Unit 9

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November. Almost every culture in the world has held celebrations of thanks for a plentiful harvest. The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago.
In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World（新大陆）. This religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois Indians（美国纽约州东北部易洛魁族印第安人）taught them how to grow corn, a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish.

In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley（大麦）, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn.
In following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks.
After the United States became an independent country, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1863, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration.

Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have.
In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.
Turkey, corn, pumpkins and cranberry sauce（酸果曼沙司）are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. The use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "Indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season.

Sweet-sour cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly, was on the first Thanksgiving table and is still served today. The cranberry is a small, sour berry. It grows in bogs（沼泽）, or muddy areas, in Massachusetts and other New England states. The Indians used the fruit to treat infections. They used the juice to dye their rugs and blankets. They taught the colonists how to cook the berries with sweetener（甜味佐料）and water to make a sauce. The Indians called it "ibimi" which means "bitter berry." When the colonists saw it, they named it "crane-berry" because the flowers of the berry bent the stalk over, and it resembled the long-necked bird called a crane. The berries are still grown in New England.
In 1988, a Thanksgiving ceremony of a different kind took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. More than four thousand people gathered on Thanksgiving night. Among them were Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of people whose ancestors had migrated to the New World.
The ceremony was a public acknowledgment of the Indians' role in the first Thanksgiving 350 years ago. Until recently most schoolchildren believed that the Pilgrims cooked the entire Thanksgiving feast, and offered it to the Indians. In fact, the feast was planned to thank the Indians for teaching them how to cook those foods. Without the Indians, the first settlers would not have survived.

2. Christmas Day（圣诞节）

Christmas Star Christmas Day
People love everything about Christmas Day - the nativity scene, caroling, scripture reading and concerts. November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Colored lights decorate many town centres and shops, along with shiny decorations, and artificial snow painted on shop windows. During the season people take the time to enjoy the city or town when it's all decorated.

The Origin of Christmas
The origin of Christmas differs as the precise date of the birth and historicity of Jesus are much debated. Christmas, literally meaning the Mass of Christ, is a traditional holiday in the Christian calendar. The festival of Christmas takes place on 25th December, every year to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is also celebrated as a secular holiday throughout the world, including countries with small Christian populations like India. Various theories of the origin of Christmas exist that give a clear insight into the celebration of Christmas.

Date of Christmas
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in all Christian churches including Eastern Rite, Roman & Protestant. Since most Eastern Orthodox churches have not accepted either the Gregorian calendar or the Revised Julian Calendar reforms, December 25 will fall on the civil date of January 7 for the years from 1900 to 2099. It is believed that the nativity was set on December 25th by a Roman bishop around the third century A.D.

The History of Christmas
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years as the various custom and tradition associated with the festival of Christmas were celebrated centuries before the birth of Christ. The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.
The History of Christmas can be traced to some of the popular festival celebrated by early civilization that gave way to Christmas.

The Tradition of Christmas
The Tradition of Christmas have combined from over half a dozen cultures and accumulated over the centuries. An in-depth look in into its tradition, and one is moved with all the sentiments, symbols and meaning associated with Christmas. All of which combine to give a touch of liveliness and harmony to the season of celebrations. However, no matter which part of the world you are in, the tradition of Christmas blossoms with fun and celebration and carries along with it faith, hope and love.

Celebrating Christmas
Celebrating Christmas has nothing to do with spending a lot of money and having elaborate parties. The biggest celebrations are the most personal ones spent with people whose company we love. A simple thing as watching a beautiful Christmas movie with a special someone can be all it takes. Or maybe share a home cooked meal with friends in front of the decorated Christmas tree.

Christmas Meal
On Christmas Day, a special meal of Christmas dishes is usually served, for which there are traditional menus in each country. In the United Kingdom, the traditional meal consists of roast turkey or goose, served with roast potatoes and other vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding, a heavy boiled pudding made with dried fruit (traditionally plums) and flour.

Christmas Party

3 .Valentine’s Day（情人节）

Valentine’s Day（情人节）

February 14 is Valentine's Day. It is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love. Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. In Rome it's said that it originated in 5th Century as a tribute to St.Valentine, a Catholic bishop.
valentines day
For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his female companion during the remaining year.
February 14 was also a Roman holiday, held in honor of a goddess. Young men randomly chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities. The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies .Throughout the ages, people also believed that birds picked their mates on February 14!

In AD 496 Saint Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as "Valentine's Day". Although it's not an official holiday, most Americans observe this day.
The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.

Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. He is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.
Whatever the odd mixture of origins, St. Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day that you show your friend or loved one that you care. You can send candy to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love.

