2. Unit 14 Festivals Liu Yun

4. Lantern Festival Mid-autumn Festival

5. firecrackers fireworks

6. Clear and Bright Festival Tomb-sweeping Festival

7. Lantern Festival Women’s Day Arbor Day Clear and Bright Festival May Day ( Tomb-sweeping Festival ) Chinese Youth Day Dragon Boat Festival Children’s Day the Army’s Day Teachers’ Day Mid-autumn Day National Day Double-ninth Day 1. Do you know any other names of Chinese festivals?

8. Halloween

9. Do you know any festivals in the USA ? New Year’s Day Lincoln’s Birthday Valentine’s Day Washington’s Birthday Fool’s Day Easter Arbor Day Mother’s Day Father’s Day Independence Day labor Day Halloween Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day February 12 February 18 春分月圆后第一个星期日 the second Friday in May the third Sunday in JuneJuly 4 September 1 October 31 the first Sunday following the spring Equinox after the full moon

10. Look at the pictures of the festivals and discuss the following questions with your partner. 1. Do you know the names of the festivals? 2.Do you know which countries the festivals come from ? 3. What are the people in the pictures doing ? Halloween; Obon; Day of the Dead. The USA and Europe; Japan; Mexico. Trick or treat; floating paper lanterns; lightening candles for prayers to the dead.

11. Carnival 狂欢节 Carnival 狂欢节

12. Listen to the tape and choose the correct answers: Mardi Gras 1.Mardi Gras is celebrated on a Tuesday in the month of _____. A. April or May B. February of March C. March of April 2. People celebrate Mardi Gras by dressing up and watch ____. A. parades B. games C. plays 3. The colours of Mardi Gras are ______. A. purple, gold and green B. purple, red and blue C. purple, gold and red French and means “ Fat Tuesday ”. B A A

13. Ramadan 1.Ramadan is celebrated in the _____ month of the Arabic calendar. A. eighth B. ninth C. tenth 2.The word Ramadan is the name of _____. A. a month B. a town C. a holy book 3.During Ramadan, people do not ____ during the day. A. eat B. sleep C. talk B A A

14. 1.Easter is usually celebrated in ______. A. February or March B. March of April C. April or May 2. In some countries, children will go on _____ during Easter. A. picnics B. egg hunts C. trips 3. The two main popular symbols of Easter are the _____ and _____. A. Easter Man, Easter egg B. Easter Bunny, Easter tree C. Easter Bunny, Easter egg B B C

15. Work together with your partner and describe one of your favourite festivals. I think the Spring Festival is my favourite festival because people celebrate it by visiting each other and getting together at home. It is the biggest festival in China. Families get together on New Year’s Eve and have a big meal. During the festival, we visit friends and have fun together. Most parents give their children a red envelope with some money in it. People celebrate the festival to welcome the new year and to show their love for their family and friends. What is your favourite festival and why ?

16. speaking Work in groups of four. Your group has been asked to decide what a new holiday should be about. In my opinion, we should … I don’t think it is necessary to … I hope we can make a decision. I believe we should … We must decide … If we do this, we can …

17. Examples: OK, I will begin. We need to decide what the new holiday will be. I think that the new holiday should be a Peace Day. On this day, no fighting or conflicts are allowed. People will learn and talk about peace. The holiday will be celebrated on the second Sunday in January. I think this is the best idea because nothing is more important than peace. That’s a good idea, but I think we should create a Happiness Day instead. If people are happy, there won’t be any wars or fights. We should celebrate Happiness Day on the shortest, darkest day of the winter, because many people feel unhappy when it’s cold and the sun doesn’t shine. People will celebrate by doing something that makes another person happy, for example helping them do something or giving them a card or a small gift. The most important thing is that people should smile and laugh a lot on Happiness Day.

18. I like your ideas, but I would like to suggest something different. Why don’t we have a Friendship Day? If people have friend and are friendly to each other, they will be happy and they won’t fight. I think that we should celebrate Friendship Day the first of every month. If we do this, we will start each month in a friendly way. We can learn about how to make and keep friends and how to solve problems together. People will celebrate Friendship Day by making new friends and spending the day together with their friends.

19. Well, perhaps we shouldn’t be so selfish. Peace, happiness and friendship are important to us, to human beings, but what about the rest of the planet ? We mustn’t forget about nature, the environment and the animals. On this day, which we will celebrate on the first day of spring, people will not pollute and they will learn more about nature. We should also plant trees and do something for our animal friends. I think that we will be happier and more peaceful if we learn to take better care of our planet. Why not have a Nature Day ?