美国节日课件

What images come into your ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱind when you think of Halloween ?
Masks, children dressed in costumes, jack-o’-lanterns, haunted houses, witches, wizards & other horror items or spooky stuff.
Many of the original Halloween traditions have developed today into funny activities for children. The most popular one is “trick or treat”. On Halloween night, children dress up in costumes & go to visit their neighbors. When someone answers the door, the children cry out, “Trick or treat!” What this means is, “Give us a treat, or we’ll play a trick on you!” The people at each house then give candy or fruit or sometimes a few coins.
It is gift-giving time, party time, and vacation time. Students from elementary school through college have about 2 weeks’ vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas and ending soon after New Year’s Day. Many families go away for the holidays to visit relatives in another state, ski in the mountains, or sunbathe on the beaches in the South.
gift exchanging Christmas carols Santa Claus
Christmas tree Christmas cards
Santa Claus, snowmen, bright lights, colorful decorations, bells, and the traditional songs—all these help to make December the most festive month of the year. In the northern part of the US, winter weather can be frightful. Yet even winter snowstorms cannot bury that contagious feeling of festivity. Why does almost everybody feel so good?

As Thanksgiving gets nearer, 2 of the best turkeys are chosen. The others become Thanksgiving dinners somewhere. One lucky bird is the winner & the other is the first runner up. The runner up is just in case the winner doesn’t behave. Both the 2 birds weigh about 45 pounds & look beautiful. People vote on the White House website to decide the 2 turkeys’ names. In 2011, President Obama pardoned a turkey named Liberty. And his friend, as well as his alternate, was called Peace.
Pardon me, Mr. President
National Thanksgiving Turkey
Learning about Thanksgiving Day
On each Thanksgiving Day, a very strange thing happens at the White House. There, the US President will pardon a turkey! In the morning, 2 turkeys are taken to the White House.
Christmas at the White House
Each year a theme is selected for Christmas at the White House, a tradition started by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961.
Holidays and festivals in America
Unit Goals To get a general knowledge of the American festivals To learn how Americans observe their festivals
What comes into your mind when Christmas is mentioned?
The theme for the White House Christmas in 2011 is “Shine, Give, Share”， which offers an opportunity to pay tribute to US troops, veterans, and their families throughout the Bo is Christmas star in White White House. House decor
The reason that Halloween is filled with scary images goes back more than 2,000 years. In ancient Britain & Ireland, October 31 was the last day of the year. It was the end of the growing season & the beginning of winter, a time of darkness & death. People believed that on this day ghosts returned to the earth, so it became a festival for the god of the dead. In order to scare the ghosts away, people built huge fires ＆ wore costumes made of animal skins.
Economics of Christmas
Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies.
Halloween Masks
Halloween, which falls on October 31, is one of the most unusual & funny holidays in the US. Celebrated in America since the late 1800’s. It’s also one of the scariest! It’s associated with ghosts, skeletons, witches, and other scary images.
The President will pat one of them on the head. Then the turkeys are pardoned! People won’t eat them & they’ll fly to Disney World & live happily!
The turkey pardoning began in 1947. Since then, every US president has pardoned a turkey on Thanksgiving. Where do the 2 lucky turkeys come from? Actually, each April, people prepare about 2,500 turkeys, give them the best food & let them live in houses with air-conditioning!
Liberty and Peace will not have to worry about a brine bath (brining the bird before it is cooked).
The two turkeys will spend the rest of their days on the grounds of Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of the first U.S. president, George Washington. (the Disney World refused to receive turkeys since 2009)
Monsters & witches might jump out at you in the dark. You might hear screams & cries from behind, as if someone is being killed. Or you might suddenly feel a spider web in your face. It’s best not to go alone!
Many people also like to make jack-o’-lanterns on Halloween. A jack-o’-lantern is a pumpkin that is hollowed out ＆ has a face carved on it. It’s put in a window or outside a house & a candle is placed inside so that the face lights up.
Another popular Halloween activity is to visit a “haunted house.” Usually you have to buy a ticket to get in. As you go from room to room, you meet one scary thing after another.