Do you believe in good luck or bad luck? Most people in the world have some superstitions. Do you have any?
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 585.
Your family is having a Thanksgiving feast. Act it out with your group mates.
1. Set the table.
2. Take the roast turkey out of the oven.
3. Put all the food on the table.
4. Call your family to the table: “It's time to eat!”
5. Sit down. Put your napkin on your lap.
6. Say prayers.
7. Carve the turkey.
8. Serve each person.
9. Enjoy.
10. Say: “I'm full”.
These are a few British superstitions with long traditions.
| Good luck | Bad luck |
| + Black cats are lucky. + On the first day of the month it's lucky to say “White rabbits”. + It's good luck to see two magpies (large black and white birds). + Catch falling leaves in autumn and you'll have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky month in the next year. | – Never open an umbrella in the house. That's very bad luck! – Never break a mirror – that means seven year's bad luck. – It' bad luck to see just one magpie. – Don't walk under a ladder. – Don't walk past somebody on the stairs. – The number 13 is very unlucky. |
11. Alison made a calendar of important days. She put it on her bedroom wall. Please, read it and speak about Alison's celebrations:
In August Alison celebrates …/ In June all Americans celebrate ……
 January:Happy New Year!
# New Year's Day celebrates the start of a new year. Americans celebrate New Year's Day on the first day of January, but the celebration actually begins on December 31, New Year's Eve, the night before New Year's Day. I like New Year's Eve, because my parents allow me to stay up until midnight. Some people stay up all night! We blow horns and whistles at midnight to announce the beginning of a new year. Some people shake hands, kiss, hug, sing, and shout "Happy New Year!"
# On January 15, Americans celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a minister who fought against racial discrimination. He said that a person's character is more important than the color of his skin. He is very important to me, because his hometown is Atlanta too. To remember Martin Luther King, many Americans go to church or participate in public ceremonies.
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 February:Will you be my Valentine?
# One of my favorite holidays is Valentine's Day. St Valentine is saint of people in love. We celebrate this holiday on February 14. It is a day of love and friendship. We send greeting cards to our sweethearts and friends and ask them to "Be My Valentine." This means "be my friend or love." But traditionally you must never write your name on it. We also decorate our classrooms with big red hearts and give red roses and chocolate to our sweethearts, friends and family.
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 March:Kiss me. I'm Irish!
# On March 17, Americans celebrate an Irish religious holiday, St. Patrick's Day. This is an important holiday for my family, because my grandparents are from Ireland. They're Irish immigrants. On St. Patrick's Day we decorate our houses, schools, and streets with green shamrocks. And we all wear something green. We say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.
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| April:Happy Easter!
# Easteris celebrated on a Sunday in April or May. The week before Easter we color eggs. On Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them a basket of candy.
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| May:Have a happy Mother's Day! # We honor our mothers on the second Sunday in May. This day is called Mother's Day.I usually buy my Mom a nice greeting card and flowers. My Dad usually makes a big dinner and we eat it together with our grandparents. It's our way of saying, "Thanks for being such a great Mom!" # My birthday! |
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June : Happy Father's Day, Dad!
# We also honor our Dad, because he's great too! We celebrate Father's Dayon the third Sunday in June. Natalie and I usually bring him breakfast in bed! And I buy him a greeting card and a new necktie.
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July:
On July 4,the United States celebrate Independence Day. It is called Independence Day, because on July 4, 1776, our founding fathers declared that the United States would be free and independent from England. We usually have a big picnic in our neighborhood and then we watch a fireworks display at night.
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August: Happy birthday to Mom!
# Mom's birthday (make something special for her!)
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September: Good luck at school!
# Schoolstarts!
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October: Trick or Treat!
Columbus Day: October 12. Christopher Columbus discovered America on October 12, 1492. At that time, many people in Europe thought that the world was flat and that if a ship sailed to the edge of the world, it would fall off! But Columbus believed the world was round and made the journey to America.
Halloween is one of the best holidays for children. American children celebrate Halloween on October 31. Children wear masks and colorful costumes. The most popular costumes are ghosts, witches, and skeletons. The children walk door to door in the neighborhood and shout "trick or treat" Most people give them a treat-candy or fruit. We also decorate our houses and schools in the traditional Halloween colors: orange and black. Popular decorations are witches, ghosts, skeletons, black cats and jack-o-lanterns. Jack-o-lanterns are pumpkins we carve to look like faces. Everyone tries to look scary on Halloween!
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November: Happy Thanksgiving!
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Dayon the fourth Thursday in November. This is a family holiday. We gather to give thanks for all the good things in our lives, We make a big turkey dinner. I always eat too much!
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December:Merry Christmas!
Americans celebrate Christmas onDecember 25. Christmas is a religious holiday and one of the happiest holidays of the year, because it is the day that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We prepare for Christmas weeks before. We buy gifts for our family and friends. We choose a tree and decorate it with ornaments and lights. And we prepare special foods and cookies. Christmas is also the day that Santa Claus visits us and brings us presents in bright paper and ribbons. He delivers them on Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas, when we are sleeping.
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| Write an annotation to text 3 using the prompts below. | | | Match the holidays to the key words without looking at the calendar. In what months do American people celebrate them? |