Christmas Day is observed on the 25th of December. It is the most colourful and merry holiday.
Christmas is a time for rejoicing, for parties, dances and celebrations. It is also a time for thinking of other people, for giving presents - and doing holiday jobs.
At Christmas, London, like all big cities, has a special atmosphere. There are coloured lights and decorations in Regent Street and Oxford Street. There is a big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, sent by the people of Norway to the people of Britain. There are Christmas trees, too, in all the big shops and railway stations. There is carol-singing in the streets and people wish each other "Happy Christmas!"
Most big offices in Britain have a dance or a party at Christmas; so do the schools, colleges and universities.
Christmas is an exciting time, but it can also be a very expensive time. You need money to buy Christmas presents for your family and friends; you need money to buy clothes for Christmas parties; you need money, perhaps, to give to OXFAM and other charities.
A lot of young people in London, therefore, have a Christmas holiday job. One of the most popular jobs is working for the Post Office: you can sort parcels and letters or you can deliver them.
Other young people have Christmas holiday jobs in shops, cafes and restaurants. Christmas is the busiest time of the year for the shops, and shopkeepers need extra assistants.
Carol-singing at Christmas is a very old custom. All over the country, groups of people (young and old) sing in the streets and outside people's houses.
Trafalgar Square is the centre for carol-singing in London. Every night, during the week before Christmas, it is full of people. Everybody joins in the singing. Sometimes a band accompanies the singers, sometimes an accordion and sometimes a guitar.
Note:
"OXFAM" is a charity which collects money for the hungry all over the world. It has its headquarters at Oxford; OX = Oxford; FAM = Famine: OXFAM.
From "Club" (Adapted)
I. Read the text What are young people doing at Christmas without a dictionary.
II. Tell how people celebrate Christmas.
C O N V E R S A T I O N
My Day-off. Hobby
Vocabulary
a day-off
to have a rest
to go to the country for the week-end
to have a good time
to enjoy the fresh air
to walk in the forest
to feel rested
to return to town by late train
hobby, n
stamp collecting
view card
match-box top
badge, n
shell, n ,
coin, n
common, adj ,
take photos
palace, n
castle, n
church, n
broaden one's outlook
folk music
