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4.15. Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.

ith for against to in between

1. I voted ______ the Liberal candidate.

2. Put your voting papers ______ the ballot box.

3. He's very right-wing, so he's ______ the socialists.

4. She belongs ______ the Communist Party.

5. The Liberals formed an alliance ______ the Social Democrats.

6. There's a split ______ the two parties.

7. There's a split ______ the party.

I

4.16. A) One person once said that a holiday is “a time which promotes

the good feeling that men should have toward each other in their social

and political relations”. What is your definition of a holiday? What

holidays does your family celebrate?

b) Read the information below and make up a list of the holidays

celebrated in Russia. What holidays would you like to add to the list?

n general, there are three kinds of holidays in Russia. They can be national, professional and religious. Some of them have long histories and some of them are newly established or renamed old ones.

Official / national holidays

National or official holidays are called so because they have an official status of days-off throughout the country and are celebrated very widely. Take any Russian calendar and you will see all the official holidays printed in red. There are quite a lot of national holidays in Russia when people all over the country do not work. See the list of the official holidays below.

The official holidays in Russia when banks, government offices, libraries and educational establishments are closed:

New Year's Holidays

January, 1-5

Russian Orthodox Christmas

January, 7

Day of the Defenders of the Motherland

February, 23

Women's Day

March, 8

Day of Spring and Labour

May, 1

Victory Day

May, 9

Independence Day

June, 12

Day of People's Unity

November, 4

Stores may be open for fewer hours on some of these days. Sometimes it can be a little complicated, figuring out on which days the most businesses shut down. If the holiday falls on Monday or Friday, then everything is simple — it's a day-off. If it falls on a weekend, then Friday or Monday will also be a day-off. If it falls on Tuesday or Thursday then the weekend will be shifted a day in the right direction and Saturday or Sunday becomes a working day, with the three days-off being Sunday-Monday-Tuesday or Thursday-Friday-Saturday. If the holiday falls on Wednesday then there is no long weekend.

Religious holidays

Apart from the official holidays, many people in Russia, especially after the fall of the USSR where any religious activities were restricted, celebrate religious holidays. The origin of many holidays is not always Christian or Orthodox. Russians can have holidays which are Christian and pagan at the same time. Through years, Christianity has been converting ceremonies of paganism into Christian ceremonies and traditions, but many religious holidays contain the elements of paganism and are perceived as merry entertainment. Each Russian holiday has its own peculiar ceremonies and traditions. Traditional Russian celebrations of Kolyadki, Maslenitsa (Shrovetide/ Pancake week), Easter, Red Hill, Ivan Kupala, Troitsa and Spas can be great things for tourists to see.

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