19th of May, 2020

American Holidays and Festivals

Part 1: Read the texts

1 Easter is a really important holiday in the United States. It is the celebration of Christ’s
death and his resurrection from the dead. It takes place at the end of March or some time in
April. Many people who haven’t gone to church all year long or even for years will end up in
church on Easter Sunday. Also, there are many pageants, choir presentations and other big
events, because Easter is the central holiday of the Christian religion.
2 Another important holiday which is celebrated by a lot of Americans is New Year’s Eve.
Parties take place all over the United States in people’s homes, in little pubs, as well as in
giant ball rooms. All sorts of things happen on this day from concerts and dancing and other
kinds of celebration, to lots of food and alcohol.
3 Labor Day and Presidents’ Day are holidays which are generally celebrated around the
United States and although people celebrate them, these holidays have lost their original
meaning. Labor Day is a day to celebrate the common man, and is celebrated on the first
Monday of September. Presidents’ Day is a combination of Washington and Lincoln’s
birthday, which is observed on the third Monday of February.
4 Memorial Day is a day to remember all those who have given their lives for the country in
warfare, and it is celebrated on the last Monday in May.
5 Kids enjoy Valentine’s Day because of candy. February 14th is a day to remember your
sweetheart by doing all sorts of things but in particular by buying candy.
6 Some other days that Americans celebrate are Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Mother’s
Day is the second Sunday in May, while Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June and these
are just days when people honor their parents and remember all that they have done for them.

Part 2
Read the following excerpts and complete the gaps with one of the words from the box.
Then, try to find out which holiday or festival they are describing.
a. Halloween b. Thanksgiving c. St. Patrick’s Day
d. Martin Luther King Day e. Independence Day f. Christmas
1. He was truly one of the great Americans of the 20th century. Fought for the civil ________
of black Americans and against racism.
2. Many people will wear something green on this day, not only those with Irish __________.
3. I think probably one of the most fun parts for me is the decorations and the lights. People
go a little bit overboard and their houses look like ______birthday cakes with all the lights all
over them.
4. One of the things that often happens is that there are tricks that people play and some of the
tricks can be quite destructive and unfortunately rather __________. But some are rather fun.
One that I have done often, very often actually, is what we call TP-ing. We’ll say to our
friends, ‘Do you want a TP at so and so one’s house?’ And what that means is we’re gonna go
out and ________their house in toilet paper.
5. In a way it’s almost nicer than Christmas because you don’t have all the other things like all
the shopping that you do and everything. So it’s more of a time to ________on the things that
we have and to be thankful for the things we have.
6. It’s a time when in the evening there are many __________, many picnics. It’s … many,
many parties and things go on. It’s a day off work, which everybody enjoys.

giant reflect malicious rights fireworks ancestry wrap

Part 3
Now, complete this chart with the relevant information based on these texts and your
previous knowledge!
Holiday/Festival Day of month What is it about?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10
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11
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13
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14
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