New SBI unit 14 Festivals

标签：高一英语必修2教案范文,高一英语下学期教案,http://www.16qiuxue.com New SBI unit 14 Festivals,
    des, they hold a “pot” ceremony, called “pot-reciting”, which praises Buddhist sutras, singing and dancing, receiving the departed spirits and sending away the solitary ghosts. Today, there are various scales of “pot ceremony” all over Japan, which is kind of an amusement gathering. However, current Ghost Day Ceremony is not full of gloomy atmosphere in its form, remaining only enjoyable sentiment in spite of the existing original meaning.
    Halloween 1,000 years ago, the Celts living in the Great Britain believed that human is mastered by gods. They also believe that Samhain, the death god, would come back to the earthly world with the dead at the night on October 31. The Celts built bonfires and fired animals as sacrificial offerings to the death god. Some Celts were dressed in costumes made from animal heads or furs, which was the origin of contemporary Halloween masquerade. The night of the death god was a horrifying time that signified the coming of winter and was the beginning of Halloween eve. Today, the religious meaning of Halloween has been weakened; instead, the holiday expresses man’s cherishing memory of Halloween via innovative, ever-changing modern masquerade.
    Day of the Dead, Mexico On November 2nd, each house roasts bread of animal forms, broiling chicken, hot chocolate and sweet corns, plus laying some toys on the altar because Mexicans believe that the dead children will come back to their own homes in the midnight. The altar for the dead elder is stocked with belongings of the merriment as they do; therefore, their Ghost Festival is just like a carnival when people walk around with masks, eating skull-shaped candies. And even a ghost image is put on the bread. In the evening, the whole family goes to the cemetery and clears the grave. Women praise all night in kneeling or sitting position while men are talking or singing. The flickering midnight candlelight is filling up the cemetery whereas walking singers are chanting for the dead Spirits.
    Easter Easter, with its religious character, falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21st. Therefore, Easter happens sometimes in March, and sometimes in April. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb where he had lain for three days following his Crucifixion. His rise after three days indicates that he would accomplish his promise to rise again from the dead as proof of eternal life. As Christ’s return to life had occurred during the season of spring, some of the rites of Spring were still retained. Therefore, we see that although Easter is based on the events in the life of Christ, it has been influenced by older traditions. For example, the custom of dyeing eggs is still very popular among American children. Originally the egg symbolized fertility for the ancient Persians and Greeks who exchanged eggs at their spring festivals. But up to the Christian time, the egg symbolized the tomb from which Christ rose. F
    or Christian lamb is the symbol of the sacrifice of Christ and pig the symbol of good luck. That is why both in Europe and in America, people have lamb and ham as their main meat on Easter Sunday. In all the spring season, people enjoy the Easter message of hope, joy and the resurrection of spirit.
    Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day, which originated in America and was first celebrated in 1621 by the pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony, is the most typical and true national holiday of all the holidays observed in the United States of America. Because of the religious persecution by the established church in England, the pilgrims left their native land with the purpose of enjoying religious freedom. They first fled to Holland, and then sailed to America on a ship called the Mayflower. When they arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, it was November, 1620. The first winter was very difficult for them and over half of them died because of hunger and illness, hard work and severely cold weather. In the spring of the next year, 1621, a friendly Indian named Squants, who had been captured and released by other English men, came to help them in planting the corn and fertilizing the soil. Then Squants brought the Indian chief called Massasoit who also treated them in a friendly way. With the help of the Indians, the pilgrims had a bumper harvest that year. They thought the harvest was a kind of deliverance by God, so they decided to have a day of celebration after their harvest to express their thanks to God. And they also invited the Indian chief Massasoit in gratitude and prepared a grand dinner out-doors. The celebration lasted for 3 days. On October 3rd, 1863, Lincoln issued the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation. Since then it has been the custom for the President of the United States to Proclaim annually the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving dinner is mainly stuffed with roast turkey, squash and corn, pumpkin pie and Indian pudding a custard made from corn), etc. Today, American people have four days for this holiday, although the first Thanksgiving lasted three days. One is probably surprised to find the uniformity in the holiday scene of every family, wherever one goes in the United States. People go back home to enjoy the reunion of their family at the arrival of Thanksgiving Day.
    Christmas Christmas Day, which is the greatest of the Christian festivals, falls on December 25th on which Christian people believe Jesus Christ was born, although no one can tell the exact date of his birth. This is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the United States, which is full of joy and gaiety, love and laughter, hospitality and good will. People usually have two weeks for this holiday. They begin to prepare Christmas long before the holiday comes. Small families and large business firms prepare the holiday differently. Stores are decorated with the traditional Christmas colors of green and red. Goods associated wi
    th Christmas become best sellers at this time. People like to decorate their stores and homes with Christmas tree, which is usually covered with strings of colored lights and a star fixed on top representing the star in the East which guided the three Wise Men to where Jesus was born. And Christmas food is special: peppermint-flavored red and white striped canes of sugar, bright colored hard sweets, chocolate bonbons, creamy homemade fudge and clusters of chocolate-covered raisins, walnuts or pecans, etc. On Christmas Eve families have a big dinner. Children hang their stockings by the fireplace, hoping that Santa Claus will fill them with sweets and toys.

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]  下一页

，New SBI unit 14 Festivals