Festivals

1. Unit 14 Festivals

2. Spring Festival

3. Chinese Festivals Lantern Festival The Dragon Boat Festival Tomb Sweeping Day Mid-Autumn Day New Year’s Day Double-ninth National Day May 1st Foreign Festivals Christmas Day Thanksgiving Day Mother’s Day April Fool’s Day Valentine’s Day Easter Festivals

4. Pumpkin head Halloween The night of October 31st, when it was believed that the spirits of dead people appeared, and which is now celebrated in the US by children, who dress as witches and ghosts. Halloween Masks

5. Obon in Japan

6. Obon A traditional Buddhist festival which takes place throughout Japan around August 15. At this time, people visit their ancestors' graves, welcome the ancestors' spirits home with food and offerings and then see the spirits off. In this picture we can see some Japanese women are floating paper lanterns to welcome their past ancestors back home.

7. The Day of the Dead In Mexico

8. The Day of the Dead in Mexico • The best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to say that it is a time when Mexican families remember their dead, and the continuity of life. The celebration usually begins as early as October 18 and continues until November 9. • In this picture, we can see a lady is visiting the resting place of the dead. She has lit some candles and is now placing a bunch of flowers in front of the monument to show her respect for and memory of the dead.

9. Name When Who How Why Themes How old Tomb Sweeping Day April 5th All Chinese around the world Visit their family graves, pull weeds, sweep away dirt and set off offerings of food and spirit money To honor past ancestors, celebrate the rebirth of nature, marking the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities Family, nature From the Spring and Autumn Period Compare a Chinese festival with a foreign one

10. Name When Who How Why Themes How old Halloween October 31 Americans Hold fancy balls, dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes; noisily parade around the neighborhood To keep the living body away from being possessed by spirits of all those who died throughout the preceding year Superstition, safety, religion From the 1840’s Compare a Chinese festival with a foreign one

11. Speaking

12. Sample discussion : A: OK, I will begin. We need to decide what the new holiday will be. I think that the new holiday should be a Peace Day. On this day, no fighting or conflicts are allowed. People learn and talk about peace. The holiday will be celebrated on the second Sunday in January. I think this is the best idea because nothing is more important than peace.

13. B: That’s a good idea, but I think we should create a Happiness Day instead. If people are happy, there won’t be any wars or fights. We should celebrate Happiness Day on the shortest, darkest day of the winter, because many people feel unhappy when it’s cold and the sun doesn’t shine. People will celebrate by doing something that makes another person happy, for example helping them do something or giving them a card or a small gift. Most important, people should smile and laugh a lot on Happiness Day.

14. C: I like your ideas, but I would like to suggest something different. Why don’t we have a Friendship to each other, they will be happy and they won’t fight. I think that we should celebrate Friendship Day the first day of every month. If we do this, we will start each month in a friendly way. We can learn about how to make and keep friends and how to solve problems together. People will celebrate Friendship Day by making new friends and spending the day together with their friends.

15. D: Well, perhaps we shouldn’t be so selfish. Peace, happiness and friendship are important to us, to human beings, but what about the rest of the planet? We mustn’t forget about nature, the environment and the animals. On this day, which we will celebrate on the first day of spring, people will not pollute and they will learn more about nature. We should also plant trees and do something for our animal friends. I think that we will be happier, friendlier and more peaceful if we learn to take better care of our planet. Why not have a Nature Day?

16. Talking

17. Listening

18. Summary of the festival • Mardi Gras • A horn player in the Mardi Gras. In New Orleans, USA, Mardi Gras is celebrated with parades and marching bands playing jazz music. Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is the last day before Lent, a period of fasting.

19. People celebrate Mardi Gras by dressing up in costumes • dress up穿上正装,打扮 • You don’t need to ~ for this dinner. I don’t want to go to their wedding because I hate dressing up. • dress upin … 穿…服装打扮 • I just love the fun of dressing up in ancient clothing. • dress upas … 打扮成 • The little girl dressed herself up as an angle. • be dressedin … 穿 • She is always dressed in white.

20. Summary of the festival Ramadan • Ramadan is a time of fasting. During this month, Muslims may not eat food during daylight hours. Ramadan is an important month for Muslims.