4.Halloween（万圣节）

Halloween(万圣节)

Halloween(万圣节)is one of the oldest holidays with a history of thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has taken in a lot from other cultures(文化)over the years.
     Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts(凯尔特人).The Celts believed in many gods(神),with the sun god as their favourite. They thought that it was "he" who ordered them what to do for their work and when they could rest, and "he" made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.
    The Celts kept their New Year on November 1st.It was celebrated every year with a holiday and marked(做标记)the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of" the season of darkness and cold."
    On October 31st after the crops were all gathered and stored for the long winter, the cooking fires in the homes would be put out. The Druids，the Celtic priests(牧师),would meet at the top of the hill in the dark oak(橡树)forest〔oak trees were thought to be sacred(神圣的)〕.The Druids would light(点燃)new fires，and then offered some crops and animals which they killed to their God. As they danced around the fires，the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.

When the morning arrived the Druids would give a piece of wood from their fires to each family，then they would take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil(邪恶的)spirits(妖怪).
   The November 1st festival was called Sam hai(pronounced sowen).The festival would last for 3days.Many people would walk in a line in the streets，in clothes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival would become the first Halloween.
    During the first century the Romans came and ruled Britain. They brought with them many of their festivals and customs(风俗，习惯).One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day，named for their god dess(女神)of fruits and gardens. It was celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the Celtic’s Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming one important autumn holiday.

Something else to do with Halloween is the Christian Religion(基督教)In the year 835AD the Roman Catholic(天主教的) Church made November 1st a church holiday to remember all the saints(圣人).This day was called All Saints’ Day，or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the church made November 2nd a holy(神圣的)day. It was called All Souls Day and was to remember the dead. It was celebrated with large fires, many people walking along together, and people dressing up as saints, angels(天使)and devils(魔鬼)
   But this did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows,Oct.31,people continued to celebrate the festivals of Sam hain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became know as All Hallow Even, later All Hallow’s Eve, halloween, and then-Halloween.
    Halloween today is a mixture(混合)of all the old holidays, and that is why we have Pomona Day’s apples, nuts, and harvest, fruits, the Festival of Samhain’s black cats, magic(魔术),evil spirits and death, and the ghosts(鬼),skeletons(骨架) and skulls(头骨)from All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day.

5.Easter Day（复活节）

Easter Day
            A Sunday between March 22 and April 25
      The meaning of many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in pre-Christian religions and Christianity. All in some way or another are a "salute to spring," marking re-birth. The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday. The word "Easter" is named after Easter, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox （春分）.
      People celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations （命名）. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected （复活）. Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States.

This year Easter will be celebrated on Sunday April 8, 2007. On Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.

6.April Fool’s Day（愚人节）

　 April Fool’s Day（愚人节）
April Fools' Day is a day to play jokes on others, No one knows how this holiday began but　people think it first started in France.
　　In the 16 th century, people celebrated New Year's Day from March 25 to April 1. In the mid—1560s King Charles IX changed it from March 25 to January 1. But some people still celebrated in on April 1, so others called them April Fools.
　　Each country celebrates April Fools' Day differently. In France, people call the April Fools “April Fish”. They tape a paper fish to their friends' backs to fool them. When he or she finds this , they shout “April Fish!”
愚人节
　　In England, people play jokes only in the morning. You are a “noodle” if someone fools you. In Scotland, April Fools' Day is 48 hours long. They call an April Fool “April Gowk”. Gowk is another name for a cuckoo bird.
　　In the America, people play small jokes on their friends and any other people on the first of Aprol. They may point down to your shoe and say, “ Your shoelace is untied.” If you believe them and look down to see, you are an April Fool then.

7.Carnival （狂欢节）

Carnival （狂欢节）
           Early in the New Year the main content is to hold a parade, a party, and other joyful activities. It is an annual celebration of life found in many countries of the world. And in fact, by learning more about carnival we can learn more about ourselves and a lot about accepting and understanding other cultures.
    The earliest Carnival dates back to 1641, when the colonial rulers implemented a decree2. According to it, people would be encouraged to parade, dance and drink unrestrained to celebrate the birthday of the Portuguese King. More than three hundred years later, the Carnival has become the most important folk festival of Brazil.
The annual Carnival in Brazil is a unique festival. It is also the most important ethnic celebration. It comes between the end of February and the beginning of March every year. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from overseas were attracted to join the feast of rejoicing, which involves flamboyant1 costumes, sexy Brazilian girls and passionate Samba dance.
     On February 24th of this year, the “King Momo” dressed in bright orange, took the gold key of the city from the mayor3 of Rio De Janeiro, to signify the beginning of Carnival. During the following five days, the “King,” who plays a leading role in the Carnival, would throw out all daily routines, so that people could indulge4 themselves. The “King Momo” this year was a 33-year-old architect. His name was Alex de Oliveira.