Unit 6

Celebration of Holidays

Celebration of holidays

We all love holidays! No matter how old we get, we all get excited about special days in our culture. Food, family, friends, and fireworks are all big parts for enjoying these times.

But why wait for a special day to celebrate?

Come on– let the fun begin now!

Main PointsⅠ. Leading In

Ⅱ. Text A

Ⅲ. Text B

●Vocabulary Practice

Ⅳ. Practical Writing

Ⅰ.Leading InⅠ.Leading InIntroduction to the Holidays

Western holidays◆Chinese holidays◆

Western Holidays

●Christmas

●New Year’s Day

●Valentine’s Day

●April Fool’s Day

●Easter

●Halloween

●Thanksgiving Day

Christmas (Dec.25) Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many

religions. It is a day that has an effect on the entire world. To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving

gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.

The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.

In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

Christmas TraditionsChristmas tree

Santa Claus◆Santa Claus and St. Nicholas The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an

epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words “to sell what you own and give the money to the poor”, Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

◆Legends about Santa Claus There are many legends about Santa Clause and his

kindness and love. The following two stories are selected just for class use.

http://www.gxtcmu.edu.cn/wyb/yuanwangye/images/

Valentine’s Day (Feb.14)

In pagan days, February 14 was celebrated in anticipation of the love rites of spring. Tradition held that on that day, doves coupled and owls paired. Taking their cue from the birds, single men and women would hold toga parties during which the winners of a love lottery would slip off to make love.

In Rome, the emperor Claudius was said to have imprisoned St. Valentine in 269 for Christian faith. On the eve of his execution, Valentine, who had fallen in love with his jailer's blind daughter, wrote her a sonnet in ink that he squeezed from violets. His words are said to have made the blind woman see again, but her father was unimpressed. The following day, he clubbed Valentine to death.

April Fool’s Day (Apr. 1)

●The origin of April Fool's Day

There are different versions as to the origin of April Fool's Day. The most widespread theory links the day to Gregorian calendar reform while others involve mythological legends or anthropological explanations.

Easter

Easter is usually in early April. This is a religious festival. On the very Sunday morning, children are busy looking for the color eggs assumed to be given by the Easter rabbit.

The Traditions of Easter As with almost all "Christian" holidays,

Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication.

Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.

The Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol o

riginated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

The Easter Egg As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter

Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

Halloween (Oct. 31)

Halloween is an annual celebration on the evening of October 31. Dancing parties are held with people wearing fancy masks.

The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving was about the Pilgrims, the first settlers in America. They shared the first harvest with the Indians and gave thanks.

Traditions of Thanksgiving Day The American traditions of Thanksgiving revolve

around a huge and lavish meal, usually with Turkey as the centerpiece. For those who do not like Turkey, a Roast or Prime Rib is common. As tradition has it in most families, a special prayer of thanks precedes the meal. In many homes, family members will each mention something they are very thankful for.  Thanksgiving is a time for families to create traditions and memories that last a lifetime.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

Chinese festival●Spring Festival●The Lantern Festival Yuanxiao Jie ●Qingming-The Clear & Bright Festival ●Dragon Boat Festival ●Festival of Qi Xi Jie (Chinese Valentine's Day‘)●Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival ●Double Nineth (Elder Day) ●Dong Zhi - Winter Solstice Festival Dec 22,2004 ●Ethnic Group Festivals

The Date of Chinese festival★

Spring Festival(Chinese New Year)

Far and away the most important

holiday in China is Spring Festival, also

known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West. The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

★January 29, 2006 is the first day of the Chinese new year.

There are three ways to name a Chinese year:

By an animal. This year is known as the Year of the Dog.There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years.

By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch). The new year is the year of bingxu. ( 丙戌 )

In the 'Stem-Branch' system, the years are named in 60-year cycles, and the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.2006 is the 7th year in the current 60-year cycle.

It is Year 4703 by the Chinese calendar.

To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year's Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15th of the first month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival, means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.

Preparations for the New Year begin the last few days of the last moon, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased. Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplet (as show on both side of the page) and in many homes, people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.

" Guo Nian," meaning

"passing the year," is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival. It actually means greeting the new year. At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year. In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.

On New Year's Eve, all the members

of families come together to feast. Jiaozi, a steamed dumpling as pictured below, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao.

