. A certain amount of exercise is necessary to keep your body in good shape. Sport is given a lot of attention all over the world as it helps to bring up strong and healthy people. It creates, so to speak, a healthy body for a healthy mind. It also makes people more self-organized and better disciplined.

There is always a kind of sport which will suit you and there are many different kinds to choose from. If you like team games, you can play football, volleyball, ice hockey, field hockey or basketball. Games to play with a friend include badminton, squash and tennis. There are individual sports such as swimming, riding, horseriding or athletics.

There are summer sports such as track-and-field athletics and water sports and winter sports such as cross-country skiing, snowboarding or skating. There are sports which don't depend on the weather, since they are played indoors. Extreme sports have also become one of the fast growing leisure activities nowadays. Among them there are parachuting, hang gliding, windsurfing, bungee jumping, cave diving etc.

An important attraction of sport is also its competitive and challenging nature. The roots of men's desire to display their physical health and beauty go back to ancient times when the idea of the Olympic Games first appeared. For the ancient Greeks the Games were a way of saluting their gods. The original Olympics included competitions in music, oratory and theatre performances as well. After nearly 300 Olympiads they were stopped by the Roman emperor Theodosius. 1500 years had passed and the Games started again in Greece in 1896. The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London.

At present sport in our country is paid a lot of attention to by the government and much is being done to set up all necessary facilities for its development. Many skating rinks, stadiums are built for people to go in for sports. Our country is preparing for the 2014 Ice Hockey Championship which will take place in Minsk. Our country provides support to team sports. Our national senior and junior teams have become regular participants in the finals of top tournaments, European and world championships. The stunning performance of its athletes has secured Belarus a place among the top twenty sports nations. This is the best result the country has ever had in its sports history.

I'm sure that either as a sportsman or merely as a spectator almost every person likes sport. Some people do sports professionally, others have regular workouts to keep fit. As for me, I'm fond of volleyball. I love it because it's a team game and it requires different kinds of skills. You must do your best and at the same time you should keep your eye on what your teammates are doing and you need a quick brain too.

I do think regular exercise is an essential part of our life. I believe it's very important for people to have some regular exercises. It's very good for the posture, which I believe greatly affects the general health of the body, and makes you feel good.

Let's talk about fashion

Fashion is something we deal with every day. Even people who say they don't care what they wear choose clothes every morning that say a lot about them and how they feel that day. A person can say by their clothes, "This is what I think is nice and I believe it makes me look more attractive".

Psychologists say that 85% of the information people accept is visual information. Fashion is a language which tells a story about the person who wears it. We often judge people by what they are wearing. For example, people, dressed in expensive clothes are often thought to be wealthy and beautiful. People who wear old, dirty or torn clothes can't be called beautiful or reliable by others. In our modern society fashion models, singers, musicians, dancers, actors and sportsmen are the idols of thousands of teenagers who try to copy them in the way they dress, walk and style their hair. Their life-styles are advertised on TV and in fashion magazines. Numerous ads play on our feelings, emotions, and especially our wish to look beautiful.

Some people, especially women, believe that wearing a lot of make-up, having long nails and long eyelashes makes them pretty. I don't find people who put on a lot of make-up attractive. I don't understand it when both women and men who don't look ugly go to plastic surgeons to improve their bodies and look more attractive. Some people make tattoos or scars, have their noses, lips, eyebrows and other parts of the face and body pierced to follow the fashion.

As for me, while choosing clothes, accessories and a hairstyle it is always important to remember the rules of politeness, that there are different styles of clothes for different types of events. From my point of view, things that a person has in the wardrobe should be comfortable to wear. It's better to remain true to yourself. I usually spend little money on new clothes and my favourite items of clothes are blue jeans, grey sweaters and black boots. When it's cold I often put on my warm jacket. I feel like a fish out of water when something doesn't suit me.

My favourite fashion model is Claudia Schiffer who is a very successful German supermodel. She has appeared on the covers and fashion pages of all the major fashion magazines and is one of the faces of Chanel. She has a slim body and very long legs. Her most stunning feature is her attractive face with sparkling eyes and a straight nose. She is a successful businesswoman who has her own fitness video and spends a lot of time working with charity organizations. Fashion is not the most important thing in my life, but it helps me to feel in tune with the world I live in. I can't say I'm a dedicated follower of fashion but I always try to keep up-to-date. In conclusion I would like to say that "all that glitters is not gold." You should not be deceived by appearances, you should use your mind and soul to determine whether the person is trustworthy and pure in their intentions. As a wise proverb says: 'People meet by clothes and set off by mind'. I fully agree with it.