Festivals around the world

Unit 1Warming-up

Think and list as many festivals as possible in a piece of paper. (2mins)

Festival

Lead in:

January New Year’s Day （元旦 ) /Spring Festival （春节）February Lantern Festival （元宵节）Valentine’s Day （情人节）March International Women’s Day （国际妇女节）Tree-Planting Day ( 植树节 )April April Fool’s Day （愚人节）Qingming Festival ( 清明节 )Easter Day （复活节）

Some Festivals around the world 1

May Labour’s Day( 劳动节 )Mother’s Day （母亲节）June Children’s Day ( 儿童节 )Father’s Day （父亲节）Dragon Boat Festival （端午节）July Party’s birthday ( 建党日 )US Independence Day （美国国庆日）Bastille Day （法国国庆日）August Army Day 建军节Chinese Valentine's Day （七巧节）

Some Festivals around the world 2

September Teacher’s Day ( 教师节 )Mid-Autumn Festival （中秋节）October Columbus Day （哥伦布纪念日）The Double Ninth Festival （重阳节）Halloween （万圣节）National Day ( 国庆节 )November Thanksgiving Day （感恩节）December The World Aids Day （世界艾滋病日）Christmas （圣诞节）

Some Festivals around the world 3

Select one Chinese festival and discuss when people celebrate and how people celebrate. (3mins)

Warming-up

Festival Time What it celebrates How people celebrate

Mid-Autumn Festival

autumn the beauty of the full moon, harvest, time with family

give and eat mooncakes, watch the full moon with family and friends

Sample1:

Festival Time of Year/ date

What it celebrates

What people do

Spring Festival

the first day of the first lunar month

the end of winter, arrival of spring, Lunar New Year, reunion with family and relatives

have a reunion with family•wear new clothes, eat plenty of delicious food•give lucky money to children•……

Sample 2:

Festival Time of Year/ date

What it celebrates

What people do

National Day

October 1 the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949

•take time off work•go shopping•visit family

Sample3:

Festival Time of Year/ date

What it celebrates

What people do

Dragon Boat Festival/ Duanwu Festival

The fifth day of the fifth month in lunar calendar

The memory of the beloved poet Qu Yuan

•eat zhongzi;•watch dragon boat races;•throw rice wrapped in reed leaves into water•put herbs on doorways for good health

Read the following descriptions and guess which western festival it is. At the same time, try to learn more about the festival.

Learn & Guess

This festival happens at the beginning of the spring.

Usually most young people are happy on this day.

They send flowers and chocolate or some other gifts to the one they love.

Valentine’s

Day

This festival happens in spring.

People can tell lies and play tricks on others without being blamed.

Some people may be fooled but they can not be angry.

Mother’s Day

• The second Sunday in May

• We give flowers and presents to our mothers.

This festival happens the 4th Thursday of November.

Every family has a feast( 盛宴 ) on this day.

Turkey is the most important food on this day.

People celebrate it to thank God for a harvest in 1620.

People usually celebrate it together with their family members.

People send cards or gifts to others.

A kind-hearted old man put the gifts in the stockings for children secretly at night.

Christmas Day

Festivals and

Celebrations

1. How many kinds of festivals are mentioned in the passage?

A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.2. Which of the following are not mentioned i

n the passage? A. Carnival and Columbus Day. B. Halloween and Spring Festivals. C. Thanksgiving Festivals and Obon. D. Valentine’s Day and Fool’s Day.

Skimming Listen to the tape and find:

Kinds of Festivals Names of Festivals

Countries

Festivals ofthe Dead

Festivals to Honour PeopleHarvest Festivals

Spring Festivals

Fill in the following chart.

Scanning

Festivals Names of Festivals

Countries

Festivals of the Dead

Obon

Day of the Dead

Halloween

Japan

Mexico

some Western countries

Festivals to Honour People

Dragon Boat Festival

Columbus Day

festival to honor Gandhi

China

USA

India

Harvest Festivals

harvest/ Thanksgiving festivals

mid-autumn festivals

European and other countries

China and Japan

Spring Festivals

Spring Festival

Easter and related

holidays

Cherry Blossom Festival

China

some Western countries

Japan

Read paragraph1 and find:

1. What do festivals celebrate for ?

Careful Reading Introduction

In ancient time, festivals would celebrate the end of cold water, planting in spring and harvest in autum.

Today’s festivals are celebrated for religion, a season ,special people or events.

2. How do Japanese honour their ancestors?

They have a festival called Obon, when pe

ople should go to clean the graves and ligh

t incense to honour their ancestors. They l

ight lamps and play

music.

Careful Reading Festivals of the Dead

Obon in Japan

3. What do people in Mexico do in memory of the dead?

They offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead on the Day of the Dead. People eat certain food on that day.

The Day of the Dead in Mexico

4. What do people in Western countries do in memory of the dead?

They used to believe in the return of the spirits of dead people. It is now a children’s festival, when they dress as witches and ghosts and go to their neighbour’s homes to ask for sweets.

pumpkin head

Halloween in Western countries

mask

5. Match the festivals with the proper people.

Columbus Day

National Festival on October 2

The Dragon Boat FestivalChinaIndia USA

Festivals to Honor People

Harvest Festivals6. People will ________ on Thanksgiving festivals.1.2.3.

decorate churches and town hallsget together to have meals

win awards for their farm produce

Spring Festivals

7. What do people usually do at spring festivals? At spring festivals, people usually have dances, carnivals and other activities to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring.

8. What does Easter celebrate?

9. Do you know the symbols of Easter?

It celebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the coming of spring and new life.

Easter eggs and Easter Bunnies.

Do you know the date of Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival? March 15- April 15

Retell the text by filling the following blanks.

There are all kinds of festivals and ___________ around the world, which are held for different reasons. The _______ ________ were mainly held at three times a year. Some festivals are held to _____ the dead or satisfy the _________ in case they might return either to help or to ____ ____,while other festivals are held to honor famous people or the gods, such as

Quiz

celebrations

ancient

festivals

honor

ancestors

do harm

______ _____ ______ and Columbus Day. Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals are happy events because the food is _________ for the winter and the ___________work is over. And the most ________ and important festivals are the ones that look forward to the end of winter and to the ______ of spring, such as the ______ New Year, at which people have a very good time.Some Western countries have very exciting __________. Festivals let us enjoy ____.

Dragon Boat Festival

gatheredagricultural

energetic

comingLunar

carnivals life

Thank you.