The Date of Chinese festival New Year's Day First Day of the First Month of the year The Lantern Festival Yuanxiao Jie

15-th Day of the First Month of the year Qingming-The Clear & Bright Festival Dragon Boat Festival

5-th Day of the 5-th Month of the year Sweet Dumpling Dragon Boat Races

Festival of Qi Xi Jie 7th Day of the 7th Month of the year Sometimes called the 'Chinese Valentine's Day'

Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival 15-th Day of the 8-th Month of the year

Double Nineth (Elder Day) 9-th Day of the 9-th Month of the year

Dong Zhi - Winter Solstice Festival Dec 22,2004 Ethnic Group Festivals

New Year’s DayANCIENT NEW YEARS The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays.

It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

Ⅱ. Text AⅡ. Text A

Happy New yearHappy New year

Ⅰ.Pre-reading ActivitiesPrepare the following topics in groups:

●celebrations of the New year in China;

●celebrations of the New Year in their hometowns;

●their most recent celebration of the New year;

●their plans for this year’s celebration of the New Year;

●the party they are going to have to celebrate the coming New Year;

Ⅱ. While Reading Activities( ) Read the text through, try to answer the following Ⅰ

questions, and then do reading comprehension exercises on page 94.

1. Is New Year’s celebration the most important one for Americans? Why or Why not?

2. How do people celebrate New Year?

3. What do most Americans and Europeans promise to do?

( ) Read the text paragraph by paragraph, and find Ⅱthe topic sentence in each paragraph

( ) Language PointsⅢ1. eve: the night or day before the stated religious day or holid

ays In the United States, many people go to New Year’s Eve p

arties.2. measure v. 1)show or record Time is measured by the hour, minute, and second. 2)find the size length, amount, degree etc. of sth. in standar

d units How does a teacher measure his students’ success?3. give importance to : pay attention to We should give much more importance to English learning. Importance is given to learning foreign languages.4. bring in: cause to come in; introduce They brought in different customs and cultures.

5. common: adj.1) usual a common error Everybody should know it, as it is common sense. Have…in common: share with someone else They have many interests in common.6. tradition n. 1) principles, beliefs, practices, etc. passed down from the pa

st to the present In Germany, some people still follow this old tradition. 2)a customary way of thinking or behaving that has been pas

sed down in this way The writer is sad because he feels that old traditions are b

eing forgotten.7. drive away: drive off; force away Don’t drive away the students who want to help you.8. gather: v. 1) come together On New Year’s Eve, crowds gather in Times Square in Ne

w York City.

2) collect They have gathered a lot of information on the subject.9. let off: fire or cause to explode The inexperienced soldier let the gun off in error.10. in the shape of : in a certain form in which something may

exist or appear He has a watch in the shape of a rabbit.11. light up: cause to begin giving out light When the play ended, all the lights lit up.12. put up: build, or raise into position They planned to put up a statue of the late President.13. resolution: n. a firm decision He made a resolution to lose weight through exercising.

14. involve: v. have as a necessary part or result This will involve a lot of time and energy.15. carry out: 1) fulfill Don’t blame me ---I’m only carrying out orders. 2) perform; conduct They then held a meeting to discuss how to carry out the

operation

Ⅲ.After-reading Activities (Homework)

1.Please read Text B after class and prepare more information about the Chinese Spring Festival and Christmas. Compare them in class next time.

2. Answer the following questions about the text.

a. How do people celebrate Christmas in the West?

b. Who decided the date of Christmas?

c. How many cards do Americans send every year?

d. Why does Father Christmas put presents in stockings instead of other places?

Ⅲ. Text BⅢ. Text B

Christmas TraditionChristmas Tradition

●Language Study:1. honor: show honor to They built the statue to honor the friendship

between France and the United States.

2. attempt: n. | C| an effort made to do something He made an attempt to escape, but failed.

v. make an effort at He attempted to leave but was stopped.

3. select: v. choose He was selected to play for England.

Selected as: choose to be He selected a novel as a birthday present for his sister.4. design: v. develop and draw the plans for The book is designed mainly for college students5. exchange: v. give and receive in return At the end of the meeting, they are exchanging phone

numbers and addresses.6. original: adj. first; earliest He found an original drawing of Picasso’s in the basement

of his father’s house.7. hang up: hang a piece of clothing on something Did you notice those hams hanging up in the butcher’s

window?

8. in debt: the state of owing Wasteful people usually end up in debt.

