Festivals and Holidays

FESTIVALS AND
HOLIDAYS
Vocabulary
1. Festival - a day or period of celebration, typically a religious commemoration.
2. Anniversary - the date on which an event took place in a previous year.
3. April fool’s day - April 1, in many Western countries traditionally an occasion for playing tricks. This custom has been observed
for hundreds of years, but its origin is unknown.
4. Celebration - the action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social,
activity.
5. Chant - a repeated rhythmic phrase, typically one shouted or sung in unison by a crowd.
6. Chinese new year - the Chinese festival marking the start of the new year, beginning on the second new moon after the winter
solstice and ending on the full moon fifteen days later. It is marked by visits to family and friends, special meals, fireworks, and
gift giving.
7. Christmas - the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church.
8. Cultural - relating to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society.
9. Easter - the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held (in the
Western Church) between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring
equinox.
10.Eid al-Adha - the Muslim festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the sacrifice
of Abraham.
Vocabulary
1. Eid-al-Fitr - the Muslim festival marking the end of the fast of Ramadan.
2. Fair - a gathering of stalls and amusements for public entertainment.
3. Father’s day - the third Sunday in June, a day on which fathers are particularly honored by their children, especially
with gifts and greeting cards.
4. Festivities - the celebration of something in a joyful and exuberant way.
5. Fireworks - a device containing gunpowder and other combustible chemicals that causes a spectacular explosion
when ignited, used typically for display or in celebrations.
6. Flag - a piece of cloth or similar material, typically oblong or square, attachable by one edge to a pole or rope and
used as the symbol or emblem of a country or institution or as a decoration during public festivities.
7. Holiday - a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done.
8. Independence day - another term for Fourth of July. A day celebrating the anniversary of national independence in
the United States
9. Mother’s day - a day of the year (in the US, the second Sunday in May) on which mothers are honored by their
children.
10.New Year - the period immediately before and after December 31.
Vocabulary
1. Parade - a public procession, especially one celebrating a special day or event and including marching bands and floats.
2. Presentation - the giving of something to someone, especially as part of a formal ceremony.
3. Ramadan - the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset.
4. Thanksgiving - (in North America) an annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal
including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, and is held in the US
on the fourth Thursday in November. A similar holiday is held in Canada, usually on the second Monday in October.
5. Tradition - the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
6. Valentine’s day - February 14, a day when it is traditional to send a card, often anonymously, to a person one is
romantically involved with or attracted to.
7. Yom Kippur - the most solemn religious fast of the Jewish year, the last of the ten days of penitence that begin with Rosh
Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).
8. Kwanzaa - a secular festival observed by many African Americans from December 26 to January 1 as a celebration of
their cultural heritage and traditional values.
9. Hanukkah - a Jewish festival, lasting eight days from the 25th day of Kislev (in December) and commemorating the
rededication of the Temple in 165 BC by the Maccabees. It is marked by the successive kindling of eight lights.
Icebreakers
1.Do you have any traditions with your family?
2.What is your favorite holiday?
3.Did you have a different favorite holiday when you were
younger?
4.On what holiday do people in your country eat a lot of food?
5.Do you give gifts on any holidays?
6.Are there any holidays that you really don’t like?
7.Have you ever been to a parade?
Bonfire Night
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9JW-RE4-ZE
Bonfire Night
1.Do you celebrate this holiday?
2.Did you know about this holiday before watching this video?
3.What is the most interesting part about this holiday?
4.Would you want to celebrate this holiday?
5.Do you think workers and students should have to work on this day?
General Discussion Questions
1.Should workplaces give off all religious holidays?
1.Should it just be the majority religion? Why or why not?
2.What about schools?
1.Do schools do a good enough job educating students on holidays of
other cultures?
1.Do you feel like you know enough about religious celebrations
beyond your own religion?
2.What problems could arise from this?
1.Do you think there are too many holidays? Too little?
1.Does having more holidays make them less special?
2.Do you get to enjoy your holidays enough?
1.Is it better to stay at home on holidays or go somewhere?
1.Do you ever travel when you have time off from work or school?
2.Do you ever do something unusual like go to a park on your time
off?
1.Do you think there should be a world holiday for everyone on Earth to
celebrate?
1.Would there be issues from this?
2.How could this unite the world?
Scenarios
Address these cultural and holiday scenarios. What would you do?
1.Your employee Aria wants to celebrate a religious holiday and asks for the day off. What would
you do?
2.You are a teacher and your student, Ryan, is making fun of Ben for celebrating a different holiday
from his family. What would you do?
3.Your mom and dad are talking about how they do not understand why every country celebrated
the same holidays. What would you do?
4.Your friend Clayton announces that everyone in the world should celebrate Christmas because
you get gifts. What would you do?
5.You travel with your friend Allie to a new country with a different culture from your own. What
would you do?

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FESTIVALS AND

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