Топики

Winter is an amazing season that gives us the opportunity to diversify our leisure time. Millions of children adore playing snowballs, sledding and making snowmen. Young people and adults like skating, skiing, snowboarding. Moreover, there are many other kinds of winter sports which are less common in everyday life but very popular among professionals. Such sports are done on the Winter Olympic Games.

One of the most popular and also beautiful winter sports is figure skating. This sport is done on ice by ice skaters, singly or in pairs. Ice skaters perform graceful jumps, spins, lifts, etc. Nowadays, there are various kinds of figure skating. They include freestyle, ice dance, dance in pairs and also team skating. (далее…)

Traditionally British cuisine is considered to be rather primitive and unvaried. Some people even say that there is no any specific cuisine in Britain. However, many well-known and World’s best chefs are of British origin. Consequently, there must be something about eating habits and traditions that characterise the country.

It is true that traditional British meals are rather plain and easy to cook, but they have a good and natural taste at the same time. Much attention is paid to the food quality that is why people in Great Britain choose it accurately. In addition, they prefer local products that are produced within the country or grown naturally by farmers. (далее…)

Halloween is a holiday that takes place on the last October day, 31st. The word “Halloween” means “hallowed evening". The tradition of celebrating this day began in the 5th century when the Irish Celts marked this day as a day of transition from one year to the next one. It was the time when “the season of the sun” was over, and “the season of darkness and cold” began.

Nowadays Halloween is a very famous American and European holiday with its own traditions of celebration, especially among young people. (далее…)

India is a unique country with a thousand years of history and culture. Homeland to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and four religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are originally from India. One of the most colorful and happiest festival Diwali takes part in India every autumn.

Diwali is an important festival that is celebrated by the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists. It's also known as the festival of light. Every autumn the date of this holiday is calculated by the Hindu  Luni-solar  calendar.

There are so many curious facts about Diwali. Here are some of them. (далее…)

Первую часть топика о праздниках в России можно найти здесь.

Spring starts with Women's Day, which takes part on 8th of March, when men are assumed to do all house work and cook all the meals. The most popular gifts for women are flowers, perfume and jewelries.

The next official spring holiday is Easter, it's a movable religious holiday, the first Sunday after the 1st full-moon from the beginning of spring. Easter has many long standing traditions such as coloring Easter eggs and baking special cake «Kulich». (далее…)

Вторую часть топика о праздниках в России читайте здесь

Holidays are important part of people's life, we love to celebrate different dates.

Some of them are more popular, some are less, but there are many national holidays and all of us are eagerly looking forward to them. People don't work on these official days off.

Most holidays fall on the same date every year and some other ones are movable. (далее…)

Dan Brown is an American writer, author of thriller-fiction novels, including the Da Vinci Code, which has become one of the bestselling novels of all time. His books have been translated in more than 50 languages and some of the novels have been adapted into films (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and the most recent – Inferno).

Brown’s novels are appreciated for the language and mainly the content. He uses themes of keys, codes and symbols and historical themes and Christianity are his leitmotivs. The protagonist of his novels is Robert Langdon, specialist in simbolism and cryptography, gets involved in different mysteries that he should solve. (далее…)

Victoria was the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also the empress of India from 1819 to 1901. She was the last of the House of Hanover and gave her name to an era, the Victorian Age. During her reign the English monarchy took on its modern ceremonial character.

Queen Victoria ruled for the longest period in English history – for 64 years. Although Victoria ascended the throne at a time when the United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy in which the king or queen held few political powers, she still served as a very important symbolic figure of her time. (далее…)

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of the UK’s sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch. Despite being the place where many official events are held, the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace are also open to visitors every summer.

The Queen and the Royal Family stay at the Palace on weekdays. They have rooms on the first floor of the north wing. When the Queen is staying the Royal Standard flag is flown above the central balcony. The Queen has an office where she usually works. Prince Charles has his own office and library there. (далее…)

The great artist, mathematician, writer and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci was born in Italy. From the very beginning of his life he was so special and talented that these qualities stopped him from receiving a good education. However, as most other great people, Da Vinci still had a desire for knowledge and great ambition.

Leonardo Da Vinci started working as an apprentice of the painter Andrea Del Verrochio in Florence when he was only 15. With the help of his teacher he became an artist, having developed his skills and even intimidated his mentor. However, Da Vinci wanted to broaden his knowledge in other spheres as well. (далее…)