Unit 1
Festivals around the world
What kind of festival did you celebrate in February this year?
Period 1 Warming up
How did you spend your Spring Festival?
Greeting Season
春节 The Spring Festival
农历 Lunar calendar
正月 Lunar January; the first month by lunar
calendar
除夕 New Year's Eve; eve of lunar New Year
初一 The beginning of New Year
元宵节 The Lantern Festival
Food names
团圆饭 family reunion dinner
年夜饭 the dinner on New Year's Eve
饺子 dumpling
汤圆 Tang-yuan;
年糕 Nian-gao; rice cake; New Year cake
红枣 red dates
西瓜子 water melon seed
葵花子 sunflower seed
莲子 lotus seed
莲藕 lotus root
糖 candy
Activities
春联 Spring Festival couplets
剪纸 paper-cuts
年画 New Year paintings
烟花 fireworks
爆竹 firecrackers
舞狮 lion dance
舞龙 dragon dance
灯谜 riddles written on lanterns
灯会 exhibition of lanterns
守岁 staying-up
拜年 pay New Year's call; give New Year's
greetings; New Year's visit
去晦气 get rid of the ill- fortune
祭祖宗 offer sacrifices to one's ancestors
压岁钱 gift money
辞旧岁 bid farewell to the old year
扫房 spring cleaning; general house-cleaning
The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fu dao le." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door.
Blessing
Treasures（财富） fill the home
Business flourishes（兴隆）
Peace all year round
Wishing you prosperity（繁荣、昌盛）
Harmony（和谐） brings wealth
May all your wishes come true
Everything goes well
The country flourishes and people live in peace
Money and treasures will be plentiful
Wishing you every success
Promoting（提升） to a higher position（地位）
Spring Festival
When?
Delicious food
Feast
Visit friends and relatives
Dress up
Watch the
Spring Festival
Programme
Have fun with
‘lucky money’
What other Chinese Festivals do you know?
Festivals
The Mid-Autumn Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu)
National Day
The Lantern Festival
Chongyang Festival
The Winter Solstice Festival (Dongzhi)
The Tomb-Sweeping Festival
…
Choose one Chinese festival you like best to fill in the chart in the warming up.
Oral task:
Introduce your favorite festival to all your classmates, using the expressions below.
I like … best.
It takes place in/on …
It celebrates …
At this festival, people usually …
Period 2 Pre-reading
Festivals around the world
Chinese Festivals
Lantern Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival
Tomb Sweeping Day
Mid-Autumn Day
New Year’s Day
Double-ninth Day
National Day
May 1st
Foreign Festivals
?
Read the following descriptions about western festivals and guess which festival they convey?
This festival happens at the beginning of the spring.
Usually most young people are happy on this day.
They send flowers and chocolate or some other gifts to the one they love.
Valentine’s Day
This festival happens in winter.
Every family has a feast on this day.
Turkey is the most important food on this day.
People celebrate it to thank God for a harvest in 1620.
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day
Most children are excited on this day.
They wear black costumes or masks.
They would like to dress up as frightening and ugly ghosts or witches.
They would like to knock others’ doors and say, “trick or treat”.
Halloween
Halloween
It is one of the most important festivals in western countries.
People usually celebrate it together with their family members.
A kind-hearted old man put the gifts in the stockings for children secretly at night.
People send cards or gifts to others.
Christmas
On December 25th
It is the birthday of Jesus Christ
Go to the parties and churches , give cards and presents to our friends and relatives
Easter
Easter
a religious festival
carnivals
Festivals around the world
Chinese Festivals
Lantern Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival
Tomb Sweeping Day
Mid-Autumn Day
New Year’s Day
Double-ninth Day
National Day
May Day
Foreign Festivals
Christmas Day
Thanksgiving Day
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
April Fool’s Day
Valentine’s Day
Easter
Halloween
Which is the greatest and the most important festival to Chinese people?
Spring Festival
Which is the greatest and the
most important festival to Christian
people in Western countries?
Christmas
Both of them are quite popular around the world. Can you tell the similarities and differences between them by comparison?
Spring Festival
Christmas
from the 1st day
to the 15th day
of the first Chinese
lunar month
dumpling ( jiaozi),
sweet dumpling
(tangyuan/yuanxiao)
Dec. 25th
candies,
cookies,
pudding
foods, fruits, clothes, drinks, red packets…
foods,
desserts, Christmas decorations…
do spring-cleaning,
do Spring Festival
shopping, decorate
the houses
do cleaning and shopping,
decorate the
houses with
Christmas trees and colored lights
have family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve; pay New Year’s visits, recreational activities (dragon /lion dance, …)
family reunion, have a big dinner on Christmas Eve…
say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year, hoping for the best and the good future.
