Lesson19-20 Mother’s Day

the 2nd Sunday in May (Universally)

编写教师：王小庆

Mother’s Day is a time of commemoration and celebration for Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family gatherings, and crayon scribbled "I Love You"s.

The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of the England’s poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother’s Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother’s Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother’s Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1.family gatherings 家庭聚会               2.traced back追溯到

3.worked as  担任,充当                   4.have the day off放假一天

5.the spiritual power 精神力量              6.spread throughout Europe传遍欧洲

Task

1 lead-in

1) What do you know about the fesitival?

2) Do you send presents to your mother on that day?

2 Fast reading

1) What do people usually do on Mother’s day?

2)When is the Mother’s day?

3 After reading

What will you do on that day?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

1)Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

2)While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.

Lesson21-22 Father’s Day

Third Sunday in June

编写教师：王小庆

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.

The origin of Father’s Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father’s Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.
The president of the Chicago branch（分部）of the Lions’ Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated the first Father’s Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest date to Meek’s own birthday!

Regardless of when the first true Father’s Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother.

In 1909, Mrs. Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane about having a church service dedicated to fathers on June 5, her father’s birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their fathers if they lived apart.

States and organizations began lobbying（游说）Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." Since then, fathers had been honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.

When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical（奇形怪状的，异想天开的）so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1.The origin of …..的起源                    2.Regardless of  不管,不顾

3an outstanding father 一位杰出的父亲        4From then on 从那时起

5 take them out to dinner 带他们外出吃饭      6send a greeting card 送一张贺卡

Task

1 lead-in

Do you love your father, and know his birthday?

Have you ever heard of father’s day?

What did you do on that day?

2 Fast reading

1) Who celebrated the first Father’s day?

2) when father’s day was made a national event?

3 After reading

Can you list something to let your father spend a good day on that day?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

1) In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations."

Lesson23-24 St. Valentine’s Day

February 14

编写教师：王小庆

St. Valentine’s Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of the day is Cupid（爱神丘比特）, the Roman god of love, who is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow.

Three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman emperors still demanded that everyone believe in the Roman gods. Valentine, a Christian priest, had been thrown in prison for his teachings. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded（斩首）, not only because he was a Christian, but also because he had performed a miracle. He supposedly cured the jailer’s daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer’s daughter a farewell letter, signing it "From Your Valentine." Another legend tells us that this same Valentine, well-loved by all, received notes to his jail cell from children and friends who missed him.

Another Valentine was an Italian bishop who lived at about the same time, AD 200. He was imprisoned because he secretly married couples, contrary to the laws of the Roman emperor. Some legends say he was burned at the stake.

February 14 was also a Roman holiday, held in honor of a goddess. Young men randomly chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities. The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies. Throughout the ages, people also believed that birds picked their mates on February 14!

In AD 496 Sain Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as "Valentine’s Day". Although it’s not an official holiday, most Americans observe this day.

Whatever the odd mixture of origins, St. Valentine’s Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day that you show your friend or loved one that you care. You can send candy to someone you think is special. Or you can send roses, the flower of love. Most people send "valentines," a greeting card named after the notes that St. Valentine received in jail. Valentines can be sentimental, romantic and heartfelt（真心真意的）. They can be funny and friendly. If the sender is shy, valentines can be anonymous.

Americans of all ages love to send and receive valentines. Handmade valentines created by cutting hearts out of colored paper, show that a lot of thought was put into making them personal. Valentines can be heart-shaped, or have hearts, the symbol of love, on them. In elementary schools children make valentines for their classmates and put them in a large decorated box, similar to a mailbox. On February 14, the teacher opens the box and distributes the valentines to each student. After the students read their valentines they have a small party with refreshments.

For teenagers and adults, major newspapers throughout the country have a Valentine’s Day offer. Anyone can send in a message, for a small fee of course, destined for a would-be sweetheart, a good friend, an acquaintance or even a spouse of fifty years. The message is printed in a special section of the newspaper on February 14.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1. the image of…..的形象                2. been thrown in prison 被关进监狱

3 a farewell letter 一封分手信            4 contrary to 与…相反

5 in honor of 为了纪念                  6 Throughout the age不分年龄

Task

1 lead-in

1) Do you know when is Valentine’s Day?

