Festivals around the world

Mid-winter Day Spring FestivalLantern Festival Dragon-boat Festival Mid-autumn Day Double Ninth Festival

1.When do these festivals take place? 2.What do they celebrate? 3.What do people do?

late January and early February Time: couplets

Time:The fifteenth day of the first lunar month Lantern show Lion dancing Guessing riddles Dumpling ball

Time: on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month

on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month

1.What is your favourite holiday of the year? why? 2.What festivals or celebrations do you enjoy in your city or town? Do you like spending festivals with your family or with friends? What part of a festival do you like best---the music, the things to see, the visits or the food?

Task one

The passage is mainly about different festivals and the ways of celebrations and also the reasons why people celebrate them all over the world. 1. What’s the main idea of the passage? Give one sentence to describe it.

2.Which of the following are not mentioned in the passage? Festivals, harvest, the dead, calendar, origin, lamps, lantern, dress up, carnivals, parades, celebrations, April Fools’ Day, Columbus Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, Dragon Boat Day, Christmas, Christians _______ ______ ______________ ____________________ ________

3. What can we learn from the passage? A. All festivals have been lasting for a long period. B. People like festivals just because they can eat a lot then. C. Different countries have different customs. D. People celebrate festivals in the same way. C

4. Which of the following is not the reason why people love festivals according to the passage? A. Because festivals let us enjoy life. B. Because festivals make us proud of our customs. C. Because festivals can make us have fun with each other. D. Because festivals can let us get money from the government. D

5. Which of the following festivals is not celebrated in Japan? A. Easter B. Obon C. Cherry Blossom Festival D. Mid-autumn Festival A

6. What do people do in Spring Festivals in China? A.Eat dumplings, fish and meat together B. Give children lucky money in red paper C. Watch dragon dance D. All the above. D

Task two

1.Which three times of the year did people celebrate in Ancient Times? 2.Why do you think music, fire or light are used in festivals? 3.What kind of things are done to celebrate the Obon Festival? 4. Why does India have a national festival on October 2? 6. Name three things people do at spring festivals. 5. Why are autumn festivals happy events?

Task three

1.The ancient people needn’t worry about their food. 2.Halloween used to be a festival intended to honour the dead. 3.Qu Yuan was a great poet who people honour a lot in China. 4.Mid-autumn Festival is held to celebrate the end of autumn. 5.Easter celebrates the birth of Jesus. F T T F F

Part1 When did ancient people celebrate? They celebrated at the end of the cold weather/when good weather returned / when they had a good harvest / when the hunters caught animals for food/ when they had enough food / when wanted a year of plenty.

Part 2 What are festivals of the dead for? They are to honour our ancestors / to make our ancestors happy so they won’t harm us / to satisfy our ancestors

Festivals of the Dead: 1. How do Japanese honour their ancestors? 2. What do the people in Mexico do in memory of the dead? They have a festival called Obon, when people should go to clean the graves and light incense to honour their ancestors. They light lamps and play music. They offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead on the Day of the Dead. People might eat certain food on that day.

in Japan Obon

The Day of the Dead In Mexico

Pumpkin head Halloween Masks The night of October 31 st, 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

Part 3 Why does India have a national festival on October 2? To honour Mahatma Gandhi, the leader who helped gain India’s independence from Britain.

Mahatma Gandhi( ) 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

Dragon Boat Festival China Columbus Day USA National Festival India

Festivals to Honour People: 1. Why do the Chinese have the Dragon Boat Festival? 2. What do people do on this day? Why? To honour the ancient poet Qu Yuan. They have a rowing competition on the boats which are decorated as dragons and they eat Zongzi. It is said that people wanted to save Qu Yuan by boat. They offer zongzi to him without worrying that it would be eaten by fish.

Part 4 Why are autumn festivals happy events? People are grateful for the harvest / for the end of the agricultural work / the end of the hard work on the farms.People are happy that they will have food for the year.

Harvest Festivals: 1.What do people do on Thanksgiving? decorate churches and town hall. get together to have meals. win awards for crops and animals.

church rooster watermelon

1. Name three things people do at spring festival. 2. What is one important reason to have festivals and celebrations. To have a break from daily life, to celebrate our customs / our history / our heroes, to enjoy meeting family and friends, to eat special food, to have fun with each other People eat, dance, play and listen to music, visit family members,have parade,give and receive gifts. Part 5

Spring Festivals: 1. What does Easter celebrate? 2. Do you know the symbols of Easter? It celebrates the return of Jesus for Christians and it also celebrates the coming of spring. Easter eggs and Easter Bunnies.

Easter The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians(n. 基督徒 ), is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year, but it’s always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

Cherry Blossom Festival (March 15- April 15)

Summarize and fill in the chart Ancient Festivals why how Festivals of the dead why how Festivals to honour people why how Harvest Festivals why how Spring Festivals why how the end of the cold winter;planting in spring and harvest in autumn light fire and make music to honour the dead or satisfy and please the ancestors light lamps, play music, eat food in the shapes of skulls and cakes with bones, go to their neighbors to ask for sweets,dress up for their great contributions to the societyor the country Dragon boat racing, eat zongzi Food is gathered for the winter. A season of agricultural work is over. decorate churches and town halls, get together to have big meals, admire the moon and eat mooncakes celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring eat delicious food; have exciting carnivals

Homework: 1.Read the “reading passage” 2. Prepare the word dictation.