9. be about to: be just ready to He looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

10. land: v. come down from the air onto a surface The plane was forced to land in the desert

Vocabulary Practice

Ex. Ⅰ Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the word given.1. Their house is in a very (favor) _____________position near the park.2. I was ____________( honor) to have been mentioned in his speech.3. This shows that they do not understand the (important)__________

__ of the question.4. The (celebrate) ____________didn’t end until midnight.5. They took part in all kinds of social (act) ___________on campus.6. The writer’s sudden (die)___________ was much regretted in Britai

n.7. December25th had been a (wide) ___________celebrated day in the

Roman world.8. The test will involve (answer) ____________questions about a pictur

e.9. The streets were very (noise) _____________throughout the night.10. Six theatre companies have been (select) _____________to take pa

rt in this year’s festival.

Ex. 2 Choose the best item to complete each of the following sentences.

1. It’s all right to borrow money sometimes, but don’t let it become a(n)____________. A. habit B. tradition C. spirit D. action2. There’s a (n)__________ in our office that when it’s someone’s birthday, they brin

g in a cake for us all to share. A. habit B. tradition C. spirit D. action3. The baby___________ an attempt to stand up, but failed. A. did B. took C. wanted D. made4. The fact that he didn’t say “No” immediately is a good___________. A. activity B. experience C. sign D. design5. Have you discovered that the two cultures have a lot in___________. A. spirit B. effort C. common D. fact6. The house was just as what she had______________. A. thought B. believed C. considered D. imagined7. He _____________ and built his own house. A. designed B. believed C. determined D. put8. The practice of hanging up stockings is believed to be _________with St. Nicholas. A. included B. connected C. determined D. selected9. He never carried___________ his promise to stop playing PC games A. on B. about C. out D. in10. To let __________fireworks on New Year’s Eve is a tradition in China. A. up B. in C. of D. off

Ⅳ Ⅳ Practical Practical WritingWriting

Ⅳ Ⅳ Practical Practical WritingWriting

Writing personal letters People write personal letters to thank

or congratulate someone, share news with them, pass on interesting information, or describe what has happened. So writing personal letters is a way of keeping in touch with absent friends or expressing your feelings in certain social situations. For this reason, learning how to write personal letters will help students develop friendly relations with others.

Personal letters have five parts :date, opening, body, closing and signature.

Here are some samples:

Sample 1Your NameAddressPhone NumberE-mail (optional)

Date

Name of ReceiverTitleCompany NameAddress Dear __________:When writing a letter using block form, no lines are indented. Include your name, address, and phone number where

youcan be contacted, as well as the date. You then include the name and address of the person you are sending the

letter to.

With new paragraphs, just skip a line instead of indenting.

Add your phone number where you can be contacted in the last paragraph. If the receiver needs to use a relay service to

call you, briefly explain that you are deaf/ hard-of-hearing and that s/he can call you through relay. Give the receiver his/her

state relay number and explain that s/he will need to give the operator your number. Then give him/her your number. Click

here for a list of state relay numbers.

Sincerely,Your SignatureYour NameYour Title

Sample 2Your Name

AddressPhone Number

E-mail (optional) Date

Name of ReceiverTitleCompany NameAddress Dear __________:        When writing a letter using indented form, indent each paragraph.First include your name, address, phone number, and the date. Thisinformation should be located at the top of the page, either in the center,or indented on the right side of the paper. You then include the name andaddress of the person to whom you are sending the letter.

   At the end of the letter, place your signature on the right side of thepage. Don't forget to provide any relay information if necessary. Sincerely, Your Signature Your Name Your Title

Sample 3Your NameAddressPhone NumberE-mail (optional)

Date

Name of ReceiverTitleCompany NameAddress

SUBJECT LINE (use capital letters)

When writing a letter using simplified style form, put the date on the left. Then, put thereceiver's name, and his/her title, company name, and address. Write a subject line instead of a salutation. The subject line must be in all capital letters. At the end of the letter, put your name and title, all in capital letters.

YOUR NAMEYOUR TITLE

OTHER OPTIONS If you are using block format, you can place your addressanywhere on the letter. You can place it at the top of the page(top center or top right side), or you can put your address atthe end of the letter after your signature and name,regardless of which format you use. If you are using block form, you can place the date on theleft, in the center, or on the right. However, if you are usingthe indented form, it is usually better to place the date on theright or on the left. Do not put it in the center. With the indented form, you can put your signature on theright or left side of the page. If you want to make your letter stand out, boldly type yourname in a larger font at the top of the letter and type your

address justbelow it in a smaller font. Example:

The EndThanks for your participation

and have a good time