Урок 01. Festivals and celebrations
Предмет: Английский язык, 9 класс

Lesson 1

Festival and celebrations

In this lesson

you will listen, read and talk about festivals and celebrations all over the world
you will be able to talk about festivals and celebrations in this country

Ключевые слова: celebrate, celebration, festivity, custom, lantern, lunar month, reunion dinner, generation, strong tradition, dumplings, colourful street parades, exchange gifts, fireworks display, do the rooms, get rid of bad luck, auspicious colour, enjoy, traditional dish, send greetings, beat drums, it takes place, let off firecrackers, to scare the beast away, annual event, wear fancy costumes, gifts, feel happy, wish a happy New Year and good luck to each other, attract.

Речевой материал: festivals, celebrations

Основное содержание урока

Many people are looking for a fun way to have a good time. All around the world there are a lot of interesting and unusual festivals and celebrations.

Let’s have a little trip around the world to discover some of the world’s most unusual festivals.

We are in China.

What a colourful street parade!

There are a lot of people dressed up in red costumes.

Wow! There is a long dragon and red lanterns!

What festival are the people celebrating?

Of course, it’s Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. It is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar.

It marks the start of the lunar new year, which is when there is the start of a new moon.

Because it depends on the moon, the date of Chinese New Year actually changes each year, but it will fall some time between 21 January and 20 February.

There are a lot of customs and traditions of Chinese New Year.

On the Chinese New Year’s Eve people clean their houses. They throw out all unwanted things. Doing the rooms means getting rid of bad luck.

Many families make dumplings together.

Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Wherever they are, people come home to celebrate the festival with their families. The New Year’s Eve dinner is called the reunion dinner and is believed to be the most important meal of the year. Big families of several generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together.

Long noodles are a traditional Chinese dish. It means a long life.

Every street, building, and house where Chinese New Year is celebrated is decorated with red. Red is the main colour for the festival, as it is believed to be an auspicious colour and good luck. It’s a strong tradition.

People put up the red posters with poetic verses on the doors and decorate their homes with red lanterns.

People exchange gifts during the Spring Festival. The most common gifts are red envelopes with money which are given to children and adults who are not married. This is a symbol of good look and wealth in the new year.

Many people wear new clothes.

Families and friends send greetings to each other.

In the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, many people let off firecrackers in order to scare the beast away.

Various activities such as beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival festivities.

And of course, there is a wonderful fireworks display in the streets of all Chinese cities and towns.

People feel happy and they wish a happy New Year and good luck to each other.

This festival attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world.

Would you like to join this festival?

If your answer is “yes”, then you are welcome to China!

Тренировочные задания

1.

Give the definition of the expressions below.

throw out unwanted things
let off firecrackers
colourful street parades
exchange gifts
do the rooms
make dumplings

2.

Choose the words and expressions that refer to celebrations.

beautiful landscapes
colourful street parades
unwanted things
customs and traditions
heavy traffic
let off firecrackers
send greetings

3.

Match the words and expressions with their definitions.

exchange gifts	a) congratulate
do the rooms	b) give presents to each other
send greetings	c) traditions
festivity	d) celebration
customs	e) clean the house

4.

Cross out the false statements.

Chinese New Year is celebrated between January 21 and February 20.
Chinese New Year is a boring festival.
Many people wear old clothes and throw out new things.
People decorate their homes with red lanterns.
Red is the main colour for the festival.
The most common gifts are red envelopes with money which are given only to adults.

5.

Read the story and find the appropriate heading.

Maslenitsa
Victory Day
Easter

This festival is very popular in Russia. It is celebrated in springtime, usually April or early May. People prepare for this celebration beforehand. They clean their houses and bake special cakes. Many people go to the church. The tradition of this celebration is to exchange dyed eggs and kiss 3 times on the cheek.

6.

Read the story and choose the correct answers.

1) When does the celebration take place?

in May
in April
it doesn’t have the exact date

2) What do usually people do before the celebration?

1) watch fireworks
2) do the rooms
3) make dumplings

3) What’s the tradition of the celebration?

1) make dumplings
2) dye eggs
3) let off firecrackers

7.

Open the brackets and write the verbs in the correct tense forms.

Kate ______ (love) to get gifts.
My mom always (cook) a holiday dinner for my birthday.
Alice _________ (decorate) her house at the moment.
This celebration______ (not take) place in spring.
Where’s Granny? – She ___ (be) in the kitchen and ______ (make) dumplings.
Look! They ___ (wear) fancy costumes?

8.

Fill in the gaps (decorate, celebrations, fireworks, fancy, firecrackers, favourite)

There are a lot of ____________ in our country. But my ____________ holiday is New Year. We always buy a fir-tree and ____________ it with different toys. My sisters usually wear ____________ costumes. In the evening we let off firecrackers and watch ____________.

Контрольные задания

Вариант 1

1.

Match the words and expressions with their translations.

let off firecrackers	a) маскарадные костюмы
exchange gifts	b) праздник
scare the beast away	c) запускать фейерверки
festivity	d) обмениваться подарками
fancy costumes	e) напугать зверя

2.

Fill in the gaps (clean, exchange, celebrations, bake, preparations).

Easter is one of my favourite ___________. ___________ for it begin beforehand.
We usually ___________ the house and ___________ special cakes.
On Easter day we ___________ dyed eggs.

3.

Choose all the words and phrases that refer to celebrations.

exchange gifts
enjoy
fresh air
send greetings
convenient public transport
feel isolated

Вариант 2

1.

Match the words and expressions with their translations.

fireworks display	a) делать пельмени
strong tradition	b) избавиться от неудачи
make dumplings	c) праздник
celebration	d) салюты
get rid of bad luck	e) устоявшая традиция

2.

Fill in the gaps (gifts, dish, place, decorate, celebrations).

Christmas is one of the most popular __________ in the UK. It takes __________on the 25th of December. Traditionally all relatives and friends exchange __________ with each other. Most families __________their houses with brightly-coloured paper or holly. A traditional __________ is turkey with Christmas pudding.

3.

Choose all the phrases that refer to celebrations.

fresh air
annual event
wish good luck
feel isolated
wear fancy costumes
peace and quiet