Special Days and Holidays - Best of The Reader

1 W w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aSpecial days and HolidaysJoan Acostaw w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c 2013 Best of the Reader series of books by Joan Acosta is licensed undera Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No DerivativeWorks Canada w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aContentsWelcome .. 4 Valentine s Day .. 5 Thanksgiving .. 7 halloween .. 9 Diwali.. 12 Vaisakhi.. 12 Easter .. 14 Hanukkah .. 16 Norooz .. 18 Christmas .. 20 Ramadan .. 24 New Year s.. 27 Remembrance Day .. 30 Lunar New Year .. 32 Answers for exercises .. 353w w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aWelcome This e-book is part of a seriescalled Best of The Reader .

2 The storiesin the e-books are from The WestcoastReader. It is a newspaper for adultswho are improving their Englishreading skills. You can use this bookin a classroom, with a tutor,or on your own. Each story has exercises to gowith it. These exercises can helpyou improve your English andreading skills. You can check your answersat the end of the are three reading levelsin this book. Here are the symbolsfor each level:Learners can read the articlesand do the exercises individually,in pairs, or in groups. The topics can be exploredfurther through discussionor follow-up author gratefully acknowledges the financialsupport of Capilano University for this Special thank you to the learners and teacherswho helped choose the articles for this of the material in this book first appeared inThe Westcoast Reader (1982 to 2009).

3 Some of thearticles have been updated. Most of the exercisesand activities for learners are based on material fromThe Westcoast Reader Teachers Notes (1982 to 2009).Level 1 Level 2 Level 3To the readerTo the teacherThree reading levels4 PhotosFront cover halloween : Northshore News (Victor Aberdeen); Valentine s Day:The Vancouver Sun; Lunar New Year: Metro Vancouver(Jeff Hodson)Page 5 couple: The Vancouver Sun,children: Northshore News(Mike Wake-field);Page 7 iStockphotos (top) Thanksgiving SJ Locke, (bottom) food CathleenClapper; Page 9 top: The Vancouver Sun, bottom: iStockphoto SJ Locke; Page 10: Edmonton Journal; Page 11: Northshore News(Victor Aberdeen);Page 12 left: The Vancouver Sun,right: The Province;Page 14: iStockphotos crucifixion Wim Burger, kids Edyta Line, basket: St.

4 Elias Church; Page 16:The Vancouver Sun;Page 18 table:North Shore News(Mike Wakefield),family: Babak Saberi; Page 20: iStockphoto; Page 21: choir: Central CoastChildren s Choir, cookie making: iStockphoto, potluck: Corinna Ruhl, lights andstudents: The Vancouver Sun;Page 24: man praying: Muslim Times; architect:The Vancouver Sun; Page 27: iStockphoto; Page 30 ceremony, poppy:The Province,veteran:The Vancouver Sun, graves:Canadian Mint;Page 32:The Vancouver Sun IllustrationsPage 6, 9 (flashlight, pumpkin),10, 16 (hanukkiah), 22, 27, 28: Nola Johnston; Page 5, 9 (ghost), 14, 15, 16 (dreidel), 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 30: Guy Parsons;Page 22: King Features Syndicate.

5 Reproduced with permission TorstarSyndication Services; Page 29 (rabbit) Government Information Office, Republicof China (Taiwan);Religious symbols: iStockphotoTeachers GuideThe Teachers Guide on thiswebsite has ideas on how to usethe e-books with s DayValentine s Dayis on February is a romantic dayfor many buy cards, chocolatesor flowers for each say, I love you. giftchocolateflowersw w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c a5 How to say I love you French:Je t aimeSpanish: Te amoCree:KisakihitinCantonese: Ngo oi neyRussian:Ya tyebya lyublyuHow do children celebrate?Young childrengive each other often make cardsat people send cards on Valentine s Day.

6 They also send cards for otheroccasions. Choose a word from the box to go with each card. Write the wordon the w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aEaster wedding graduation Valentine s Day birthday Christmas1235466 Thanksgivingis the second Mondayin and friendsget have a big and pumpkin pieare popularat potatoesyamsstuffinggreen beansturkeygravyw w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c apumpkin pie7whippedcreamThanksgivingWhat s for Thanksgiving dinner? Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November in the United do the words belong?Write these 18 wordsin the correct answers on the When is Thanksgiving?

7 _____2. What do many people do for Thanksgiving? _____3. What foods are popular at Thanksgiving? _____ChristmaspieMondayuncleJulysaladbre akfastSundayThanksgivingOctobersistertur keylunchEasterThursdayhusbanddinnerMayw w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c amonthsfamilyfoodholidaysmealsdays8w w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aHalloween is on October the evening, children dress up in go trick or visit neighboursand ask for people give the children to keep children safe on HalloweenMany children go trick or treatingon the evening of October 31. Here are some tips to keepchildren safe on halloween . An adult should go trickor treating with young children.

8 Older children should trickor treat in groups. Adults and older childrenshould carry flashlights. Remind children to look bothways before they cross streets. Check all the treatsbefore children eat them. Make sure costumesare short. Children cantrip on long costumesand HalloweenMany peoplecarve jack-o-lanternsfor w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c a Cut out the top of a pumpkin with a sharp knife. Take out the seeds with a big spoon. Draw a face on the pumpkin with a marker. Cut out the face with a knife. Put a candle inside the to carve a jack-o-lanternThe Westcoast Reader10/2004 Same word has different meaningsw w w.

9 B e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aHere are six steps for carving a jack-o-lantern. Put them in the correct out the face with a a candle inside the out the top of the Draw a face on the a out the a jack-o-lantern____ 1. tip a. the sound a bell makes____ 2. test b. a large stone____ 3. watch c. to teach____ 4. ring d. a clock you wear on your wrist____ 5. train e. a useful idea or suggestion____ 6. rock f. an examSometimes a word can have different meanings. For example:1. Children can tripon long costumes. 2. Ana took a tripto Mexico. Here are some words that can have more than one each word to one of its Do you know other meanings for these words?

10 W w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aDiwali Diwali is a popular fall festivalin India. It is sometimes called theFestival of Lights. Diwali marks the beginningof the new year for Hindus. Sikhsalso celebrate traditions Many people wear new clotheson Diwali. They visit family and friends. They share sweet snacks. They decorate their homeswith small oil lamps called is a symbolfor Vaisakhi is in April. It is animportant festival in parts of India. Some Sikh communities inBritish Columbia have paradesto celebrate Vaisakhi parade This is a symbolfor the sentencesw w w . b e s t o f t h e r e a d e r . c aDraw a circle around the correct answer.