21. Summary of the festival Easter A Christian holy day in March or April when Christians remember the death of Christ and his return to life.

22. Make the best of sth. • -- to accept an unsatisfactory situation and do whatever you can to make it less bad (不爱做的事)好好去做,往好里做 • We have to ~ the situation. • One must learn to ~ a bad job. • The girl did not like to wash dishes, but she made the best of it. • Make the worst of • Dave was now changing over from making the worst of the affair to making the best of it. • (在困难情况下)不肯做出努力, 不肯好好干

23. Sample dialogue: A: OK, let’s begin . We are going on a holiday together and we have to decide where to go and what to do . Let each of us tell the group where we want to go and why . Can you start, please ? B: Yes . I think that the best way to celebrate is to have dinner at a restaurant and then go singing because we should have some fun. A holiday is a good time to eat together and we all

24. like singing, so I think this is what we should do. And, if we eat at a restaurant, we don’t have to cook or wash dishes. D: I agree that we should have fun, but I’m not so sure that going to a restaurant is such a good idea. I think we should stay home and invite our friends and family to dinner. We should spend our holiday at home, with the people we love, not go out to some restaurant. Besides, cooking together is fun and we can make

25. dumplings and help each other do the dishes. C: Well, I think we should go on a trip to Mt Taishan and go hiking in the mountain. We don’t have that many chances to go on a trip, so I think we should go now. We would get some exercise and some fresh air, and we would see all the wonderful sights. A: But that’s too expensive. I like the idea of spending the holiday outdoors, but we don’t have to travel that far. The buses

26. and trains are going to be crowded, anyway, and we won’t be able to enjoy the trip. Why don’t we go to the park and have a picnic. If we have a picnic, we can enjoy a good meal and nature at the same time, and we may meet some interesting people. It’s not as expensive as traveling or going to a restaurant, and it’s more fun than staying at home. B: Well, let’s see. I want to go to a restaurant, you want to have dinner at home, you want to go on a trip and you want to have a picnic in the park. So, we all want to eat, right?

27. Reading

28. Fast reading • 1. What is the text about? • The title of the text THE BIRTH OF A FESTIVAL, so we can guess that the text will describe how the festival was created and explain how, why and when it is celebrated. • We know that festivals are usually celebrated at a certain time of the year and that people usually do special things (like giving gifts, lighting candles, eating certain foods, etc), so I can guess that the text will tell us about such things.

29. 2. What is the festival described in the passage ? • Kwanzaa. It is a seven-day festival celebrating the culture and history of African Americans. • 3. How can African Americans have a long history while the country itself is a young one? • The British brought slaves from West Africa into the American colonies in the early 17th century, more than a century before those colonies gained their independence from Britain.

30. Read and do the following exercises 1. From the first paragraph, we know Kwanzaa is different from Christmas because ____. A. Kwanzaa is younger and less known B. Kwanzaa has a longer history C. Kwanzaa comes after Christmas Day D. Kwanzaa is celebrated only in Africa 2. “They chose the word because there are …” (para.2) The underlined part refers to _______ A. Kwanzaa B. a festival C. Swahili D. a language √ √

31. √ 3. In African first-fruit festivals, people used to do the following except _____ A. give thanks B. harvest their crops C. try to be with their family D. celebrate their history and culture. 4. According to the seven principles mention-ed in the text, people should not _______. A. be independent B. respect their ancestors C. change any of the old traditions D. help to develop their own industry √

32. 5. Why did people choose to celebrate Kwanzaa between Christmas and New Year’s Day? A. It’s just a coincidence (巧合) B. Because they didn’t celebrate Christmas. C. Because people wanted to make it free from business. D. Because they wanted to combine the three holidays into a longer festival √

33. 6. “… in that way we keep our culture alive” (the last paragraph). What does the underlined part refer to? A. to create a new festival B. to celebrate history and culture C. to create new festivals every year D. to celebrate a festival and change it a bit √

34. Read again and do Exx(BD, P11) • 1. Why did people create Kwanzaa? • People created the holiday so African Americans could celebrate their history and culture. • 2. Many festivals around the world are celebrated around the same time. Why do we celebrate these festivals at these times? • Many holidays celebrate the arrival of a new season or a new harvest.