2) How do people spend that day?

2 Fast reading

1) How many legends about the root of Valentine’s Day are mentioned in the text?

2) Does Valentine’s Day only Delong to the young lovers?

3 Home work

work out a message to Valentine’s Day Offer

.

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

1) The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer’s daughter a farewell letter, signing it "From Your Valentine."

2) Most people send "valentines," a greeting card named after the notes that St. Valentine received in jail.

Lesson25-26 Easter Day

A Sunday between March 22 and April 25

编写教师：王小庆

The meaning of many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in pre-Christian religions and Christianity. All in some way or another are a "salute to spring," marking re-birth. The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday. The word "Easter" is named after Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox （春分）.

People celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations （命名）. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected （复活）. Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States.

On Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.

Egg Rolling

Easter Day In the United States in the early nineteenth century, Dolly Madison, the wife of the fourth American President, organized an egg roll in Washington, D.C. She had been told that Egyptian children used to roll eggs against the pyramids so she invited the children of Washington to roll hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building! The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War. In 1880, the First Lady invited children to the White House for the Egg Roll because officials had complained that they were ruining the Capitol lawn. It has been held there ever since then, only canceled during times of war. The event has grown, and today Easter Monday is the only day of the year when tourists are allowed to wander over the White House lawn. The wife of the President sponsors it for the children of the entire country. The egg rolling event is open to children twelve years old and under. Adults are allowed only when accompanied by children!

Traditionally, many celebrants （司仪神父） bought new clothes for Easter which they wore to church. After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town. This led to the American custom of Easter parades all over the country. Perhaps the most famous is along Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Good Friday is a federal holiday in 16 states and many schools and businesses throughout the U.S. are closed on this Friday.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1. be buried with time 同时间一起流失        2. the glory of…. 的光辉

3 at dawn 在黄昏                         4 win a prize获奖

5 became a symbol of成为…的象征          6 except for除了

Task

1 lead-in

1) Do you know something about Easter Day?

2) When Easter Day is celebrated?

3) Do you know something or some games related to Easter Day?

2 Fast reading

1) Why do people celebrate the Easter Day ?

2)What do children usually do on Easter Day morning ?

3 Home work

Find more information about Easter Day on the Internet

.

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

1) Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected （复活）.

2 )The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War. In 1880, the First Lady invited children to the White House for the Egg Roll because officials had complained that they were ruining the Capitol lawn.)

Lesson27-28 April Fool’s Day

April 1^s

^t

编写教师：王小庆

April Fool’s Day is traditionally a day to play practical jokes on others, send people on fool’s errands, and fool the unsuspecting. No one knows how this holiday began but it was thought to have originated in France.

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. New Year’s was celebrated on March 25 and celebrations lasted until April 1st. When New Year’s Day as changed from March 25 to January 1st in the mid-1560’s by King Charles IX, there were some people who still celebrated it on April 1st and those people were called April Fools.

Pranks performed on April Fool’s Day range from the simple, (such as saying, "Your shoe’s untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate’s alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool’s Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"

April Fool’s Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It’s simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

Each country celebrates April Fool’s differently. In France, the April Fool’s is called "April Fish" (Poisson d’Avril). The French fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends’ backs and when some discovers a this trick, they yell "Poisson d’Avril!".

In England, tricks can be played only in the morning. If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle". In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long and you are called an "April Gowk", which is another name for a cuckoo bird. The second day in Scotland’s April Fool’s is called Taily Day and is dedicated to pranks involving the buttocks. Taily Day’s gift to posterior posterity is the still-hilarious "Kick Me" sign.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

1. range from 范围是….            2. be identified as 被认为是    

3 The news media 新闻媒体         4. in a fancy restaurant 在别致的饭店

5 unsuspecting 信任的,不怀疑的     6. observance 遵守,庆祝,风俗习惯

Task

1 lead-in

1) when is April Fool’s Day ?

