LEVEL 8 CELEBRATIONS
OPEN THE LINKS AND PRACTICE VOCABULARY,
LISTENING AND READING ACTIVITIES ABOUT CELEBRATIONS.
VIDEOS
Describe a family celebration or any celebration that you
once attended.
Describe a family celebration that you remember. You should say
1. what you were celebrating / who was present
2. what you and your family did to make the
celebration special
and why you enjoyed the occasion.
and why you enjoyed the occasion.
3.
Whose birthday
it was
4.
who attended
the party
5.
where it took
place
6.
why it was held
7.
how you felt
about it
8.
and explain why
it is important to your family.
·
What type of
family celebrations are common in your country?
·
Why these type
of celebrations are important in your country?
READING PRACTICE
1. Colombia is the home of
many colorful festivals and traditions taking place throughout the year, with
many Colombia holidays largely dictated by the Catholic calendar. Carnivals are
a major focus, with most cities and towns having at least one at some point in
the year, that feature costumes, parades, music, food, wild parties, and
dancing.
Carnaval del Diablo
The town of Rio Sucio hosts
the Carnaval del Diablo (Festival of the Devil) on odd numbered years
biannually, in a party to ward off sadness. The event is a synthesis of
indigenous pagan and Catholic beliefs and features feasts, costumes, dancing,
music, and poetry under the spell of sugar cane liquor. Festivities end with
the reading of the testament, a burning of the devil and the burying of the
gourd.
Carnaval de Negros y Blancos
The Carnaval de Negros y
Blancos, or Festival of Blacks and Whites, is one of the major events in
Southern Colombia, celebrated in Pasto over a week in early January. It has
earned UNESCO designation for being a masterpiece in oral and intangible
heritage of humanity. The first day of the celebration involves the Colonies
Parade, a rock concert where farmers offer tributes of flowers and songs to the
Virgin of Mercy in return for a good harvest. Day two is the Children’s
Carnival followed by the Arrival of the Castaneda Family on the third, a
colorful cartoon with all the stereotypes including a pregnant bride and a
drunk priest. Day four and five are Blacks and Whites Day respectively followed
by a Grand Parade on the fifth. The final day is devoted to Rural Culture and a
Cuys Festival.
Colombia is the
home of many colorful festivals and traditions taking place throughout the
year, with many Colombia holidays largely dictated by the Catholic calendar.
Carnivals are a major focus, with most cities and towns having at least one at
some point in the year, that feature costumes, parades, music, food, wild
parties, and dancing.
Barranquilla Carnival
Carnaval is
held in the port town of Barranquilla over the three days leading up to Lent,
the Catholic fast. Participants dress up in exotic costumes and take part in a
grand parade with a queen, floats, salsa music, rumba dancing, food, drink and
partying.
Semana Santa
Easter holy
week takes place at the end of March/beginning of April each year and is the
biggest festival of the year in Catholic Colombia. The city of Popayan is
widely considered to be the religious center of the country and is home to an
Easter procession that is regarded by many as the finest in South America.
Groups of up to eight people carry large wooden platforms depicting scenes from
the bible through the cobblestone streets in a parade that lasts many hours.
Colombia is the
home of many colorful festivals and traditions taking place throughout the
year, with many Colombia holidays largely dictated by the Catholic calendar.
Carnivals are a major focus, with most cities and towns having at least one at
some point in the year, that feature costumes, parades, music, food, wild
parties, and dancing.
Bogota International Book Fair
The Bogota
International Book Fair is a two-week event that has been taking place in in
April or May since 1988. It is one of the world’s major literary festivals and
is one of Latin America’s most significant cultural gatherings. Each year, a
different country gets to be the principal character which turns Colombia into
the biggest library on the planet, drawing writers, illustrators, publishers,
editors, readers and book lovers from all over. Besides a massive trade fair
for the publishing industry, the event features talks, workshops, concerts,
exhibitions, food, drink and a children’s program. Colombia is, after all, the
home of celebrated author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Festival of the
Flowers
The city of
Medellin has been hosting the Festival of the Flowers since 1957. Taking place
over ten days in early August, there are concerts, parades, food and drink, an
orchid exposition, and a competition amongst saddle men bearing flowers on
horseback. Common decorations include agapanthus, carnations, chrysanthemums,
gladioli, lilies, orchids, roses, and sunflowers.
Colombia is the
home of many colorful festivals and traditions taking place throughout the
year, with many Colombia holidays largely dictated by the Catholic calendar. Carnivals
are a major focus, with most cities and towns having at least one at some point
in the year, that feature costumes, parades, music, food, wild parties, and
dancing.
Day of the Candles
The Day of the
Candles occurs on December 7 and marks the unofficial start of the Colombian
Christmas season. At night, streets and homes are festooned with candles and
paper lanterns, creating tunnels of light to honor the Catholic Immaculate
Conception the following day. There are competitions for the best light displays
and many towns hold concerts and fireworks shows.
