Тошкент- 2014 m a s’ul m uharrir

25. Culture, Literature, art and National holidays of Great Britain.
G reat B ritain has a highly developed culture, literatu re and art. L arge m useum s 
o f G reat B ritain are: M useum o f M odern art, m useum o f O xford C hrist, C hurch. 
P ictu re G allery, O xford U niversity press M useum an d o th er historical places. T here 
are large collection o f old m aster p aintings and draw ings. It says c ity 's history w ell 
supported by exhibits. G reat B ritain is fam ous for it’s hig h level o f culture. T he m ost 
p o p u lar B ritish w riters: T h e playw right W. S hak esp eare an d the n o v elist C harles 
D ickens. G eorge B yron, B ernard Show and others. T h e w orks o f the G reat English 
w riters and poets en riched the w o rld literature, cu ltu re and art. T he m useum s, picture 
g a lle ry ’s, exhibitions tell the story about it's history an d historical places.
O xford U niversity press m useum w ith collections o f books, docum ents and 
printing equipm ent tellin g th e story o f O xford printing.

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C hrist C hurch picture G allery has very large collection o f old M aster paintings 
and draw ings. T here are m any m useum s an d picture galleries in the city such as the 
m useum o f the H istory o f Science, M useum o f O xford, B odean E xhibition R oom , 
U niversity m useum and others. English people has their ow n national h o lid ay ’s. N ew
Y ear, C hristm as D ay, Easter, P ancake day and others. T he m ost popular English 
w riter is W illiam Shakespeare. H e w rote m any fam ous plays such as “ H am let” , 
■‘R om eo and Juliet” , “ K ing L ear”,” O thello” and others. E ngland is a country rich in 
folklore and traditions. The m ost w ell-know n folk costum es are those o f th e M orris 
dancers. In B ritain C hristm as D ay is norm ally spent at hom e w ith the fam ily. They 
decorate N ew Y ear tree, sending C hristm as C ards to each other. Traditional food is 
prepared, sw eet m ince pies a rich C hristm as cake and the C hristm as pudding. Y outh 
g athering w ith th eir friends in the local pubs and clubs. T radition has it th at the first 
person ov er the threshold on N ew Y ear’s D ay w ill dictate, the luck brought to the 
household in the com ing year. A t m ignight on 31 D ecem ber particularly in Scotland 
and northern E ngland “ first footers” step ov er the threshold, bringing the N ew Y e a r’s 
Luck. T he F irst footer usually brings a piece o f coal a lo a f and a bottle o f w hisky and 
he w ishes every one “A H appy N e w Y ear” E aster day is nam ed after the Saxon 
goddess o f spring E aster, w hose feast took place o f the spring equinox. Easter is now
the spring feast o f the C hristian church. It falls on a Sunday betw een 22 M arch and 
23 A pril, according to the church calendar. T raditionally E aster eggs dyed and 
decorated o f m ade o f chocolate are given presents sym bolizing new life.
S tratford-upon-A von the birth place o f Shakespeare. O n the site o f 
S hak esp eare’s ow n house a w ooden am phitheatre w as built and tw o w agons arrived 
w ith tire w orks. M edals w ere issued in copper, silver or go ld w ith S hakespeare’s 
likeness on them . T here w as ringing o f bells, firing o f cannon at 5 in the m orning, 
b reakfast in the tow n hall speeches and, o f course, S h ak esp eare’s plays on the Stage. 
T his continued for three days.
Every y ear on A pril 23 representatives o f all nations w alk from the theatre to the 
p o et’s tom b in the church in S tratford-upon-A von.
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In E ngland A pril F o o l’s D ay is linked w ith spring w ith the return o f the sun and 
w arm th. In Scotland an old nam e for A pril F o o l’s D ay is A p ril-c u c k o o . O n this day, 
people play h arm less jo k e s and pranks on friends and fam ily.