Текст на английском про Рождество

Christmas is a winter holiday. In Britain it is on the twenty-fifth of December. In Russia it is on the seventh of January.

In Britain people have got a Christmas tree at home. They put presents under the tree.

Children write letters to Father Christmas. They hang stockings over the fireplace. In the morning there are presents in them!

On Christmas Day British families eat roast turkey and Christmas pudding. They sing Christmas songs.

I like Christmas very much. It is a happy family holiday.

Last December my family spent the winter holidays in London, because my aunt lives there. It was my first Christmas in Britain, and everything was different from Russia.

The streets were full of lights, and there was a huge Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. People were buying presents in busy shops, and a choir was singing carols outside a church.

On the twenty-fifth of December we woke up early and opened our presents. Then we had a big lunch with roast turkey, potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I didn't like the sprouts very much! After lunch we pulled crackers and put on silly paper crowns.

Back home in Moscow, we celebrated again on the seventh of January with my grandparents. So last winter I had two Christmases, and the second one was even cosier than the first.

Next year my aunt is going to visit us in Russia.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and it is one of the most important holidays in the Christian world. However, not all Christians celebrate it on the same day. In Britain and most of Western Europe it falls on the twenty-fifth of December, while in Russia it is celebrated on the seventh of January.

The reason is the calendar. The Russian Orthodox Church still uses the old Julian calendar, which is now thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar that most of the world follows. Russia itself switched to the new calendar in 1918, but the church kept the old one.

British Christmas traditions are well known around the world. Families decorate a tree, send cards and eat a big Christmas dinner. The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in Victorian England, and the Christmas tree became popular after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who was German, put one up in the royal palace.

In Russia, Christmas is quieter than New Year, which is the main winter celebration. Some families go to church on Christmas Eve, and in the past young people used to tell fortunes during the Svyatki, the holy days between Christmas and Epiphany.

I have celebrated New Year many times, but I have never spent a real British Christmas. If I go to Britain in December, I will try Christmas pudding.

In Britain, the Christmas season seems to start earlier every year. By the beginning of November, shop windows are already glittering with decorations, and familiar songs play in every supermarket. For retailers it is the most profitable time of the year, and it is not unusual for families to spend more than they can comfortably afford.

Many people complain that this commercial pressure has buried the original meaning of the holiday. Christmas, after all, began as a religious festival, and for centuries it was associated with modest celebrations, church services and charity. Charles Dickens, whose 'A Christmas Carol' did much to shape the modern idea of the holiday, placed generosity and kindness, rather than expensive gifts, at the heart of his story.

Interestingly, the Russian experience offers a different perspective. Because New Year took over the role of the main winter festival in the twentieth century, with its tree, presents and Ded Moroz, Orthodox Christmas on the seventh of January has remained relatively quiet. For many families it is a calm, almost private day, which some foreigners find surprisingly appealing.

Not everyone, however, sees commercialism as a disaster. Supporters argue that gift-giving is simply a way of showing affection, and that the festive lights bring joy during the darkest weeks of the year.

In my opinion, the spirit of Christmas depends less on the date or the size of the presents than on the attention we give to one another. Had Dickens's miser Scrooge only received an expensive present, he would hardly have changed; it was the reminder of what really matters that transformed him.