Учебный проект по теме "Glimpses of Wales"

Glimpses of Wales

Wales is one of the four major administrative and political divisions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Cardiff is the capital of this country. Wales is situated in the South-West of the UK, and it’s washed by The Irish Sea in the north, the Strait of St. George in the West and the Bristol Channel in the South.

The formal name of the country is ‘Principality of Wales’, but it’s used rarely. Wales has never been a sovereign state within its present borders. In 1997 the national Assembly of Wales was created. It has the right to amend the laws that are adopted by the Parliament of GB.

The main nationalities are Welsh and English. As for the language, the national language is English, but part of the Welsh speak Walsh; this dialect has a number of differences from the English. Press, TV, radio, Internet sites are published both in Welsh and English.

The largest religious tradition in Wales is Christianity. In 2001 72% of the Welsh called themselves Christians. So they are close to us. The church of Wales for many years was the largest religious organization. In 1811 it was separated from the Church of England. The Church in Wales today has the largest number of parishioners.

The patron Saint of Wales is David Welsh. The day of Saint David is celebrated on March 1. Some believe that this event should become the state holiday in Wales.

Besides, there are four traditional seasonal festivals in Wales and the Welsh New year.

Every year the world-famous competition of the World’s Biggest Liar starts in Wales. Skilled liars from all over the world gather and compete there. They tell amazing stories.

If we speak about national symbols of Wales, first of all we remember the flag and the emblem. The flag of Wales – is presented in the form of a red dragon on a green and white background. This is the only flag that is not part of the flag of the UK, which is the Union of all the other countries of the UK. But there are a lot of other symbols, too. The most popular are the leek and the daffodil.

As I have said, the leek is the national symbol of Wales. According to a legend, Saint David ordered the Welsh soldiers to attach leeks to their helmets when they went to the battlefield against Saxons and it helped them to identify themselves. Still on 1 March on the Day of Saint David, the Welsh wear hats with leeks.

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales. It also serves as a decoration for the Welsh on the Day of Saint David.

The popular Welsh “national” costume for women is a red cape and a high black hat. It appeared in the 19th century under the influence of various reasons, among which is the desire to maintain Welsh culture at the time, when traditional values were under threat.

The suit, which is considered national, is based on country women’s costume of the 19th century: a striped flannel skirt, which was worn with a jacket, an apron, a shawl and a scarf or cap.

Wales is often described by the phrase “The land of song”, because many people are fond of singing, poetry and music. The most famous type of musical ativity in Wales is the chorus, especially the male.

For a country with a population of only 3 million people, the land is very fertile for stars. Among the stars who came from Wales we can name Catherine Zeta Jones (Ocean’s Twelve, The legend of Zorro), Richard Burton (According to the survey, conducted in 2002 broadcaster BBC, he was recognized as one of the greatest Britons in history), Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Mission: Impossible 2, Thor, Noah), Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights as James Bond, Jane Air, Doctor Who – episode “The End of Time” as one of the Time lords).

Wales has an ancient tradition in fine arts. Many monuments of Celtic art were discovered there. In the Middle Ages Welsh art was religious in nature; the most famous monument of Welsh art of that time is the Psalm Bismark.

Wales is the place where a number of castles per square mile is higher than anywhere else in the world. Moreover, Wales is a country of the legendary King Arthur.

The oldest surviving stone castle in Britain is Chepstow Castle in Monmouthsire. Its construction began in 1067, more than 100 years earlier than Winsdor castle was rebuilt in stone.

Wales has traditionally been seen as an agricultural region and its traditional meal is matching this. In cooking Welsh use only traditional food. Baking is the richest part of the culinary culture of Wales, we know about varieties of muffins and “speckled bread”, which can stay fresh for a long time.

Recently, many chefs started preparing traditional Welsh dishes in a new form. Widely used leeks, especially in dishes are prepared on the St. David’s Day. Dishes of lamb and fish have also  become more traditional in Wales nowadays.

The national sport of Wales is Rugby. Major competitions in Rugby take place at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff. In the Middle and North Wales Rugby is not as popular as in the South, football is the most popular here. There are many professional boxing and horse riding sportsmen are Welsh, too. Despite the popularity of football in Wales, only one Welsh football team of Cardiff city won the FA Cup in 1927, in 2008 it was a finalist in the fight for the Cup.

So, you can see that Wales is a very interesting country with its own traditions and customs.