2) have you ever celebrated others or been fooled on that day?

3) Do you like the day ? Why or why not?

2 Fast reading

1) In which year did people began the tradition of April Fool’s Day ?

2) Do we need to buy gifts for each other on April Fool’s Day?

3) Can we play tricks on others all day long on April Fool’s Day?

3 Home work

Find more information about April Fool’s Day on the Internet

.

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

1) When New Year’s Day as changed from March 25 to January 1st in the mid-1560’s by King Charles IX, there were some people who still celebrated it on April 1st and those people were called April Fools.

2 ) In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long and you are called an "April Gowk", which is another name for a cuckoo bird.

Lesson9-10 Halloween

  编写教师：戴国艳

Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints’ Day, but is today largely a secular celebration. 

The history of Halloween:  

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin. The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer’s end". A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf. 

Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise showing a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young children on the right bob for apples. A couple in the center plays a variant, which involves retrieving an apple hanging from a string. The couples at left play divination games. The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. 

Origin of name: 

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller all-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Up through the early 20th century, the spelling "Hallowe’en" was frequently used, eliding the "v" and shortening the word. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English, All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. 

The symbols of Halloween:     

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time encompassing customs of medieval holy days as well as contemporary cultures. The souling practice of commemorating the souls in purgatory with candle lanterns carved from turnips, became adapted into the making of jack-o’-lanterns. In traditional Celtic Halloween festivals, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces, and placed in windows to ward off evil spirits. The carving of pumpkins is associated with Halloween in North America where pumpkins are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their doorstep after dark. The American tradition of carving pumpkins preceded the Great Famine period of Irish immigration and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. 

The imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature, and classic horror films. Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween.  Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, and the occult, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include ghosts, witches, skeletons, vampires, werewolves, demons, bats, spiders, and black cats. Black and orange are the traditional Halloween colors and represent the darkness of night and the color of bonfires, autumn leaves, and jack-o’-lanterns. 

Costumes:    

Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after monsters such as ghosts,  skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. 

Dressing up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Scotland and Ireland at Halloween by the 19th century. Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in the United States. 

What sets Halloween costumes apart from costumes for other celebrations or days of dressing up is that they are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils, or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or film, television, and cartoon characters. Another popular trend is for women to wear sexy or revealing costumes.

Halloween costume parties generally fall on, or around, 31 October, often falling on the Friday or Saturday prior to Halloween. 

Games and other activities: 

There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. One common game is dunking or apple bobbing, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant of dunking involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drop the fork into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a very sticky  face. 

Some games traditionally played at Halloween are  forms of divination. A traditional Scottish  form  of  divining  one’s  future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one’s  shoulder. The peel is  believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse’s name. Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear. The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards from the late 19th century and early 20th century. 

The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before the holiday, while new horror films are often released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere. 

Food:     

Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples  (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts.     

At one time, candy apples were commonly given to children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples. While there is evidence of such incidents, they are quite rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of  children’s Halloween hauls in order to find evidence  of  tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents  involved  parents who poisoned  their own children’s candy.      

One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking of a bareback, which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. List of foods associated with the holiday:

*Barmbrack (Ireland)

*Bonfire toffee (Great Britain)

*Candy apples 

*Candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America)

*Caramel apples

*Caramel corn

*Colcannon (Ireland) 

*Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread

*Roasted pumpkin seeds

*Roasted sweet corn

*Soul cakes 

*Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc

Around the world: 

Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration vary significantly. Celebration in the United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the holiday is observed in other nations. This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as South America, Australia, Europe, to Japan under the auspices of the Japanese Biscuit Association, and other parts of East Asia. 

