外國(guó)人最想和你聊的文化話題：西方節(jié)日

　Realize the Western festivals　認(rèn)識(shí)外國(guó)節(jié)日
     1　中外節(jié)日對(duì)比
     When we meet this topic, at first we should know that we don't just want to remember the names of the western festivals, but we should have an insight into their culture and history, their religion and beliefs. So we must compare their festivals with our own.
     The prevalence of western festivals in China is related to the manifestations of the difference between the western festivals and the traditional Chinese ones. Chinese festivals mainly originated from the celebration, worship and other activities. However, most of the western festivals are related to the religions. For instance, Christmas is related to Christianity and Halloween is related to the Catholic. Many young people love western festivals usually not because of their cultural connotation, but because of more life fun. In their opinions, it is not important to know what cultural connotation is about Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving Day and so on.
     Then we should know the advantages of the western festivals compared with ours. For example, look at the difference between Christmas and the Spring Festival. On Christmas, people prepare Christmas cards, Christmas trees and so on. Then they hold Christmas evening, both spending a little money and having a good time. However, during the Spring Festival, people who live in the city watch television or play with friends. People in rural areas are busy paying a New Year's call and so on. Generally speaking, people are linked with blood relation. There is no atmosphere of the formation of the same cultural roots. Due to spending a lot of money, time and energy, many people wish that there be no the Spring Festival. Look at western Valentine's Day and Chinese one, Chinese people are quite shy and rarely directly express their feelings, while the Western are enjoying themselves on their festivals. Festivals mean a feast to their heart while a suffering to the Chinese.
     In addition, western festivals have different backgrounds. Every festival hides more than one feelingly stories which attract young people. Also some festivals supply vacant feature in China. For example, the Valentine's Day add fresh mind in Chinese, which our ancestor dare not to think. The festival spreads seeds in every corner of China and call on people to seek lover and truly life belonging to themselves. This is what people expect for century. In the mean time, we still keep our excellent traditional festival. Have you noticed that people rush home no matter how crowed the train is during the Spring Festival? They celebrate the festival not in the form but in the deep heart.
     Whether you like it or not, you can not ignore the motivation they have brought to us. We are paying more attention to thanks-giving and emotions not the food and money. It has make great contributions to rich our culture.
     2　主要節(jié)日
     元旦 ( New Year's Day )
     圣瓦倫丁節(jié) ( St. Valentine's Day ) 又稱"情人節(jié)"( the lovers' day )
     復(fù)活節(jié) ( Easter Day, Easter Sunday )
     愚人節(jié) ( April Fool's Day )
     母親節(jié) ( Mother's Day )
     父親節(jié) ( Father's Day )
     國(guó)慶節(jié) ( Independence Day )
     勞動(dòng)節(jié) ( Labor Day )
     萬圣節(jié) ( Halloween; Eve of All Saint's Day )
     感恩節(jié) ( Thanksgiving Day )
     圣誕節(jié)( Christmas Day )
     隨著人們生活水平的提高，享受主義逐漸加強(qiáng)，對(duì)節(jié)日的重視度越來越高，不管是外國(guó)的還是本國(guó)的，人們都能找到不同的方式來慶祝。外國(guó)節(jié)日的大量引進(jìn)，正沖擊著傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日的地位。
Part 2　Key words ＆ Sentences　關(guān)鍵詞語全知道
     Every February, candy, flowers and gift exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Valentine's Day is a special day of love. It is a day to celebrate love. In that day, chocolates and roses are necessary.
     每年二月，糖果、鮮花和情人之間的交換禮物都在情人節(jié)的名義之下進(jìn)行著。情人節(jié)是關(guān)于愛的特別的一天。這一天用來慶祝愛。在這一天，巧克力和玫瑰是必要的。
     Easter is the most important religious feast for the Christian, Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead two days after his crucifixion, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday.
     復(fù)活節(jié)是基督教最重要的宗教節(jié)日，基督徒相信耶穌是在死后兩天復(fù)活的。他們?cè)谥苋諔c祝這個(gè)復(fù)活節(jié)，這一天是周五后的第二天。
     April Fools Day is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1st. The day is marked by the practical jokes on friends, family members, enemies and neighbors.
     愚人節(jié)是一個(gè)特別的日子，在許多國(guó)家，人們?cè)?月1日慶祝。這一天的特點(diǎn)是對(duì)朋友、家人、敵人和鄰居做惡作劇。
     Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country. The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes and so on. But the best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.
     感恩節(jié)是最地道、最美國(guó)的國(guó)家假日，而且和美國(guó)早期歷史關(guān)系最密切。感恩節(jié)的慶祝模式許多年來從未改變。在大家庭中，人們很早就準(zhǔn)備豐盛的家宴。在餐桌上，人們可以吃到蘋果、橘子、栗子、核桃、葡萄等。但是，最好的和最有吸引力的是烤火雞和南瓜餡餅，它們一直是感恩節(jié)中最富傳統(tǒng)和最受人喜愛的食品。
     Mother's Day is a day honoring mothers, In the USA, Mother's Day is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May.
     母親節(jié)這一天用來紀(jì)念母親，在美國(guó)，母親節(jié)是在五月的第二個(gè)星期日慶祝。
     The carved pumpkin lit by a candle inside and trick-or-treat are most prominent symbols of the Halloween in America. Trick-or-treat is a custom for children on Halloween, Children proceed in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as confectionery, or sometimes money.
     雕刻南瓜燈籠和"招待還是惡作劇"的口號(hào)是美國(guó)萬圣節(jié)最突出的特征。"招待還是惡作劇"是孩子們?cè)谌f圣節(jié)的習(xí)俗，孩子們穿上特別的服裝挨家挨戶要求"招待"，比如糖果，有時(shí)是零用錢。
     Christmas is the feast of the nativity of Jesus, is on 26th, December every year. But nobody knows the actual birthday of Jesus. On Christmas Eve the children will hang their stockings at the foot of the bed. On the next morning, their stockings will be full with Christmas gift from Father Christmas.
     圣誕節(jié)是耶穌誕生的盛宴，在每年的十二月二十六日。但是，沒有人知道耶穌的實(shí)際生日。圣誕節(jié)前夜，孩子們會(huì)在床頭掛襪子。第二天早晨，他們的襪子被圣誕老人的圣誕禮物裝滿。