25th December is the day when many people are travelling home to be with their families on Christmas day. There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas,but ,perhaps, the most important one is giving of presents. Family members wrap up their gifts and leave the at the bottom of the Christmas tree to be found on Christmas morning. Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their bedon Christmas Eve,24th December,hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and bring them small presents,fruit and nuts. At some time on Christmas Day the family will sit down to a big turkey dinner followed by Christmas pudding. They will probably pull a cracker with another member of the family. it will make a loud crack and a coloured hat,small toy and joke will fall out!
Oscar Wilde is one of the most interesting representatives of British literature.He was born in 1856 in the Irish family. His father was an optician, an author of some books on Irish folklore. Oscar Wilde’s literary heritage is very large and his works are often staged nowadays. He is well-known for his extraordinary talent and humour. “The truth is rarely pure and never simple”, “There is no sin except stupidity”, “Art never expresses anything but itself” are only a few of his famous aphorisms. He always considered the aesthetic feeling of a person to be the moving force of human development. Wilde’s fairy-tales always depicted the union between the good and the beauty. Every detail in his lyrical fairy-tales has symbolic meaning. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is one of his most famous novels. It is a story of a young man Dorian Gray. Under the influence of Lord Henry, his spiritual “teacher”, Dorian becomes an immoral murderer. Despite this fact his face remains young and beautiful. But his portrait painted by his friend reflects Dorian’s immorality and cruelty. Thrusting a knife into his portrait Dorian kills himself. His face becomes ugly while the portrait shines with perfect beauty.