Words and expressions（词和短语）

Halloween n. 万圣节前夕；            observe vt. 遵守；观察；庆祝

derive vi. 起源；由来；衍生；导出      disguise vt. 隐瞒，掩饰；伪装，假装；化装

attest vi. 证实；证明                  turnip n. 红萝卜，芜菁

impersonate  vt. 扮演             slaughter n.﹠vt 屠宰（动物）；大屠杀；大减价，贱卖；

douse v. 浸； 插入水中；          hearth n. 灶台，炉边；

variant n. （词等的）变体，（字音的）转讹；

encompass  vt. 围绕，包围；包含或包括某事物；完成

Task

1 Background information（背景知识）

Do you know when is Halloween？

Can you list some of its symbols?

2 Fast reading（快速阅读）

Read the passage quickly and answer（快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1.       In which countries is Halloween observed?

2.       When did the name Halloween first used?

3.       What is the symbol of Halloween?

3. Careful reading（细读）

1). Why do people wear costumes and masks on Halloween?

2). What kinds of Costumes do people wear on Halloween?

3). What other games do people play on Halloween?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

Analyze the sentence below:

It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks.

One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking of a bareback, which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking.

5 Homework（作业）

Find out what people do on Halloween in your country.

Lesson11-12 Labor Day (U.S.A)

First Monday in September

编写教师：戴国艳

Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping only for a short time to eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick because if they didn’t, they might be fired. Thousands of people were waiting to take their places.  

When Peter McGuire was 17, he began an apprenticeship in a piano shop. This job was better than his others, for he was learning a trade, but he still worked long hours with low pay. At night he went to meetings and classes in economics and social issues of the day. One of the main issues of concern pertained to labor conditions. Workers were tired of long hours, low pay and uncertain jobs. They spoke of organizing themselves into a union of laborers to improve their working conditions. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a decrease in the long working day. 

This event convinced Peter that an organized labor movement was important for the future of workers’ rights. He spent the next year speaking to crowds of workers and unemployed people, lobbying（游说） the city government for jobs and relief money. It was not an easy road for Peter McGuire. He became known as a "disturber of the public peace." The city government ignored his demands. Peter himself could not find a job in his trade. He began to travel up and down the east coast to speak to laborers about unionizing（成立工会）. In 1881, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began to organize carpenters there. He organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there that a national union of carpenters was founded. He became General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. 

The idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread around the country. Factory workers, dock workers and toolmakers all began to demand and get their rights to an eight-hour workday, a secure job and a future in their trades. Peter McGuire and laborers in other cities planned a holiday for workers on the first Monday in September, halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day. 

On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand  workers marched in a parade up Broadway. They carried banners that read "LABOR CREATES ALL WEALTH," and "EIGHT HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION!" After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night, fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day.

In 1894, Congress voted it a federal holiday. 

Today Americans celebrate Labor Day with a little less fanfare（热闹的宣传） on the first Monday of September. Some cities have parades and community picnics. Many politicians "kick off’ their political campaigns by holding rallies on the holiday. Most Americans consider Labor Day the end of the summer, and the beaches and other popular resort areas are packed with people enjoying one last three-day weekend. 

Words and expressions（词和短语）

Independence Day:美国国庆日          Boston tea party波斯顿地区茶党分子

Boston bay波斯顿湾                   protest抗议   

The Declaration of Independence : 美国独立宣言        Stamp Act 印花税法案

Tea Act 茶叶税案       colony:殖民地                  a series of:一系列的
Revenue Act国家的税收法案      political party政党  patriotic music爱国歌曲
Task

1 Background information（背景知识）

What was the situation of immigrant workers before Labour Day？

Who played an important role in the improvement of workers’ working conditions?

2 Fast reading（快速阅读）

Read the passage quickly and answer（快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1) When is Labour Day ?

2) When and where was the first Labor Day parade held?

3. Careful reading（细读）

1).What did Peter McGuire do in the spring of 1872?

2).What banners do workers in the parade carry？

3). In which year did Labor Day become an official federal holiday?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

Analyze the sentence below:

In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a decrease in the long working day. 

He organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there that a national union of carpenters was founded.

5 Homework（作业）

Does China has similar festival? Ifso, what is it? How do people in China celebrate it?

Lesson13-14 The Origin of Christmas

       编写教师：戴国艳

Christmas --- Day-December 25---which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian religion, is the biggest and best-loved holiday in the United States.

