New vocabulary: 1. celebrate-праздновать
2. decorate-украшать
3. pattern-образец, рисунок
The first of May is called May Day in Britain. This is a very old festival held to
celebrate the first day of summer. Many towns and villages still hold traditional May Day
celebrations. Some towns and villages decorate the streets and houses with flowers.
In others, there is dancing and the people put up a Maypole. This is a tall pole with
coloured ribbons hanging from the top. The dancers take a ribbon each and dance around
the pole.
As they dance, the ribbons make a colourful pattern around the Maypole. It is also
traditional to choose a May Queen and crown her. She wears a white dress and a crown of
flowers and walks at the front of a procession through the streets. In Padstow, a village in
the south-west, two men dress up as horses and everyone follows them through the streets
singing an old song.
In another village there is a ‘Cheese Rolling’ competition. Everyone goes to the top of a
very steep hill. A big round cheese is rolled down the hill and everyone tries to chase it.
The winner gets free cheese for twenty years!
Complete the table:
May Day celebrations
1. 2.
1. Where?
2. When?
3. Why?
4. What happen?
5. Special food
