Learn to talk about New Year and Christmas
Unit 5 Holiday
5.3 Learn to talk about New Year and Christmas
Word Box | Phrase Box | Communication Box |
Reindeer Candle Church Cards Rooster | – to take place – Christmas card – Christmas wreath – to take one’s eyes Off something | For luck! The world we live in! Same to you. Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! It depends. |
1. Look and say about New Year/Christmas symbols (p. 105106).
A New Year/Christmas tree Santa Claus
A reindeer New Year/Christmas
Presents
E x a m p l e: There is always a Christmas tree at Christmas.
2. Listen and repeat. Say how you are getting
– Listen, Bill, the bells are ringing. New Year is coming.
– So it is. We are getting ready for its celebration: decorating rooms, learning new carols and what not.
/і/ listen, Bill, it, is
/ɳ/ ringing, coming, getting, decorating, learning
3. Look, match and say where you can see these things at Christmas.
Christmas reindeer;
Christmas wreath;
Christmas card;
Christmas candles;
Christmas pie.
E x a m p le: We can see Christmas wreaths on some doors of the houses.
4. Think and say about getting ready for Christmas:
– how you decorate your house and Christmas tree;
– what Christmas traditions your family keeps;
– what your favourite Christmas dish is.
E x a m p l e: All my family likes to get ready for Christmas. We decorate our house with paper coloured flags and balloons.
5. Listen and role-play.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Oksana: Hi, Lee!
Lee: A lot. The New Year tree is fantastic and the New Year costumes too. It is different from the New Year in China.
Oksana: Really? Don’t you celebrate it on the first day of January?
Lee: It depends. Chinese New Year takes place at the first full moon. It may be in January or February.
Oksana: That’s really different. And how do you get ready for the celebrations? Do you decorate your houses? Do you have a holiday meal?
Lee: Sure, we do. We decorate our houses and use a lot of red in decoration. We believe it is the luckiest colour. After a holiday dinner every family member gets special sweets, for luck.
Oksana: I see you have unusual New Year traditions in your country.
Lee: Right. And the most unusual is that in China everybody celebrates his/her birthday on New Year Day. They become one year older on that day.
Oksana: Wow! The world we live in! Now I understand the truth of the old saying “So many countries, so many customs”.
Lee: Agreed. But we are celebrating New Year in Ukraine now. So, a Happy New Year to you, Oksana.
Oksana: Thank you, Lee. Same to you!
Remember!
– Don’t you celebrate it on the first of January?
– It depends. Chinese New Year takes place at the first full moon. But It is different from New Year in Ukraine.
6. Let’s play a grammar chain game.
E x a m p l e: A: Don’t you celebrate Christmas?
B: Sure, we do. Don’t you decorate your Christmas tree?
C: We do. Don’t you…?
7. Look at the pictures and compare them as in the example.
E x a m p l e: Mike’s New Year tree is different from Sarah’s New Year tree. It is bigger.
8. Speak with your friend about New Year Celebration:
On your Own. Write about the New Year celebrations in your family. Use:
When? Where? What activities? What meals? Who with?
E x a m p l e: We celebrate New Year on the 31st of December. Usually I celebrate it at home with my family. Sometimes our relatives come to us…
9. Read and say how Christmas celebrations in foreign countries are different from those in Ukraine.
SO MANY COUNTRIES SO MANY CUSTOMS
Part I
My name is Luis. I am from Puerto Rico. I live in a small town, and it is very hot there at Christmas. But one rich man always brings snow to our place from a small town in Canada. We help workers to make funny snowmen. You can see me and my friends in this photo. It’s a real winter wonder.
You are surprised to see a rooster and a hen in their hands. Many Puerto Ricans believe that a rooster crowed* at the moment Christ was born. At every Christmas gathering you can see these two birds. There is even a special mass* in church, called the rooster mass.
* crowed – закукурікав.
* mass – маса.
* * *
Christmas is the happiest holiday for all children in England. We decorate a Christmas tree with coloured lights and flags. There is traditionally a star or an angel on the top of a Christmas tree.
Christmas is not Christmas without Father Christmas. Many large shops have a ‘Santa’s Grotto’. Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, sits there and children can tell him what they would like for Christmas. We believe that Santa travels on a sleigh pulled by a reindeer on Christmas night. He comes through the chimney and puts presents into our stockings near the fireplace. In the morning all the family enjoys Christmas pudding and a Christmas cake.
Part II
My name is Alison and I live in Belgium. I like to decorate our house for Christmas celebrations. My mum and I make beautiful Christmas wreaths and hang them on the door and over the fireplace. My dad decorates our house and the trees in the yard with Christmas lights. It is so beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off it.
Most of all I enjoy holiday skating races. There are many large ice rinks in squares of towns and cities and on Christmas afternoon skaters, big or small, young or old, enjoy skating. Traditionally, best skaters get “Silver Skates” from Santa Claus. I’m just learning to skate. Maybe in a year or two, I will get a pair of skates from Santa.
* * *
Are you surprised to see a beautiful Christmas tree on the beach?
There is no mistake about it. It is Christmas in Australia because December comes in summer. We celebrate this holiday on the 25th of December. There is a six-week summer holiday at Christmas time.
We have a good tradition of singing Christmas carols like “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night”. My friends and I go from door to door singing carols. People listen to us smiling and then present us with small gifts or sweets.
There is also another unusual tradition – to have a big Christmas picnic on the beach. Every family has a Christmas turkey and pudding on this day. Santa Claus is also here. He wishes all picnickers Merry Christmas. And I wish Merry Christmas to you.
10. Label the pictures with the right countries from the box (p. 112).
England | Puerto Rico |
Australia | Belgium |
11. Act as one of the children and describe Christmas celebrations in your country.
To get ready for something;
Reindeer;
Santa’s Grotto;
Silver skates;
To sing carols;
Rooster mass.
12. Talk about Christmas celebrations in your family. Use:
We celebrate Christmas… . On this day… . We decorate… . Traditionally… . Children believe… . Usually Santa Claus… .
13. Write 6-7 questions about Christmas traditions to your International friends.
Do it Yourself! Draw a Christmas card and write it for your friend.