Christmas
The population
of Colombia is a largely Catholic, so Christmas events, celebrating the birth
of Jesus, are second only to Easter. Many of the devout participate in Novena,
daily religious gatherings that start on December 16 with many churches
offering morning and night masses, culminating with midnight mass on Christmas
Eve, December 24. Novenas are often family events with prayers, bible readings,
games, carols, and music. The celebrations begin at midnight on Christmas Eve
with prayers, gift giving, feasts, fireworks and parties that last until dawn.
Christmas Day is a public holiday, a quieter time for family gatherings.
2. Christmas is
coming and there is no better place to celebrate it than Colombia. Here are
five ways to ensure you pass the festive season like a local.
Día de las
Velitas
Little Candles’ Day is celebrated on December 7th (the eve of the
Immaculate Conception) and officially marks the start of Christmas in
Colombia. Colombians light small candles and paper lanterns, placing them
on windowsills and balconies and decorating parks and roads. Bogota closes
several streets so its citizens can admire the capital’s Christmas lights and
undertake family activities throughout the evening. Families on the Caribbean
coast tend to light their candles early on December 8th and people in Cali
stroll along the Cali River, which is always illuminated for the occasion.
Christmas Lights
Christmas lights (alumbrados navideños in Spanish)
are a big deal in Colombia and Medellin is most famous for its displays, with
an extravaganza that focuses on the Medellin River and covers around 100 city
parks.
The lights follow a theme, such as “Values
Illuminate Christmas” which told of a girl named Paloma who travelled the River
of Peace. Every year more than four million people enjoy Medellin’s display and
the event is the city’s biggest tourist attraction, with a USD$10million
budget. National Geographic selected
Medellin as one of the world’s best for Christmas lights.
Aguinaldos
Colombians have a great sense of humor and love
making their friends, family and office colleagues work for their Christmas
treats. That’s right, the country’s famed aguinaldos are games or challenges
that end on Christmas Eve, when gifts are finally presented. Among such games
are “three feet” (tres pies) where you have to avoid your opponent placing
their foot between yours, “straw in the mouth” (pajita en boca) which involves
keeping a straw in your mouth all day and “stolen kiss” (beso robado). These
games can get out of hand. You have been warned.
Novena
The Novena of Aguinaldos is a set of prayers
recited the nine days before Christmas and a social event too, when families
and friends come together to eat, pray and sing Christmas carols (villancicos).
The novena is prayed and hosted at a different home each night in honor of the
Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, the Wise Men and Baby Jesus, who went to a different
place each night seeking shelter. The novenas are held from December 16th to
December 24th and the prayers are either recited individually or as a group,
usually from a book that is passed between the guests and read aloud.
Festive Food
Christmas is not Christmas without food and
Colombia is no different. Natilla is probably the country’s most beloved
Christmas snack, a custard dish made with milk that resembles a flan or pudding
and is eaten alongside other festive favorites such as buñuelos (delicious
fried dough balls, served hot) Manjar blanco, a milky spread made with milk,
rice and sugar is also eaten, along with hojuelas, flaky, battered snacks that
go perfectly with the other Christmas goodies on the table, especially during
the novenas.
http://www.occc.edu/mschneberger/howtoparagraph.htm
LINKING WORDS
SO – BECAUSE – AND – OR - BUT
HOW TO WRITE A REPORT
Part 4 Writing Your Report
1.
Write your introduction. Your intro
is where you introduce your topic and state your thesis. ...
2.
Write your body paragraphs. The body
paragraphs are where you state your evidence that supports your thesis. ...
3.
Support your topic sentence. ...
4.
Write your conclusion. ...
5.
Cite your sources. ...
6.
Format your report.
HOW
TO WRITE A LETTER AND EMAILS
Method 1 Writing a Formal Letter
1.
Know when to write a formal letter. ...
2.
Write your address and today's date
at the top of the page. ...
3.
Write the name and address of the
recipient. ...
4.
Write the salutation. ...
5.
Write the letter. ...
6.
Use a complimentary close. ...
7.
Fold the letter (optional). ...
8.
Address the envelope (optional).
·
Steps of
writing an informal
letter.
·
Address and date. • ...
·
Salutation. • ...
·
The content of an informal letter. • ...
·
Ending a letter In informal letter writing;
you can end your letter with: • Love, • Lots of love, • Best
wishes, • Missing you lots, • Yours forever, • Yours, Note that it is followed
by a comma.
EMAILS
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Email
PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH
https://www.testden.com/toefl/writing-tutorial/parts-of-a-paragraph.htmPARTS OF A PARAGRAPH
http://www.occc.edu/mschneberger/howtoparagraph.htm
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