　　According to the Bible, the holy book of Christians, God decided to allow his only son, Jesus Christ, to be born to a human mother and live on the earth so that people could understand God better and learn to love God and each other more. "Christmas"-meaning "celebration of Christ "-honors the time when Jesus was born to a young Jewish woman Mary.

　　Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter, but before they came together, she was found to be with child. Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in his dream and said, "Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

　　Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago is not known, the calendar on the supposed date divides all time into B.C.(Before Christ)and A.D.(a Latin phrase, Anno Domini," in the year of our Lord")For the first 300 years, Jesus’ birthday was celebrated on different dates. Finally, in the year 354 A.D. church leaders chose December 25 as his birthday.

Christmas celebrations in the West today

From November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Coloured lights decorate many town centres and shops, along with shiny decorations, and artificial snow painted on shop windows.

In streets and shops, ’Christmas trees’ (real or plastic evergreen ’conifer’ trees) will also be decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments.

Shopping centres become busier as December approaches and often stay open till late. Shopping centre speaker systems will play Christmas ’carols’ - the traditional Christmas Christian songs, and groups of people will often sing carols on the streets to raise money for charity. Most places of work will hold a short Christmas party about a week before Christmas. Although traditional Christmas foods may be eaten, drink (and plenty of it) means that little work will be done after the party!

By mid-December, most homes will also be decorated with Christmas trees, coloured lights and paper or plastic decorations around the rooms. These days, many more people also decorate garden trees or house walls with coloured electric lights, a habit which has long been popular in USA.

In many countries, most people post Christmas greeting cards to their friends and family, and these cards will be hung on the walls of their homes. In UK this year, the British Post Office expects to handle over 100 million cards EACH DAY, in the three weeks before Christmas.       

The old man with the sack

’Father Christmas’ (or ’Santa Claus’) has become the human face of Christmas. Pictures will be seen everywhere of the old man with long white beard, red coat, and bag of toys. Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before Christmas (or in some countries on December 6th - St. Nicholas’ Day), and many children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true. In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole, and arrives through the sky on a sledge (snow-cart) pulled by reindeer. He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.

In shops or at children’s parties, someone will dress up as Father Christmas and give small presents to children, or ask them what gifts they want for Christmas. Christmas can be a time of magic and excitement for children.

Who was he?

Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name ’Santa Claus’ which comes from the Dutch ’Sinterklaas’. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children’s stockings.

Boxing Day

In English-speaking countries, the day following Christmas Day is called ’Boxing Day’. This word comes from the custom which started in the Middle Ages around 800 years ago: churches would open their ’alms boxe’ (boxes in which people had placed gifts of money) and distribute the contents to poor people in the neighbourhood on the day after Christmas. The tradition continues today - small gifts are often given to delivery workers such as postal staff and children who deliver newspapers. 

Making sense of Christmas

Today in the West, not many people consider the religious meaning to Christmas. Most people in UK or Europe will not go to a religious church meeting, even at Christmas. It has become a busy race to spend money on presents, and get ready for the Day. In UK, our shops stay open till late Christmas Eve and often open again on Boxing Day with the cut-price ’sales’. (Not much holiday for the poor shop workers!) A visitor from another world would think that Christmas was a festival to the gods of money and shopping.

What do you want from Christmas?

Many people do hope for more than presents at Christmas. We want to somehow return to a time in our childhood (or some other good time in the past), when life was simpler and made more sense, before the troubles of adult life arrived. We feel sure that behind all the fun and decorations, there must somehow be a message, something more, some key to life, hope and happiness.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

religion n. 宗教；教派                                 be engaged to与…订婚   

disgrace n. 丢脸；耻辱；不光彩；丢脸的人（或事）       conceive想出；构想；设想；怀孕   

give birth to生（孩子），生育；引起，产生；娩出；娩      reindeer n. <动>驯鹿     

chimney n. 烟囱；玻璃灯罩；烟囱状东西；壁炉

delivery n. 传送，投递；[法]（正式）交付；分娩；讲演

Task

1 Background information（背景知识）

Do you know when is Christmas Day？

Can you list some of his masterpieces?

