1、American Holidays,09級英語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,在美國的賓西法尼亞州，有一只土撥鼠，每年的2月2日圣燭節(jié)的那天都會出窩觀察自己的影子，然后用叫聲傳遞信息給當?shù)赝翐苁缶銟凡康拇恚頃g給媒體，對當年的冬天是否會延長6個星期做出預報。在這一天，冬眠的土撥鼠要醒過來，從洞里出來預測春天。一般來說，土撥鼠要看自己的影子，如果看到影子了，就回洞里接著睡大覺去，因為春天還要再等6個星期才能到來，如果土撥鼠看不到自己的影子，就說明春天就要到了。據(jù)說從來沒出錯。,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. 受難節(jié)(good friday)是紀念耶穌受難的節(jié)日。新約全書記載，耶穌于公元33年猶太歷尼散月十四日上午九時左右被羅馬統(tǒng)治者釘在十字架上，于下午三時左右死去,教會稱這一天在猶太教安息日的前一

10、天，規(guī)定復活節(jié)前的星期五為受難節(jié)。,在早期的基督教會，只有紀念耶穌復活的星期日才是舉行節(jié)慶活動的圣日。到了公元4世紀，復活節(jié)之前一周的每一天都被定為圣日，其中包括耶穌受難日。許多基督徒都會覺得“Good Friday”(中文無法直譯，而是根據(jù)發(fā)生的事件直接譯為“耶穌受難日”或“受難日”)這個名稱不太合適。既然是耶穌釘十字架的日子，理應看作是“Bad Friday”。有人相信“Good”一詞從“God”變化而來，本來意思是“Gods Friday”(神的星期五)。還有人相信“Good”表示由耶穌殉教帶來的拯救對世人是上好的饋贈。,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（內涵）. 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