Holidays and celebrations.

national holiday, public holiday – an official holiday celebrated by the whole country;
EX. The government officially observes its anniversary as a national holiday.
legal holiday – an official holiday, a nonworking holiday established by law;
EX. Monday was Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
bank holiday – 1. BrE: an official public holiday on which banks are closed; a nonworking day; 2. AmE: a legal holiday;
EX. Our offices will be closed for the bank holiday.
major holiday – a widely celebrated holiday;
EX. Our country's major holiday - the 68th anniversary of Victory - is approaching.
popular holiday – a widely celebrated holiday that people like very much;
EX. Halloween - a very popular holiday for American children.
local holiday – a holiday celebrated locally, only in some region or place;
EX. The festival began as a local holiday, but in 2007 its third day was recognized as a public holiday.
religious holiday – a holiday observed in some religion;
EX. Main festivals occur during religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas.
movable holiday – a holiday that is not fixed on a certain day; it moves every year;
EX. Jrotsi is a movable holiday and is celebrated on Sunday between the 28th of June and the 1st of August.
red-letter day – 1. a holiday marked by red letters in the calendar; 2. a memorable, important, or happy day.
EX. August 30, was declared a red-letter day, the Day of Constitution.

New Year's Day* – January 1st
EX. New Year's Eve is the last evening of the old year.
Saint Valentine's Day – February 14th
EX. In Saint Valentine's day millions of roses will be sold all over the world.
Saint Patrick's Day – March 17th
EX. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated world-wide by Irish people, especially in Ireland and the USA.
Easter – on Sunday in March or April (a movable holiday)
EX, Easter Day 2 is the last day of a four-day weekend.
April Fools' Day – April 1st
EX,April Fools' Day jokes can be so cruel.
Mother's Day – 2nd Sunday in May
EX.  Now you'll always remember this mother's day.
Memorial Day* – last Monday in May
EX. Someone sends flowers every memorial day for your grandma...
Independence Day* – July 4th
EX. It is August 30, the independence day or victory day
Halloween – October 31st
Autumn is here and it means that colorful season is coming, that also includes Halloween, fallen leaves and illness.
Thanksgiving Day* – 4th Thursday in November.
The celebration of Thanksgiving Day was started by the Pilgrims in 1621 
Christmas Day* – December 25th
EX. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on December twenty-fifth.

RUSSIAN HOLIDAYS

The Official Holidays:
1 - 10 January — New Year Holidays;
EX. The New Year is first on the calendar and in popularity. 
7 January — Christmas, Russian Orthodox;
EX. Orthodox Christmas Day is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools.
23 February — Defender of Motherland Day;
EX.  February 23, Day, known until recently as Soviet Army Day, popularly viewed as holiday for all men and closely followed by its female counter-part.
8 March — International Women’s Day;
EX. Women’s Day, March 8, when women receive flowers, presents and are toasted by men.
1 May — Spring and Labor Day;
EX. Mayday, until recently officially termed International Workers’ Solidarity Day, is now known as Spring and Labour Day. 
9 May — Victory Day (Over German Nazism in the WW2);
EX. Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the millions fallen in World War II. Flowers and wreaths are laid on wartime graves on this day, and veterans come out into the streets wearing their military orders and medals. Alas, there are fewer of them with every passing year.
12 June — Day of Russia;
EX. June 12 is Russia’s Independence Day, which commemorates the adoption in 1991 of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation.
4 November — Day of the National Unity.
EX. November 4 - Day of the National Unity is the newest Russian holiday.

Holiday parties
Christmas party – informal; usually at home with family members and close friends; with a Christmas tree, presents, and a big turkey dinner;
New Year party – an informal party with friends; at home or at a restaurant;
Halloween party – a day of celebration for children; with frightening ghost costumes and masks; children go trick-or-treating to neighbors' houses, where a lot of sweet things are prepared for them;
Thanksgiving party – informal; usually at home with family members and close friends; with a big turkey dinner.

Family parties and wedding parties.
birthday party – a celebration of someone's birthday; usually informal; guests bring presents; the hosts provide meals, drinks, entertainment;
surprise party – a party organized as a surprise; guests hide in the apartment or unexpectedly appear at the door when the person in whose honor the party is given comes back home;
housewarming – a party to celebrate a family's moving into a new house or apartment; guests bring presents useful for the house; the hosts offer refreshments;
farewell party / going-away party – a party in honor of someone who is going away;
costume party – a masquerade ball, costume ball, masquerade party where everyone wears a masquerade costume;
stag party (informal, from slang) – 1. a party for men only; 2. (also, a bachelor party) a party that is given by male friends in honor of another male friend before his wedding;
hen party (informal, from slang) – a party for women only;
singles party – a party for unmarried men and women.
wedding party – a party to celebrate someone's wedding; formal or informal; at home or in a restaurant; with presents, food and drink, music, dancing, short speeches and toasts;
wedding reception – 1. a short reception for relatives and close friends after the wedding ceremony in the church; light refreshments and drinks are served; 2. a wedding party;
wedding anniversary party – a party celebrating wedding anniversaries; some guests bring gifts on the basis of the number of years the couple has been married.

Лексика. Holidays and Celebrations.

Устный экзамен ЕГЭ по английскому.

RUSSIAN HOLIDAYS

The Official Holidays:

Holiday parties

Family parties and wedding parties.

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