2 Fast reading（快速阅读）

Read the passage quickly and answer（快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1) What does Father Christmas look like?

2) What do you want from Christmas?

3. Careful reading（细读）

1). What does “Christmas” mean?

2). How do westerners decorate their homes today?

3). What is the day following Christmas Day called?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

Analyze the sentence below:

These days, many more people also decorate garden trees or house walls with coloured electric lights, a habit which has long been popular in USA.

This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children’s stockings.

5 Homework（作业）

Find out what people do on Christmas in your country.

Lesson15-16 Thanksgiving Day

     编写教师：戴国艳

Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.

In 1620， the settlers， or Pilgrims， they sailed to America on the May flower， seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November, what is now Plymouth， Massachusetts. During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring. All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety，knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed. Years later， President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.

The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table， people will find apples， oranges， chestnuts， walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding， mince pie， other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.

Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives，it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.          

Thanksgiving today is，in every sense，national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year’ s bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.  

Almost every culture in the world has held celebrations of thanks for a plentiful harvest. The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago.  

In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World this religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois India taught them how to grow corn, a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish. 

In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn. In following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks.

After the United States became an independent country, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1863, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration.  

Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have.  In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional. 

Symbols of Thanksgiving 

Turkey, corn, pumpkins and cranberry sauce（酸果曼沙司）are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. The use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "Indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season. Sweet-sour cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly, was on the first Thanksgiving table and is still served today. The cranberry is a small, sour berry. It grows in bogs（沼泽）, or muddy areas, in Massachusetts and other New England states. The Indians used the fruit to treat infections. They used the juice to dye their rugs and blankets. They taught the colonists how to cook the berries with sweetener（甜味佐料）and water to make a sauce. The Indians called it "biome" which means "bitter berry." When the colonists saw it, they named it "crane-berry" because the flowers of the berry bent the stalk over, and it resembled the long-necked bird called a crane. The berries are still grown in New England.  

In 1988, a Thanksgiving ceremony of a different kind took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. More than four thousand people gathered on Thanksgiving night. Among them were Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of people whose ancestors had migrated to the New World. The ceremony was a public acknowledgment of the Indians’ role in the first Thanksgiving 350 years ago. Until recently most schoolchildren believed that the Pilgrims cooked the entire Thanksgiving feast, and offered it to the Indians. In fact, the feast was planned to thank the Indians for teaching them how to cook those foods. Without the Indians, the first settlers would not have survived.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

starvation n. 挨饿；饥饿；饿死；          epidemic  n. 流行病；（迅速的）泛滥，蔓延             

yield n. 产量，产额；投资的收益；屈服；产品      proclaim vt. 宣告，公布；表明；

chestnut n. 栗子；栗色；栗树；         walnut  n. 核桃； 胡桃； 核桃仁； 胡桃，核桃

squash  南瓜； 挤压； 窝瓜； 压碎      consensus  n. 一致； 舆论； 一致同意，合意

bounty  n奖金，赏金；慷慨，大方；赠物，赠金      reverently  adv. 恭敬地，虔诚地

Task

1 Background information（背景知识）

Do you know Why people in America celebrate Thanksgiving Day？

Can you list some of its symbols?

2 Fast reading（快速阅读）

Read the passage quickly and answer（快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1) When did the settlers come to America?

2) What happened to them at that time?

3. Careful reading（细读）

1). When is the Thanksgiving Day?

2). What food do they usually eat?

3). Who put forward the idea of Thanksgiving Day?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

Analyze the sentence below:

But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives，it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.

The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts.

5 Homework（作业）

Write a small passage to express your thanks to your beloved one.

