IX. Use articles if necessary:
A. Christmas
Most people in ... Britain see Christmas as ... major festival o f... year — when parties are given and gifts are received. Almost all... people are having fun** on Christmas Eve, especially children. On Christmas Eve, children hang ... stockings a t... end of their bdds or over ... fireplace. They are told that Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, arrives a t... night from ... North Pole and fills each stocking with ... presents. The children open their presents — put there secretly by their parents —
on Christmas morning. Lunch is ... most important point on Christmas Day. ... traditional lunch consists of... roast turkey with ... vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding, which is made with ... dried fruit and ... brandy. Sometimes ... coin is put in ... pudding as ... surprise. ... day after Christmas is called Boxing Day (after the church box which was opened for... poor on that day) and this too is... public holiday.
B. New Year’s Eve in Scotland
People all over... Britain celebrate ... passing o f... old year and ... coming o f ... new. In Scotland, Hogmanay — as it is called them — is almost as important as Christmas Scots take New Year’s Eve very seriously. There is a New Year Eve Fire Festival; ... men parade with blazing tar barrels*, they throw them into ... great bonfire. The “First Foots” then set out. In Scotland “fust footing” is ... common custom; it’s considered lucky if... dark-haired man is... first to set foot in ... house after midnight on Hogmanay, bringing ... coin,... piece of... bread, or... lump o f... coal as... symbol of plenty** for... coming year.
C. Robin Hood
It is generally believed that Robin Hood was ... man who fought for ... better life o f ... poor people. How old ... story about Robin Hood is nobody knows. ... oldest ballads about him were written down after 1400. One of ... ballads that comes from those distant times says that Robin Hood was ... Yorkshireman ballad says,
“For he was... good outlaw*** And did poor men much good.”
Did such a Robin ever live? His name is first mentioned in Government documents o f... 13th century. So one can be sure that Robin Hood did live and was something like... man described in these early ballads. He became such... popular hero that in many places there was ... special Robin Hood’s day, attended by thousands o f... people. In ... 16th century ... writer Anthony Munday decided to make ... nobleman out of Robin. Perhaps they thought that it was too dangerous for... ordinary people to think that... ordinary men could be ... heroes who tried to do “poor men much good.”
