Celebrations ! Here are some common festivals, holidays and celebrations from around the world.

1.

Chinese New Year Also known as the Lunar New Year, this is a very important holiday for the Chinese. The date changes year to year, but is usually in late January or early February.

2.

Christmas This is a special holiday for Christian countries celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is held on December 25th. Many other countries also celebrate some special events for Christmas.

3.

Valentines Day ! This romantic holiday is for people in love and is celebrated on February 14th every year. It is in honour of Saint Valentine.

4.

Easter Easter is a springtime holiday often having flowers, bunnies and chocolate. This Christian holiday celebrates the death and rebirth of Jesus.

5.

Halloween On October 31st people dress up as witches, ghosts, monsters and in other costumes. Children often go house to house to get candies. There are many scary decorations, including Jack O’ Lanterns made from pumpkins.

In Your Group: Plan a party for one of the 5 holidays which we have just talked about. Who will you invite? What activities will you have? What food and drinks will people enjoy? Chinese New Year Christmas Valentines Day Easter Halloween

6.

Mother’s Day This holiday helps us to remember and show our love for our Mothers. Mother’s day is on the 2nd Sunday in May.

7.

Father’s Day A special day on the 3rd Sunday of June to say “thank you” and “I love you” to your father.

8.

Ching Ming Festival This festival is in the 4th month of the Chinese calendar. People visit the graves of their ancestors and pray.

9.

A Birthday Each of us has our own personal holiday celebrating the day we were born. We often get presents, have some cake or even invite people to our birthday party.

10.

St Patrick’s Day This is a famous Irish holiday which many other countries celebrate. It is a springtime holiday, which is always on March 17th in honour of an Irish Saint.

11.

Mid Autumn Festival This festival is held in the middle of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. People eat moon cakes and look at the moon. Children play with lanterns.

12.

This holiday is on April 1st. April Fools Day This holiday is on April 1st. People try to trick or fool their friends. People like to laugh and make jokes on this day.

13.

Dragon Boat Festival This festival is held on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese calendar. People have races in decorated dragonboats and eat delicious rice dumplings.

14.

New Year’s Eve On December 31st, the night before the New Year many people celebrate with parties, singing and dancing.

15.

Thanksgiving This autumn festival started out as a way to celebrate a good harvest of farmers’ crops. Nowadays its more about remembering things you are thankful for. Families gather together and eat a good meal, often turkey with pumpkin pie.

In Your Group: Decide which 3 holidays are your favourites and which 3 are your least favourite. Give reasons for your decision. Chinese New Year A Birthday Christmas St Patrick’s Day Valentines Day Mid-Autumn Festival Easter April Fools Day Halloween Dragon Boat Festival Mother’s Day New Year’s Eve Father’s Day Thanksgiving Ching Ming Festival

The End I hope you liked talking about different festivals, holidays, & celebrations. Can you think of any others? Which ones do you like most? Why?