1. Look up the meaning of the following words. Use the following link: http://www.wordreference.com/
leaf - clover - shamrock - stone - priest - kidnap - shepherd - slavery - parade - fairy
When was St. Patrick’s Day celebrated for the first time?
Where was St. Patrick’s Day celebrated for the first time?
3. Read the text and complete the sentences:
Many people wear a __________ to commemorate Saint Patrick's Day.
It is said that the Blarney stone has __________ properties.
A Leprechaun (Irish __________) looks like a little old man.
4. Translate:
Want to be lucky this St. Patrick's Day? Follow this advice: find a four-leaf clover, wear green, kiss the blarney stone, catch a Leprechaun if you can.
Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term dates back to at least 1966, although its usage was primarily on the East coast. The term has become more common in other parts of the country since 2000. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November. According to Reuters, in 2007 135 million people participated in the Black Friday shopping *rush, more than *turned out to vote in the 2008 United States presidential election, which recorded the largest voter turn out in history.
Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees *have the day off as part of the Thanksgiving holiday (with the exceptions of those employed in *retailing, health care, and banking), which increases the number of potential shoppers. *Retailers often decorate for the Christmas and holiday season weeks *beforehand. Many retailers open extremely early, with most of the retailers typically opening at 5AM or even earlier. Some of the larger retailers (depending on the location) such as Sears, Best Buy, Macy's, Toys "R" Us, and Walmart have been reported to open as early as midnight on the start of Black Friday in localized areas and remain open for 24 hours throughout the day until midnight the following Saturday. Upon opening, retailers offer *deals and *loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day *Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s.
The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, *merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from being in the red (i.e., posting a loss on the books) to being in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
Read about Easter and answer the following questions. You can use the links below or wikipedia, google...: 1. What does "Easter" mean? 2. When is it celebrated? 3. What do children eat in England at Easter? 4. What do they do? 5. Do you like this tradition? 6. Is there anything similar in your country? 7. Would you like to do something similar?
America’s first recipe for Christmas cakes dates back to 1796.
In Australia, the turkey is eaten cold.
In the old times, sugar was very expensive; therefore, Christmas cakes were a luxury.
The first gingerbread man is credited to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, who favored important visitors with charming gingerbread likenesses of themselves.
Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.
The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.
Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
The practice of tree worship has been found in many ancient cultures. Often, trees were brought indoors and decorated to ensure a good crop for the coming year. Trees have also been linked to divinity. Egyptians associated a palm tree with the god Baal-Tamar, while the Greeks and Romans believed that the mother of Adonis was changed into a fir tree. Adonis was one of her branches brought to life.
The modern Christmas tree was likely born in the 8th century, when St. Boniface was converting the Germanic tribes. The tribes worshipped oak trees, decorating them for the winter solstice. St. Boniface cut down an enormous oak tree, that was central to the worship of a particular tribe, but a fir tree grew in its place. The evergreen was offered as a symbol of Christianity, which the newly converted Germans began decorating for Christmas.
Prince Albert, who was German, introduced the Christmas tree to England after his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1840. German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought Christmas trees to America.
SUMMARY: Ebenezer Scrooge is a money lender. He is very rich but he is also very mean. He has no friends, he pays his employee, Bob Cratchit, a very low wage. He doesn't believe in celebrating Christmas. His nephew, Fred, invites him for Christmas dinner but he refuses. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts. The ghosts show him his life in the past, the present and the future.
SUGGESTION: Why don't you take the opportunity of reading it at Christmas?
What colour do they wear?