35. 3. Compare Kwanzaa with the Chinese Spring Festival and Christmas. In which way are they similar and in which way are they different? • All three reunite families. Christmas and Kwanzaa also bring together friends and members of the community. Spring Festival is tied to the lunar calendar while Christmas and Kwanzaa are fixed dates. Christmas is both a religious and popular celebration while Kwanzaa also honors a specific group of people.

36. Main idea of each paragraph • Para.1 • Kwanzaa is a festival of reflection and anticipation for African Americans. • Para.2 • Kwanzaa is a young holiday. In a popular African language, it means first fruit and celebrates the new year.

37. Para. 3 • The festival is based on seven important principles, or ideas. • Para. 4 • When and how is the festival celebrated. • (From Dec.26 to Jan.1st. People celebrate it by lighting a candle each day and discussing one of the seven principles.) • Para. 5 • Festivals not only celebrate history but also add to our cultural traditions for future generations.

38. Kwanzaa

39. ancient. honoring started • Most harvest festivals are______. Kwanzaa is a new one _________ ancient traditions. This seven-day festival was ______ in the 1960s by _________________ in the ______ _________. Kwanzaa __________ the year's harvest in Africa. Fruit, vegetables, and corn cobs are placed on a special mat. This is a time for the African-American family to learn about the __________ of their African __________ and about their _________ and ____________. ____________ , black, green, and red, are lit during the Kwanzaa festival African Americans United States celebrates traditions ancestors languages ways of life Seven candles

40. Language Points: • 1. Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival celebrating the culture and history of African Americans. • 1) seven-day (compound adj.) • the tenth five-year plan • a three-leg table • 2) celebrating • = which celebrates … • Similar structure: • the week following Christmas Day

41. 2. The African first-fruit festivals had many things in common: • If two or more things have something in common, they have the same characteristic or feature. • If two or more people have something in common, they share the same interests or experiences. • To my surprise, I found I had a lot in common with this stranger. • Their methods have a lot in common (with each other).

42. 3. People would get together to celebrate their harvest; people used to give thanksfor their harvest and for life,… • Would & used to • Would – 情态动词、 “过去常常”, 与used to 意义相近，所不同的是would后一般跟动态性动词，而used to还可跟状态性动词。 • He would come to my home for help when he had any trouble. (= He used to come …) • But: He used to be a worker. • He would be a worker.

43. 4. The festivals were a way to celebrate history and culture, as well as the new year. • Note --- • No articles are used before history and culture一般说, 表示概念性或科学性的抽象名词前不用冠词. 但如果带有限制性的后置修饰成分,应该使用定冠词. • American history • The history of America

44. 5. as well as • The structure is used when we want to mention another item connected with the subject we are discussing. • She published historical novels, ~ a non-fiction study of women in Britain. • It is in his best interests ~ yours. • Wearing the right shoes and clothes ~ being fit can make all the difference.

45. 6. We must do as much as we can to make our community better and more beautiful. • as … as one can(=as…as possible) 尽某人所能 • He will drive as carefully as he can to avoid any accidents. • He ran as fast as he could in the race and finally got the 2nd place. • Will you please be back as soon as possible so that you will have more time to exchange views with the experts?

46. 7. Since Kwanzaa is a time for learning as well as joy, people celebrate it by lighting a candleeach day and discussing one of … • Light – lit; lighted • Lighted is used especially as an attributive adj. • e.g. a lighted candle/lamp/match • But: He lit the candle. • The candles were lit.

47. √ • As soon as the ____ candle was brought in, it soon ____ up the little room. • A. lighted; lit B. lighting; lighted • C. lit; lighted D. lit; lit • Each day & every day • Each day 强调在一定天数中的每一天, 重个体 • Every day 指天数不确定的情况下的每一天,重全体 • Such things do not happen every day. • It rains each day this month.

48. 8. Each time we celebrate a festival it changes a little and in that way we keep our culture alive. • Each time / Every time + clause 每次… • Don’t look up the word in the dictionary every time you come to a word or phrase you don’t know. • Each time he came back to his hometown, he found it changed a little. • The moment + clause 一…就 (= as soon as) • I promise you can have the magazine the moment I finish reading it.

49. Harvest Festivals Onam in India

50. Chu Suk in Korea