American customs amd traditions

CONTENT

 

Introduction	3
CHAPTER I Marriage and Weddings	4
CHAPTER II Holidays in USA	6
Conclusion	8
List of literature	9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

How often has each of us seen something happen while with another person and much to our disappointment we each come away from the event with a different recollection? The cumulative effect of our life experiences creates in each of us a lens through which we observe what goes on around us. This lens focuses our attention on particular aspects of what we see. Society passes principles and values to future generations through Customs, Traditions and Rituals that mold this lens through which we view our lives and shape our opinions. Throughout history, cultures have passed their Family Values to future generations by these means. 

Americans have many Customs and Traditions rooted in the cultures of our forefathers who were either Native Americans or who settled this great land after journeying long distances from other nations in search of "The American Dream". Very often the display of an object or symbol that is meaningful to a family or to society can become a Custom, Tradition or Ritual. Family Values are reflected in the Customs and Traditions practiced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I Marriage and Weddings

 

The United States is "a melting pot" of cultures each with their own unique Marriage Customs and Traditions. There has been a set of Customs and Traditions generally accepted as common to Marriage in The United States unless the marriage is a Common Law Marriage.

Dating is the accepted pre-engagement practice between couples. Families generally establish requirements for the details of acceptable activities, time of day, single or group dating etc. The age, personality and maturity of dating children generally drive the conditions set by parents if the children are still at home.

Love between the couples is believed to be a prerequisite to marriage.

Proposal of marriage by the man and acceptance by the woman results in an Engagement. Couples enter into marriage with the belief that the relationship is permanent. The engagement is marked by the gift of an Engagement Ring from the man proposing to the woman accepting.

A Marriage License is required by all States including a Blood Test and a prescribed waiting period.

A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner is usually celebrated between the immediate families of spouses in the late afternoon the day before the wedding. The Groom's Family traditionally provides for this celebration.

A Bachelor  Party is held for the Groom and usually sponsored by The Best Man the night before the Wedding. 

A Bridal Shower is usually sponsored by The Bride's Maid. It has become very popular now for The Bride's Maid to also sponsor a Bachelorette Party for the Bride. 

The Wedding Ceremony is most often performed as part of a religious ceremony each with its own specific customs and traditions. On the day of the wedding the Groom does not see the Bride until the actual ceremony. As Custom would have it from Victorian Times: the Bride wears Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and a Sixpence in her shoe.

Rings are exchanged to mark the permanent commitment of the new spouses to each other.

A Wedding Reception is usually held after the ceremony for all family and friends to celebrate. The Bride's Family usually provides for this celebration.

A Honeymoon is taken by the Bride and Groom to a secret place where they go off for their first night together in Marriage. It is thought that the Honeymoon Custom was established to avoid the European Custom Charivari where family and friends banged on pots and pans outside the couple's bedroom their first night of marriage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER II Holidays in USA

 

In the USA Constitution there is no provision for national holidays. Each state has the right to decide which holiday to celebrate. Many states have holidays of their own. 
There are eight major holidays observed in the USA.

Columbus Day is observed on October 12 in 34 States of the USA and in Puerto Rico. It celebrates the discovery of America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. 
The son of an weaver from Genoa, Columbus believed that he could reach India by sailing west. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain rendered him financial assistance, and in August 1492 he set sail on the Santa Maria and two other vessels. They reached the West Indies three months later and took the news back to Europe. Columbus made three more voyages to America.

Independence Day is the holiday honouring the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. On this day in 1776 the final draft of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson was adopted. The celebration of it began in the American Revolution. Since then it has been a patriotic holiday. Traditionally it is celebrated with firing of guns and fireworks, parades and open-air meetings. Thanksgiving Day is the holiday commemorating the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621, after a winter of starvation and privation. The first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by G. Washington, was celebrated on 26, 1789. Lincoln revived the custom in 1863. In 1941 Congress passed a resolution decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November. The day is observed by church services and family reunion. 
Until the mid-1970s February 22, the birthday of George Washington, the first President of the USA was observed as a federal holiday. In addition many states celebrated the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12. In 1970s U.S. Congress declared that in order to honour all past presidents of the USA, a single holiday, called President's Day, would be observed on the third Monday in February. 
Labour Day is observed on the first Monday of September. It has been a federal holiday since 1894, but it was observed in some places before that date as a result of campaigns launched by an organisation of workers called the "Knights of Labour". Its purpose is to honour the working people of the country. In many cities the day is marked by parades of working people representing the labour unions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

The  population  of  the  USA  is  made  up of   people   of   different nationalities.  Centuries  ago  they  brought   with   them   their   native celebrations.  Some  holidays  which  are  marked  in  the   US   originated in  America.  There  is  no  provision  for   national   holidays   in   the USA.  The  number  of  holiday  is  different  in  different  states –  from   8   in    the    District    of    Columbia    to    20    in    Oklahoma.

Each of 50 states establishes its own legal holidays. But there are holidays, which are common to all federal offices. They are the New Year Day, Washington Birthday - "President"s Day", Memorial Day, Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day. There are also many traditional holidays such as St" Valentine"s Day, Mothers" Day and Halloween. Perhaps the "two most American holidays" are the 4th of July and Thanksgiving Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Literature

 

1. “Holidays  Go  Round  and  Round”;  Authors:  Kathleen  Carroll,   Marina

    Novikova.  St  Petersburg,  1996,  Triada  Publishing.

2. “Английский  для   поступающих  в   ВУЗы”;   Authors:   Цветкова   И.  В.,

   Клепальченко  И.  А.,  Мыльцева  Н. А.  Москва,  ГЛОССА,  1995.

3. “95  устных  тем   по   английскому   языку”;   Author:   Занина   Е.  А.

   Москва,  Айрис  Рольф,  1997.

4. “Spotlight   on   the   USA”;   Author:   Natalia   Timanovskaya.   Тула,

   Автограф,  1996.

5. “Living  in  the   United   States”.   Intercultural   exchange   series.

   Copy  right  1994.

6. “Happy  English  2”;  Authors:   Татьяна   Клементьева,   Джилл   Шэннон.

   Обнинск,  Титул,  1996.

7. “English”.   Еженедельное  приложение  к  газете   “   Первое   сентября”,

   N  7, 9, 11, 17, 18, 20, 29, 32, 36, 42, 1994.