American Сulture. Жукова Е.Ф. - 25 стр.

                           Wedding: Guests attend the ceremony and, if invited, a
                           reception afterwards; guests give gifts, usually of
                           expensive silver, china, or glassware, or they give
                           money.
Wedding anniversary        Husband and wife spend the evening together or go out
                           with friends. On the 25th and 50th wedding anniversary,
                           family and friends give the couple a special party and
                           bring them presents.
Death                      Funeral home: Friends gather at the funeral home or
                           chapel to pay their respects, offer condolences; they send
                           flowers or make a contribution to a charity in the name
                           of the deceased.
                           Funeral: Family and close friends go to the religious
                           service and then to the cemetery to pay their respects.


   2. Celebrating Holidays and Special Events
   Holidays often represent religious or patriotic events that most of the people in a
country share in celebrating. In many countries, there is a state religion. The
government and the religious leaders may work together to set political parties and
decide on government actions.
   In the United States, however, people believe in the separation of church and
state. This means that the government may not interfere with or support matter
relating to religion, and religious institutions may not interfere in matters of
government.
   Because people living in the United States come from all over the world, they
have learned to enjoy holidays that are part of other people’s cultures but not their
own and to respect people’s right to worship in their own way. For example, most
Americans, Christians or not, enjoy attending Christmas parties. They may also wear
their customary green on St. Patrick’s Day even though they are not Irish.


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