Lesson17-18 Independence Day

编写教师：戴国艳

The Revolutionary War began in 1775. Before the Revolutionary war there are 13 colonies (Virginia, Massachusctts, New Hampahire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland ,North Carolina ,South Carolina ,and Georgia
    Before the 13 colonies had had a great deal of freedom, they had their own governments and there was little direct government from England. The mother country (England) was interested in business and trade with colonies ,in buying and selling goods and materials.
    Form 1754 to 1763, England fought with French and the Native Americans in order to protect the English colonies in the America. To pay for the cost of the War, the British government began a series of new taxes on the Americans. The Revenue Act of 1764 made Americans pay taxes on many goods bought and sold in America. Stamp Act of 1765 put a tax on all official papers, business papers newspapers, and so on. In 1767 the Townshend Act taxed many kinds of goods, including tea. These high taxes made Americans very angry。One group of men against the new taxes was called “The sons of Liberty”. Another political party was the famous “Boston Tea Party”. One night in December 1773, some Americans dressed up as “Indians” and threw many boxes of imported tea off a ship and into Boston harbor.
    The Revolutionary War began in 1775. George Washington was the general in the American Army of Independence. The 13 American colonies announced their separation from England. In 1776 leaders from 13 colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson wrote the paper, the Declaration of Independence. People were very happy and they made a lot of noise with bells, drums, and guns.

The Fourth of July is a national holiday. Government offices, banks, and schools close. Most people don’t go to work. Families and friends get together for picnics and barbecue. An American flag is flying in their backyard and homes on July 4.People also go to parades and listen to patriotic music. In the evening people watch beautiful fireworks. City governments usually have safe fireworks for people to enjoy.
    Independence Day is not only a day for cookouts, fireworks but also a day to think about freedom. The Declaration of Independence says everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence is more than 200 years old, but the ideas of it are important today.

Most people are probably aware of the significance of July 4 to Americans. They might not know, however, about the origins of some of the traditions associated with Independence Day in the United States.   

Fireworks are a feature of national day observations the world over, and play a major role in American celebrations. John Adams, the country’s second president and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, either predicted the firework tradition or started it himself; in a letter to his wife, he called for the celebration of the Fourth of July, the day the final draft of the Declaration was officially adopted, with "pomp and parade, with shows, games, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other"  

Americans have long since taken up Adams’s suggestion with awesome energy and enthusiasm. July 4 is, of course, a holiday from work, and the occasion for all-day picnics in most communities. Having eaten their fill of hot dogs, burgers, and potato salad, everyone eagerly throws themselves into a program of often quirky activities like three-legged races and pie-eating contests.  

A visitor to Boston, a city strongly associated with the events leading up to independence, will certainly come away with a lasting impression of the Fourth of July. The highlight of the day’s celebrations is a local orchestra playing a medley of patriotic tunes as one hundred and fifty thousand spectators watch fireworks burst over the harbor.

Words and expressions（词和短语）

Independence Day:美国国庆日          Boston tea party波斯顿地区茶党分子

Boston bay波斯顿湾                   protest抗议   

The Declaration of Independence : 美国独立宣言        Stamp Act 印花税法案

Tea Act 茶叶税案       colony:殖民地                  a series of:一系列的
Revenue Act国家的税收法案      political party政党  patriotic music爱国歌曲
Task

1 Background information（背景知识）

Do you know how many colonies are there in America before the Revolutionary War?

When is the American Indepence Day?

2 Fast reading（快速阅读）

Read the passage quickly and answer（快速阅读并回答下列问题）:

1) Why did the British government begin a series of new taxes on the Americans?

2) Who was the general in the American Army of Independence?

3. Careful reading（细读）

1). Why did the Revolutionary War break out?

2).How do people celebrate the Indepence Day?

3). What are the traditions of the Independence Day?

4 Key patterns(主要句型)

Analyze the sentence below:

The Revenue Act of 1764 made Americans pay taxes on many goods bought and sold in America.

Fireworks are a feature of national day observations the world over, and play a major role in American celebrations.

A visitor to Boston, a city strongly associated with the events leading up to independence, will certainly come away with a lasting impression of the Fourth of July.

5 Homework（作业）

Does China has similar festival? Ifso, what is it? How do people in China celebrate it?