Unit 1 Festivals

Reading

beauty

harvest

celebration

starve

origin

ancestor

feast

poet

arrival

independence

agriculture

energetic

clothing

bone

take place

religious

in memory of

belief

dress up

play a trick on

gain

gather

award

admire

look forward to

day and night

as though

have fun with

1.What’s your favorite holiday of the year?

Pre-reading

FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS

Find out different kinds of

festivals mentioned in the text.

Obon

Day of the Dead

HalloweenDragon Boat FestivalColumbus Day

Thanksgiving

Easter

Cherry Blossom Festival

Festivals of the Dead

Festivals to Honour People

Harvest Festivals

Spring Festivals

Match

festivals

Festivals to honour people

Ancient Festival

Harvest Festivals

Festivals of the Dead

What festivals are mentioned in the text?

Spring Festivals

Most ancient festivals would celebrate ________________________, _____________and ______________, and they also celebrated _____________ __________________.

When

the end of the cold weatherplantingin spring harvest in autumn

when hunterscould catch animals

Why They are held to______________, or ______and ________the _________, who could return either to ______or to__________.

ExamplesObon

The Day of the DeadHalloween

honour the deadsatisfy please

help do harm

ancestors

Obon in Japan What kind of things are done to celebrate the Obon Festival?

Specially-made lanterns/lamps are lit and hung outside each

house to lead the ancestors back to home.

All night long, people dance and sing.

When the festival is over, thousands of lanterns are placed into the water and they drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world.

The Day of the Dead in Mexico

In Mexico, "day of the dead" is a joyful celebration to honour the dead. It is believed that, on this feast day, the spirits of the dead return home to visit their families.

Toys, decorations, and candies in the shape of skulls, are sold in the market-places at this time every year to honor the ancestors.

They offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead.

They burn candles to summon the spirits of the dead.

On October 31In western countries

A children’s festivalIts origin?

trick or treat

dress up

Carved Pumpkin Lantern /Jack-o'-lantern

a spell of protection over the household

the most common symbol

Halloween Parade( 游行）

Festivals can be held as an honour to ____________or to________.

famous people the gods

The Dragon Boat Festival

Columbus Day

Mahatma Gandhi

Examples

Qu Yuan

The arrival of Christopher ColumbusA national festival on October 2

屈原故里

Columbus Day

Mahandas Gandhi(1869-1948)

Gandhi, Indian national leader, was born in Porbandar on October 2, 1869, and educated in law in London ．

Gandhi was remembered as the international symbol of a free state ． Indians regarded him as a saint（圣者；圣徒） and called him Mahatma (Sanskrit, “great soul”), a title for the greatest saints ．

more about him

People are grateful because their food is gathered for the winter, and because a season of agricultural work is over.

Why are harvest festivals happy events?

ExamplesIn European countries……

The Mid-Autumn Festival

admire the moon give gifts of mooncakes

It is an American traditional holiday, falling on the fourth Thursday in November, to celebrate the harvest.

The traditional Thanksgiving food--- turkey, corn and pumpkin pies with ice-cream.

The most energetic and important festivals are_________________ ___________________________ __________________________

the ones that look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring.

Examples

Spring Festival in China

People eat dumplings, fish and meat

Lucky money in red paper

Dragon dances and carnivals

Families celebrate it together

the lunar New Year

parades, dancing in the streets day and night, loud music and colourful clothing of all kinds.

Carnivals in some Western countries

Easter(March 23 to April 25)

The first Sunday after the full moon following a spring equinox

• a religious and social festival in Christian country

• A celebration of Spring

• Celebrate the return of Jesus

Easter bunny

Easter egg

The two main popular symbols of Easter

Every April when the country is covered with cherry flowers, Japanese people celebrate it. They go out with their friends or families. They sit under the trees, sing and have a picnic.

Cherry Blossom Festival

In Japan

• What is one important reason to have festivals and celebrations?

Intensive reading

True or False

1. The ancient people needn’t

worry about their food.

2. Halloween used to be a festival

intended to honor the dead.

F

T

3. Qu Yuan was a great poet who peopl

e honor a lot in China.

4. Mid-autumn Festival is held to celebr

ate the end of autumn.

5. Easter celebrates the birth of Jesus.

T

F

F

Free talking

Based on the reading passage, what do most festivals seem to have in common?

food

musicentertainment

being with family and friends

lights or fire

dance

remembering events or people

permission

turn up

keep one’s word

hold one’s breath

apologize

obvious

set off

remind…of…