How did you spend your Spring Festival?

Spring Festival

on the first day of the lunar year

last fifteen days

do spring cleaning , decorate their houses

On New Year’s Eve, dinner, watch the Spring Festival programme, watch fireworks, set off firecrackers

get lucky money

Lantern Festival

Spring Festival comes at the turn of a Chinese lunar year and is celebrated all over the country. On the day of the Lunar New Year people get up early and wear all kinds of new clothes. In the north, most families prepare jiaozi (dumplings) on the Eve as special food, while in the south sticky-sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao is served. Crackers are fired everywhere when the clock strikes twelve, as a signal of saying good-bye to the old year and welcoming the New Year in. Fireworks are lit to drive away evil spirits. People watch the CCTV special Spring Festival programs, sing and dance until the small hours of the morning.

Festivals

Time What does it celebrate?

What do people do?

Spring festival

spring

The arrival of spring and the new year

get together, watch TV and eat dumplings, give money in red paper to children, visit family members

How many festivals do you know in China?

New Year’s Day

Lantern Festival

Women’s Day

May Day

Children’s Day

Dragon Boat FestivalMid-autumn Festival

National Day

Army Day

Chinese festivals and holidays

Festivals• Chinese Festivals

• Lantern Festival

• The Dragon Boat Festival

• Tomb Sweeping Day

• Mid-Autumn Day

• New Year’s Day

• Double-ninth

• National Day

• May 1st

• Foreign Festivals• Christmas Day• Thanksgiving Day• Mother’s Day• Father’s Day• April Fool’s Day• Valentine’s Day• Easter•Halloween

In April

It is the time when Jesus Christ died and came back to life.

Eat chocolate eggs

Easter

Christmas Day

On December 25thIt is the birthday of Jesus ChristGo to the parties and churches , give cards and presents to our friends and relatives

Valentine’s Day

In February

People send roses and cards to the people they love.

Dragon Boat Festival In June

The day that the poet Qu Yuan died

Eat rice dumplings and watch boat races

Ching Ming Festival

• In April

• The day we remember our dead relatives

• Visit graves

Mother’s Day

In May

We give flowers and presents to our mothers.

Mid-autumn Festival

• In September

• The day we enjoy the full moon

• Play lanterns and eat moon cakes

on the fifteenth day of the new year ( 15th, in the lunar calendar)

lanterns: symbols of good fortune, happiness and health.

“dragon” and “lion ” dances

Lantern Festival

Pre-reading1.What’s you favourite holiday of the year?2.What festivals or celebrations do you enjoy in your city or town?

Reading You are given 5 minutes to read the passage

quickly and try to remember different kinds of

festivals mentioned in the text.

Obon

Day of the Dead

Halloween

Dragon Boat Festival

Columbus Day

Thanksgiving

Easter

Cherry Blossom Festival

Festivals of the Dead

Festivals to Honour People

Harvest Festivals

Spring Festivals

Task 1

1. How many parts is the passage divided into?

Task 2

2. Which festivals are mentioned in the passage?

Six parts.

Festivals Countries Obon Japan

Day of the Dead Mexico Halloween

Dragon Boat Festival ChinaColumbus Day USA

Mahatma Gandhi Day India

Mid-autumn Festival China/JapanSpring Festival China

CarnivalEaster

Cherry Blossom Festival Japan

Thanksgiving festivals

Reading againRead the passage again and then fill in the following form:

Festivals Purpose How to celebrate

Ancient Festivals

Festivals of the Dead

To celebrate the the end of the cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn.

Lit fires and made music.

To honor the dead or satisfy and please the ancestors.

Light lamps,play music,eat food in the shape of skulls and cakes with bones, go to their neighbors to ask for sweets, dress up

Festivals Purpose How to celebrate

Festivals to Honour People

Harvest Festivals

Spring Festivals

For their great contributions to the society or 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, have big meals, admire the moon,eat moon cakes.To celebrate the end of

winter and the coming of spring.

Eat delicious food, give children lucky money, have carnivals.

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--- the end of the cold winter, planting in spring and harvest in autumn.Some festivals are held to _____ the dead or satisfy and ______ the _________ in case they might _____ _______, while other festivals are held to honor famous people or the gods, such as _________ _______ ______ and Columbus Day.

celebrations

Boat FestivalDragon

harmdo

ancestorspleasehonor

festivalsancient

Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals are happy events because the food is _________ for the winter and because a season of ___________work is over,to which Mid autumn festival belongs.And the most energetic 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.

agricultural

gathered

lunarcoming

Assignment

Collect as much information about festivals as possible.