A.  eating traditions  b.  a  treat and a  song go  together  c.  celebrate to  get many presents  d.  holiday decoration business  e.  holiday food business  f.  cooking special holiday dishes  1.  many stores in  the usa stock a  large range of  holiday house decorations for a  month before the holiday itself. for instance, on  thanksgiving day they sell pumpkins and leaves specially designed for adorning. as  for halloween, stores offer flashlights, masks, and skeletons for decorating the gardens and for scaring one’s guests. thus, people alter the attire of  their houses several times a  year. the wealthier families change not only the season’s outside decorations but even the interior of  their houses such as  curtains, carpets and pictures.  2. on  the eve of  thanksgiving day, most supermarkets are flooded with turkeys selling at  lower prices. turkey producers have to  decrease their price because they must sell all the turkeys as  soon as  possible, otherwise they will still have them when christmas comes or  even longer. almost nobody buys turkey for an  ordinary meal (during the rest of  the year). at  christmas, americans also cook a  turkey or  they can choose another traditional dish, e.  g. roasted ham.  3.  one of  the peculiarities of  americans is  that they do  not usually sit around the table for a  holiday meal. for larger groups, all the food usually stands on  a  special, separate table that is  beautifully decorated. everyone can serve themselves with the food they want. what is  more, they do  not usually have salads,’ which may seem rather strange for the russians living there. salads, to  americans, may be  nothing more than tossed leaves of  lettuce with a  few other vegetables.  4.  one more type of  celebration, which is  connected with presents, are «showers,» for instance a  baby-shower or  a  wedding-shower. for a  baby-shower, a  pregnant woman is  given presents for her future child, whereas for a  wedding-shower a  bride receives presents for her household. these showers are popular because on  the one hand, it  is  usually a  moderate price to  rent a  cafe or  a  restaurant and order some kind of  snacks such as  crisps and sauces and salads. on  the other hand, it  is  very pleasant to  be  «showered» with presents. many people are usually invited to  such parties.  5.  as  for birthdays, it  is  worth mentioning that this holiday is  for both friends and family. often an  additional party is  organized by  a  company of  friends at  which time the one having the birthday is  invited to  a  restaurant to  celebrate. besides a  meal, they order a  birthday cake and a ’happy birthday song’ is  performed by  the staff of  the restaurant. guests are not expected to  give presents at  this kind of  a  party. only relatives and close friends give presents for one’s birthday. however, they do  not necessarily have a  family feast. of  course, it  depends on  your family.  ​

Stevejobs1111    2   11.06.2019 10:59    10