unit 10 Western Holidays 天津民族职专 主讲：李嘉鸿

Spring Festival Mid-autumn Day Lantern Festival Dragon Boat Festival

some western holidays: 1.Ask the students to say some western holidays: Christmas April Fool’s Day Easter Day Saint valentine’s Day Thanksgiving Day Mother’s Day Halloween Father’s Day

2.Look at the pictures and listen to the music ,then guess which festival it is.

1. Fast reading and find out some informations in relation to Christmas from the text.

Santa Claus Christmas card Christmas stocking Christmas tree

Legends of Santa Claus and Christmas stocking There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move into a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing and cleaning. When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and property given to the new husband's family. One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings. The next morning when the daughters awoke they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters marry and he lived a long and happy life.

The legends of the Christmas trees 　　There is a legend that St Boniface, an English monk, came upon a group of pagans gathered around an oak tree who were preparing to sacrifice a child to the God Thor. In order to stop the sacrifice, and save the child's life, St Boniface is said to have felled the tree with one blow of his fist. Later on, a fir tree grew in place of the oak and St Boniface told the pagans the Tree of Life represented the Christ Child.

Legend of Christmas Cards The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny - half the price of an ordinary letter. Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.

2. Read the text again, then discuss some questions of the text in groups. (1)What is the most magnificent festival in the west? (2)On which day do people celebrate Christmas? (3) Please describe Santa Claus and what does he do? (4)Are the shops busy? Why? (5)Could you say something about the customs of Christmas?

(1) Christmas. (2) On December 25 The name Christmas is short for “ Christ’s Mass”. A Mass is a kind of church service. Christmas is a religious festival. December 25 : It is said that it is the day we celebrate as the birthday of Jesus.

(2) He is a kind, old man dressed in red. He will stop by tens of thousands of homes and leave presents under the Christmas tree.

(3) Yes. Because this is the season for people to go shopping (3) Yes. Because this is the season for people to go shopping. The family buy some things to celebrate the festival.

(4) One is to send and at the same time receive Christmas cards. Another one is that people exchange holiday greetings and wish each other a Merry Christmas.

Step Four: Retell the text Retell the text according to the clues. Christmas is … Christmas is on… Santa Claus is … Stores prepare… One of the customs is … Christmas combines …

Step Five Act out Ask the students to make a short dialogue in groups. And then act out how to celebrate the Christmas in their family.

Step Six Summary The world has been developing. Not only should we accept the western culture, but also respect the Chinese traditional culture. We should syncretize these cultures. Only in this way can we make a beautiful world together.

Step Seven Homework 1.Continue to read the text carefully. 2. Write a short passage about Christmas.

Moslem Vocational School: 李嘉鸿 Thank you!