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NEW YEAR IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
In England the New Year is not as widely observed as Christmas. Some people ignore it completely and go to bed at the same time as usual. Many others, however, celebrate it. The way of celebration varies very much according to the local custom and family tradition.
The most common way of celebration is a New Year party which usually begins at about eight o'clock p. m. and goes on until the early hours of the morning. There is usually an informal supper of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, cakes and some drinks. At midnight the radio set is turned on, so that everyone can hear the chimes of Big Ben. Then the party goes on.
Another popular way of celebrating the New Year is to go to a New Year dance. Most hotels and dance halls hold a dance on the New Year's Eve. The hall is decorated, there are several different bands and the atmosphere is very gay.
The most famous celebration is in London, at Piccadilly Circus, where crowds gather and sing and welcome the New Year. In Trafalgar Square there is also a big crowd, and someone usually falls into the fountain.
In Scotland most traditional ceremonies are connected with the New Year. There's a New Year's Eve Fire Festival in each city; men parade with blazing tar barrels, then throw them into a great bonfire.
In Scotland it's considered lucky if a dark-haired man is the first to set foot in the house after midnight on New Year's Eve, bringing a coin, a piece of bread or a lump of coal as a symbol of plenty for the coming year.
Centuries ago, it was the custom to put an ivy leaf in water on New Year's Eve and leave it there until Twelfth Night (the 6th of January). If the leaf remained fresh and green, it foretold a good healthy year; if black spots appeared on it, this meant illness and death in the family.
5. Read the words and word-combinations with the translation.
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