📙 Part 2: An interesting festival in your country

This episode’s vocabulary

To demonstrate (verb) - to show or make something clear.

To celebrate (verb) - to take part in special enjoyable activities in order to show that a particular occasion is important.

Conditions (noun) - all the particular things that influence someone’s living or working environment.

Salient adj.) - the salient facts about something or qualities of something are the most important things about them.

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Questions and Answers (Part 2)

Maria: Now, I'm going to give you a topic and I'd like you to talk about it from one to two minutes before you start. You have one minute to think of what you're going to say. You can take notes if you wish. And here's your topic. I'd like you to describe an interesting tradition in your country. You should say:

Maria: Could you start speaking now, please?

Rory: Of course, I'm going to talk about "First footing". It's one of many traditions back home. But this particular tradition happens at New Year. So anyone can do it and usually everyone does it, although I don't know if they'll still be able to do it now that the the coronavirus restrictions are in place, but maybe in the future they will again. So the idea is that you're the first person to set foot into your neighbor's home and this brings them good luck for the new year. So it doesn't have to be their house. It could be their apartment or something like this. And like I say, anyone can do it. Usually people do it with their neighbors. But the ideal conditions are that a tall, dark haired man should be the first person to come into the house to bring the best of luck or as much luck as possible with him. He should also bring things like salt or coal or whiskey or other traditional gifts with him. I'm sure there are other things too, but I just can't recall them right now. However, there are obviously... There's nothing about this description that I find objectionable at all. I think in terms of the activities to do the most salient is obviously the person going through the door because it's called first footing. But after that, there's usually or there are usually games and singing that people do just to make it a little bit more fun rather than people just walking through the door. I think it's interesting just because it's so strange, I don't think it's very common elsewhere, but I think it helps demonstrate just how friendly and sociable most Scottish people are, especially with their neighbors. And it's a cool thing to do, especially if it's your first time in Scotland and maybe it's your first New Year or Hogmanay is what we call it there. So if you do that, then you don't just meet the people you're celebrating with, but you can make new friends as well.