14. Belarusian and british traditions and customs

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions.

The roots of Belarusian culture have a lot in common with traditions of other European countries.

Like other countries Belarus has its own holidays. They are of two kinds: traditional national holidays and religious holidays. National holidays are both a public celebration and a personal event in the family. The New Year Day is one of them. It is a popular public holiday which is widely celebrated in every family. Long before the New Year Eve people begin to buy New Year cards, toys and presents.

Most families see the New Year in at home. There is usually a fir tree in the house decorated with toys and lights. A lot of delicious food is cooked for the night meal.

In Belarus people widely celebrate such popular Christian holidays as Christmas and Easter. On Christmas Eve traditional food is cooked. Christmas week is a great fun. Young people go from home to home dressed as animals or other fairy characters, sing songs and dance.

In Britain traditions play a more important part in the life of the people than in other countries.

Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great English national holiday. On New Year's Eve people invite their friends to their houses and «sit the Old Year out and the New Year in».

Certainly people are fond of holidays as they bring fun and excitement in everybody's life.

15. Youth organizations in great britain and in belarus

There are about 60 youth organizations in Great Britain. All youth organizations can be divided into three large groups: non-political organizations; youth organizations associated with political parties; youth organizations controlled by religious bodies.

The two largest non-political youth organizations are the associations of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides. There are about 1300000 boys and girls in them. The membership is voluntary.

There are some other non-political organizations: the Combined Cadet Force, Sea Cadet Corps, the Youth Hostels Association, the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, Greenpeace.

There are several youth organizations associated with political parties, for example, the Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (YCND).

Religious young organizations and groups aim at helping to elderly people or working in hospitals.

There are more than 70 youth organizations in Belarus. The largest youth organization in Belarus is Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM). It was founded in 2002.

Its goals are to promote patriotism and to instill moral values into the youth of Belarus, using activities such as camping, sporting events and visiting memorials. The BRSM is supported by the Belarusian government.

In order to join the BRSM, the applicant must be between the ages of 14 and 31. In 2003 the BRSM had roughly 120,000 members.

As you see, all these organizations aim at preserving and strengthening the social and political system existing in the country. Many of them have done and still are doing useful work in providing leisure facilities for young people.