2016美国研究上传.pptVIP

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? 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. The theme for the White House Christmas in 2010 is Simple Gifts—the simple things that bring joy at Christmas. Gingerbread houses Gingerbread houses, covered with a variety of candies and icing, are popular Christmas decorations, often built by children with the help of their parents. 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 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. the origin of trick or treat History traces Halloween back to the ancient religion of the Celtics. The Celts were the ancestors of the present-day Irish, Welsh and Scottish people. In the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31st. On the 1st of November, Celtic peoples celebrated the festival of Samhain(萨温节), which marked the beginning of winter and the Celtic New Year. the origin of trick or treat Celts thought the division between the natural world and the supernatural world became very thin and all time and space was abruptly suspended on October 31st, and then the spirits of the died would come back and move