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ
Halloween
Compare the festivals below. Can you tell the similarities and differences between them from the aspects given above?
Tomb-sweeping Day
Qiqiao Festival
Valentine’s Day
Easter
Dragon Boat Festival
Now let’s read the passage on Page 1 and try to learn more about these festivals.
Period 3 Reading
1. How many parts is the passage divided into?
listening
2. Which festivals are mentioned in the passage?
Six parts.
1. Festivals of the Dead
2. Festivals to Honor the People
3. Harvest Festivals
4. Spring Festivals
Listen again and decide T or F
The ancient people needn’t worry about their food.
People celebrate Halloween with a different purpose from the past.
Gandhi was a great leader who Indian people honour a lot.
China and Japan share the same custom of celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival.
Easter just celebrates the rebirth of Jesus.
F
F
T
T
T
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
Match
Scan(扫读) the passage and fill in the chart. (Ex 1)
Festivals of
the Dead
Festivals to
Honor People
Harvest
Festivals
Spring
Festivals
Festivals of
the Dead
Festivals to Honour
People
Harvest
Festivals
Spring
Festivals
Obon
Japan
Day of the Dead
Mexico
Halloween
some western
countries
Dragon Boat Festival
China
Columbus Day
USA
Festival to honor Gandhi
India
Thanksgiving festivals
European and other countries
Mid-Autumn Festivals
China and Japan
The Spring Festival
China
Easter
some western
countries
Cherry Blossom Festival
Japan
lanterns everywhere
lead the dead back to the earth
light the streets where people go out to dance
They also light lamps and play music because they think that this will lead the ancestors back to the earth.
Oban 盂兰盆节
People eat food in the shape of skulls and cakes with “bones” on them
The Day of the Dead In Mexico
the Day of the Dead
in Mexico
They offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead.
the festival of Halloween in some western countries
dress up, ask for sweets, play a trick on
play the “trick or treat “
1.Which three times of the year did people celebrate in Ancient Times?

The most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of the cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn.
Read part 1 carefully and answer these questions:
Read part 2 and part 3 carefully and fill in the chart
to honour the dead or satisfy and please the ancestors
light lamps, play music, eat food in the shapes of skulls and cakes with bones, go to their neighbors to ask for sweets,dress up
for their great contributions to the society or the country
why
how
why
Dragon Boat Festival
China
Columbus Day
USA
National Festival
India
Harvest
Festivals
how
Spring
Festivals
how
why
why
decorate churches and town halls, get together to have big meals, admire the moon and eat moon cakes
celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring
eat delicious food; have exciting carnivals
Food is gathered for the winter. A season of agricultural work is over.
2. Which of the following festivals is not celebrated in Japan?
Easter B. Obon C. Cherry Blossom Festival D. Mid-autumn Festival
A
1. What do people not do in Spring Festivals in China?
Eat dumplings, fish and meat together B. Give children lucky money in red paper C. Watch dragon dance D. Eat eggs and chocolates.
D
Read the following part of the passage and answer the following questions:
Period 4 Language points
Useful phrases
节日和庆典
自古以来
有很多由来
亡灵节
纪念死者
使祖先得到满足
损害、伤害、危害
扫墓
烧香
festivals and celebrations
since ancient times
have many origins
festivals of the dead
honour the dead
satisfy the ancestors
do harm (to)
clean graves
light incense
Useful phrases
纪念，追念
把祖先引回到世上
在这个重要的节日里
以颅骨的形状
给…提供…
古老的信念
亡者的灵魂
乔装打扮
捉弄某人
in memory of
lead the ancestors back to earth
on this important feast day
in the shape of skulls
offer sth. to sb.
old beliefs
the spirits of dead people
dress up
play a trick on sb.
Useful phrases
端午节，龙舟节
全国性节日
赢得独立
农活
用…来装饰
因…而获奖
赏月
盼望、期待、期望
压岁钱
The Dragon Boat Festivals
a national festival
gain its independence
the agricultural work
decorate …with…
win awards for
admire the moon
look forward to
lucky money
Useful phrases
红包
日夜、昼夜、整天
各种艳丽的节日盛装
庆祝耶稣复活
由…覆盖
好像
玩得