The Birth of A FestivalThe Birth of A Festival

Unit 14 SEFC

Do you think Kwanzaa is a big well-known holiday?

Read as quickly as you can and find out the answers to the following questions.

• Who celebrates Kwanzaa? Who celebrates Kwanzaa?

• How many principles does the festival How many principles does the festival have?have?

• When is Kwanzaa celebrated? When is Kwanzaa celebrated?

• Do you think Kwanzaa is a big important Do you think Kwanzaa is a big important holiday? holiday?

Match each word with its meaning

• nationnation

• ancestorsancestors

• determination determination

• faith faith

• purposepurpose

a. [noun] a strong belief

b. [noun] a country

c. [noun] members of your family who lived a long time ago

d. [noun] what you hope to get by doing something

e. [noun] wanting to do something very much even though it is very difficult

Read the text again Read the text again whilewhile listening to the listening to the

tapetape. Please . Please underlineunderline what you think is what you think is

important.important.

Tell me if these sentences are true or false

• Kwanzaa is a very young festival which was started in 1976. F 1966

• People created Kwanzaa to celebrate African culture.F African-American

• People celebrate Kwanzaa by lighting a candle and enjoying a large meal each day.F On the last day of Kwanzaa, family and friends gather to enjoy a large meal and to celebrate the New Year.

What is Kwanzaa?

• Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival celebrating the culture and history of African-Americans.

_______ is a festival celebrating _______.

What is the Chinese National Day?

• The Chinese National Day is a festival celebrating the establishment of China as a country.

_______ is a festival celebrating _______.

What is Spring Festival?

• Spring Festival is a festival celebrating the Chinese New Year.

_______ is a festival celebrating _______.

Why did people create Kwanzaa?

• People created Kwanzaa so that African-Americans would be able to celebrate their history and culture.

People created ________ so that ___________.

Why did people create Mothers’ Day?

People created Mother’s Day so that they have a special day to give thanks to mothers.

People created ________ so that ___________.

People created Earth Day so that people can learn more and care more about the earth.

People created ________ so that ___________.

Why did people create Earth Day?

Why did they choose the word Kwanzaa?

• They chose the word because there are many festivals in Africa called “first-fruit” festivals. Kwanzaa is the word for “first-fruit” in Swahili.

• They chose the word because ________.

Why did our ancestors choose the word Mid-autumn?

They chose the word because it is the day in the middle of autumn.

They chose the word because _______.

What are the 7 principles of What are the 7 principles of Kwanzaa?Kwanzaa?

How do people celebrate Kwanzaa?

• People celebrate it by lighting a candle each day and discussing one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

On the last day, family and friends gather to enjoy a large meal and celebrate the new year.

People celebrate it by (doing) .

In what way do we keep our culture alive according to the writer’s opinion?

Each time we celebrate a festival, it changes a little, and in that way

we keep our culture alive.

Summary of the text

_______ is a festival celebrating ____________.

People created ________ so that ___________.

They chose the word _____ because ________.

There are 7 principles. They are ___________.

People celebrate it from ________ to ________.

People celebrate it by ____________________.

Your favorite festival• What is your favorite festival?• When do you celebrate it?• How do you celebrate the festival?• Why do you choose the festival as your favorite?

My favorite festival is ______. It is a festival celebrating _____________.

We celebrate it (from _____ to _____.)

We celebrate it by __________.

I chose the festival as my favorite because ______.

doing

What’s the meaning of celebrating

festivals?

All the festivals help us understandunderstand who we are,

rememberremember where we come from, and shareshare our hopes for a happy future.

Homework

1. Read the text by following the tape.

2. Write an article of your favorite festival imitating the structure of the text.

3. Learn more about festivals. Get to know their principles. 

Learn more about

festivals

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http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/festival.shtmlhttp://language.chinadaily.com.cn/festival.shtml