一.Mid-autumn festival is one of the Chinese traditional festivals. People celebrate it on Aug.15th according to the Chinese lunar calendar for the purpose of family reunion. Eating moon cakes and enjoying the beautiful moon together with family members are the most popular activities that people often do on that day.
二.Halloween In America
In America we celebrate Halloween on October 31st. It is a celebration of scary things. Children and adults dress up in costumes as ghosts, witches, and monsters. Children go “trick-or-treating." They walk from house to house, knocking on doors. When the door is opened the children say "trick or treat" and the person who lives there gives them candy. The children get so much candy that they carry it in big shopping bags!
They also have Halloween parties where they play games. One game is called "bobbing for apples." They fill a big barrel with apples floating in water and they pick up the apples with their teeth. They also make "haunted houses." They fill a room with scary things like skeletons, spiders, and monsters. People walk through the haunted house and scream when they get scared.
For Halloween, they carve faces into pumpkins, and put a candle inside. This is called a "jack-o-lantern." Sometimes they have contests to see who can make the scariest, funniest, or most beautiful jack-o-lantern. Halloween is a lot of fun because they eat candy and play games with our friends, and they get to play with the things that normally scare them!
Thanksgiving
In America we celebrate Thanksgiving in November. On this day we remember the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians. A long time ago, some people called the Pilgrims sailed to America from England. Their ship was called the Mayflower. When they got to America, they didn’t know how to live in this new country. They didn’t have enough food or any place to live. Many of them became sick and died. But there were Indians who already lived in America. The Indians helped the Pilgrims to learn how to plant gardens and grow food, how to hunt and fish, and how to build houses. The Indians were very kind to the Pilgrims. After a year, the Pilgrims were healthy and had enough food. They wanted to thank the Indians so they invited them to a special feast. They were very grateful to the Indians for helping them. The Pilgrims believed in God, and thanked God for helping them. But this story does not have a happy ending. Even though the Indians were very kind to the Pilgrims, the Pilgrims thought they were better than the Indians. When more Pilgrims came from England, they started to kill and hurt the Indians, and took land away from the Indians who had been so kind to them.
Even though this story has a sad ending, today in America we remember the time when the Pilgrims and Indians were friends. In the autumn, we have a special feast with our friends and families. We thank God for the help he has given us, and talk about the things we are grateful for. We eat special food like turkey and cranberries. Everyone eats lots of good food and is thankful for the good things that have happened to them that year.
三、Christmas
Christmas is a winter holiday that we celebrate on December 25th. It is a special day because it is Jesus Christ’s birthday. Jesus was born a long time ago. His mother was named Mary, and his father was named Joseph. When Mary was pregnant with the baby Jesus, she and Joseph had to travel to a city called Bethlehem. When they got there they had to stay in a stable, because there was no room for them at the inn. It was time for Mary to have her baby, and so she gave birth to him right there, in the stable, with animals all around. When the baby was born she wrapped him up in warm clothes and laid him in a manger.
That night, there were shepherds out in the field taking care of their sheep. Suddenly they saw a bright light, and there were angels in the sky. The shepherds were afraid. The angels said, “Don’t be afraid. We are here to tell you good news. A baby king has been born. He will bring peace to everyone. Go see him. Follow the beautiful star to find him.” And so the shepherds followed the bright Christmas star. It led them to baby Jesus. It shone right over the stable where the baby lay.
Some other men who lived far away saw the special star. They were called the wisemen. They studied stars, and one day they saw a new star that they had never seen before. They knew it meant that a new king was born. They wanted to go see this new king, so they traveled for a long time to find him. They followed the star, and it led them to the baby Jesus. They brought him gifts. Today on Christmas we give gifts to each other because the wisemen brought gifts to Jesus.
Today we celebrate Christmas in several ways. We decorate Christmas trees. We give presents. We sing Christmas carols. We eat candy canes and hang up stockings.
We also tell stories about Santa Claus. Santa Claus is a happy fat old man who lives at the North Pole. He has a big white beard and wears red clothes. He flies all over the world on the night before Christmas, and gives presents to all the children. He has magical reindeer. They help him fly in his sleigh full of toys. On Christmas morning when children wake up, they run to the Christmas tree to see what toys Santa has brought them.
四、Easter
Easter is a springtime festival that is celebrated in many countries. Spring is the time for new life, so on Easter you can see new flowers and little chicks. It is the time when Christians remember that Jesus came back to life after he died. It is a very happy holiday.
On Easter, families dye boiled eggs in beautiful colors. These are called Easter eggs. The mothers and fathers hide the eggs outside, and the children search for them in an Easter egg hunt. On Easter morning, children get beautiful baskets filled with treats. There are colorful Easter eggs, candy, and little toys. These are called Easter baskets. Many people go to church on Easter morning. They dress up in their most beautiful clothes. Ladies wear straw hats decorated with flowers, called Easter bonnets. Then the families will go home and have a big Easter lunch with all of their friends.
五、Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day began many, many years ago in Rome, Italy as a celebration of a goddess who was a mother of many gods. Later, Christians celebrated Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the spring. In England, people began to honor all mothers on this day. Then in America, a woman named Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother. Her mother had worked hard to help the poor people in her become healthy. Anna gave people white carnations because that was her mother抯 favorite flower. Anna talked to the president about her mother and many government leaders began wearing white carnations to honor Anna’s mother. The president decided to make a special day to celebrate all mothers.
Today in America, we have Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. On this day, people appreciate their mothers and grandmothers. They tell them that they love them, and thank them for all of their care and hard work. Children buy or make presents for their mothers, and sometimes give them flowers to wear or to put in vases. On this day, children usually take their mothers and grandmothers out to eat in a restaurant, so they don’t have to cook on this special day.
六、Father’s Day
Father’s Day is a special day when we celebrate fathers and grandfathers. After Mother’s Day became a holiday in America, a woman named Sonora Dodd wanted to have a day for fathers, too. Her mother had died when she was a baby, and her father had raised her all by himself. So she began a special holiday, Father’s Day, to honor her own father, and all fathers. It is on the third Sunday in June.
On Father’s Day children make or buy presents for their fathers and grandfathers. The children also tell their fathers that they love them, and thank their fathers for all of the love and support that fathers give their children. Sometimes children make breakfast for their fathers and bring it to them in bed. It is a day to show love and respect for fathers.