American holidays.ppt

1、American Holidays,09级英语5班 091611149 李芳,Some American holidays,New Years Day Groundhog Day Valentines Day Easter Good Friday Flag Day Thanksgiving Day,New Years Day,New Years Day is on January 1st, a legal holiday in the USA. Actually the celebration begins the night before. Americans has a large cel

2、ebration on New Years Day.Traditionally Americans think that is time to resolve to get rid of bad habits and start a new life.,Now in America the biggest block party of the year happens in New York Citys Times Square. Millions of people gather every year to watch the Ball Drop as they count down to

3、mid-night. At mid-night everyone yells HAPPY NEW YEAR. Some people shake hands while others kiss and embrace. The party in Times Square is always televised so the people who cant make to New York can join the celebration from their homes.,New Years Day,Groundhog Day,2nd February: Groundhog day began

4、 as a Christian Holy Day. According to Western religious tradition, Groundhog Day, is more formally known as Candlemas Day. The earliest reference to groundhog day as it is recognized today is February, 1841. Groundhog Day has its roots in ancient times, when humans were enlightened enough to interp

5、ret the workings of the world be watching the animals around them.,Groundhog Day,在美国的宾西法尼亚州，有一只土拨鼠，每年的2月2日圣烛节的那天都会出窝观察自己的影子，然后用叫声传递信息给当地土拨鼠俱乐部的代表，代表会翻译给媒体，对当年的冬天是否会延长6个星期做出预报。在这一天，冬眠的土拨鼠要醒过来，从洞里出来预测春天。一般来说，土拨鼠要看自己的影子，如果看到影子了，就回洞里接着睡大觉去，因为春天还要再等6个星期才能到来，如果土拨鼠看不到自己的影子，就说明春天就要到了。据说从来没出错。,Valentines Day

6、,14th February: This day is the festival of two third-century martyrs, both named Valentine. It is not known why this day is associated with lovers. It may derive from an old pagan festival, or it may have been inspired by the belief that birds mate on this day.,EASTER,Easter is probably the most im

7、portant Christian holiday on the calendar, it uses the egg, as a symbol. In the United States Easter is celebrated in several ways.,On Easter morning children begin their day by looking for Easter eggs that the Easter bunny has hidden for them. Of course most children know that the eggs were hidden

8、by their parents and not the Easter bunny. Many children help their parents color the Easter eggs knowing that soon they will be eating them as a snack on Easter day. Some cities have Easter egg hunts at the local parks. And of course, many people attend Sunrise Services at their local church. In fa

9、ct, more people go to church on Easter Sunday than at any other time of the year.,Easter bunny,Good Friday,Good Friday is the Friday before Easter . It commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. 受难节(good friday)是纪念耶稣受难的节日。新约全书记载，耶稣于公元33年犹太历尼散月十四日上午九时左右被罗马统治者钉在十字架上，于下午三时左右死去,教会称这一天在犹太教安息日的前一

10、天，规定复活节前的星期五为受难节。,在早期的基督教会，只有纪念耶稣复活的星期日才是举行节庆活动的圣日。到了公元4世纪，复活节之前一周的每一天都被定为圣日，其中包括耶稣受难日。许多基督徒都会觉得“Good Friday”(中文无法直译，而是根据发生的事件直接译为“耶稣受难日”或“受难日”)这个名称不太合适。既然是耶稣钉十字架的日子，理应看作是“Bad Friday”。有人相信“Good”一词从“God”变化而来，本来意思是“Gods Friday”(神的星期五)。还有人相信“Good”表示由耶稣殉教带来的拯救对世人是上好的馈赠。,Flag Day,14th June: National flag

11、s are not merely symbols of a country. Their colors and designs convey past history and future goals. Flags have powerful connotations（内涵）. They speak to the people and politicians. People of one country will burn the flag of another with whose politics they do not agree. To show their anger, studen

12、ts display their own nations flags with the design altered or cut out completely. Dictators fly flags; dissidents rip them down. In every country of the world, the treatment of a flag displays an opinion or statement.,Thanksgiving Day,4th Thursday in November: The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrat

13、ed in the year 1621. The Pilgrims who had come to the New World from England landed at Plymouth Rock, on December 26, 1620 after being at sea for almost a year. When the Pilgrims landed in this country they discovered that the grain they brought from England wouldnt grow in the soil of their new hom

14、e. The first winter was very hard for the early settlers and many people died because of sickness and starvation.,The native Indians came to the aid of the Pilgrims and taught them how to plant crops of corn. They also taught the Pilgrims how to hunt and fish. Thanks to the help of the Indians, the settlers crops in the fall of 1621 did we