Transcript Introducing a Holiday

Introducing a Holiday
By Wei-Pong Chung
What should be included?
The origin of the holiday.
 Why do people celebrate the holiday?
 When is the holiday celebrated?
 How do people celebrate the holiday?
 What are the special events that are held
to celebrate the holiday?
 What are the traditions of the holiday?
 What does your pen pal say about the
holiday?

Things you can do to know more…

Google it.
◦ Make sure your resource is reliable.
◦ Wikipedia is not always right. Please DO NOT
use it as reference.


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Ask your e-pal about it.
Look for some pictures to help you picture
how people celebrate a holiday.
Go on youtube.com to find related clips.
◦ Make sure they are not too long so you can share
some of them to your classmates in your
presentation.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE
PRESENTATION MADE
BY YOUR TEACHER
Preparation: writing a foreigner
Dear Erin,
How's your high school life going? I tracked you on facebook and it
seems that you've already made some really nice friends.
I'm teaching an international culture class this semester, my partner
teacher and I asked the students to get online and find themselves
e-pals from all over the world. Then they are going to write
something in English and send e-mails to their e-pals. I also ask my
students to talk to their e-pals about certain topics, and do reports
about cultural differences.
Here's my problem. My partner teacher and I decided that we are
going to do a demonstration of the report so the students know
what they should do. The first topic I got for them is to introduce a
foreign festival, or holiday. And I'm thinking of e-mailing you and ask
about some American festivals, and when you write me back, i can
use the information i got from you to do a demonstration. Do you
think you can help me with that? Thanks a ton!
Next day… I’ve got mail!
high school if fine. busy and tiring but fun :)
i can help you with classroom activities when we go to
taiwan in the winter. what kind of activities do you do? does
taiwan have a christmas break or a new year's break? the
epals thing sounds cool. i did something like that
in elementary school but we called it pen pals because we
wrote letters to them instead of sending emails.
hmm... american holidays. you can do christmas, since its one
of the most popular ones. do you want american holidays in
general like the 4th of July or do you need religious holidays
like christian, jewish, muslim, and hindu holidays? if you want
to use the 4th of july then you can talk about how it's called
independence day and stuff like that.
~Erin
Then I wrote again..
Dear Erin,
Thanks for helping out! About the holiday introduction. I think the 4th of
July is quite of a serious holiday. (Though through out the States people
painted themselves in white, blue and red stripes and go to fireworks
display to celebrate, the first 4th of July and the declaration of
independence is a really long and serious story). Therefore, I decided to
choose Thanksgiving, a rather happier and warmer one. Students in Taiwan
learned a lot about Thanksgiving meal, mainly turkey, but nothing else. I
know a little more about thanksgiving meal: stuffing, cranberry sauce
mashed potato. And I know more about the long weekend, thanksgiving
parade and after-thanksgiving big sale. However, I would really like to know
more about the origin of Thanksgiving. (I believe it has something to do
with the Pilgrims and Indians??) What would Schools in the States do to
celebrate Thanksgiving Day? What I'm more curious about is.... do most
American family have turkey meal on Thanksgiving day? Or having a turkey
meal is only a stereotype we have for Thanksgiving? Besides, are there any
other things that people would do besides having a big meal on
Thanksgiving?? Oh, and no, we do not have a Christmas break. And Since
New Year's day is a Saturday, which is on the weekend, I don't think we are
going to have any official day off besides the weekends. : (
More reply…
Thanksgiving started in America w/ the pilgrims and native
americans. the pilgrims came over from england to the 'new world'
aka america. they were looking for religious freedom and all that
other good stuff. they landed in massachusetts (i think... im pretty
sure that's where they first landed) after a really long journey at sea.
the pilgrims weren't prepared for the harsh winter so almost half of
the pilgirms who came died. then, in the summer they had a big
harvest w/ some help from the indians. and then everyone was
happy so they held a big feast w/ the native americans to give
thanks to God. i think they ate corn, pumpkin, squash, and meat
(probably turkey or chicken). it was all the stuff they grew from
their harvest. so that's the first thanksgiving festival.im not sure why
but thanksgiving is always celebrated on thursday in the U.S. this
year it's on November 25. schools usually give us thanksgiving day
off and friday off. for the thanksgiving meal, the typical food for the
holiday is a turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, and
stuffing. however, some people use chicken instead but most eat
turkey. thanksgiving is also the time where people have big
gatherings. they invite family and friends over to eat. hope that
helps :)
Of Course, I looked up for some
other information
Google.com
 Google pictures
 Google map
 Google is really useful when it comes to
presentation

NOW HERE IS MY
REPORT
A Holiday Full of Thanks—
Thanksgiving
By Wei-Pong Chung
Background
In the early 17th century, the Pilgrims
came from England to the “New World”
to look for religious freedom and all that
other good stuff.
 Their ship, they May Flower, landed in
Massachusetts after a really long journey
at sea.
 The Pilgrim didn’t expect such a harsh
weather in their dream land. Only half of
them survived the first winter.

The First Thanksgiving
When summer came, the Pilgrims had a
big harvest with some help from the
Indians.
 At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims
held a big feast with the Indians to give
thanks to God.
 They ate corn, pumpkin, squash, and meat,
most of which were the things they grow
from their harvest.

They Give thanks to God
They share their food.
Spirit of Thanksgiving
The original purpose of celebrating
Thanksgiving Day is to give thanks to God,
and to share with your friends and family
what you’ve got.
 Recently, Thanksgiving Day has grown to
be a holiday to share thanks with people
you love and be thankful for what you
have.

When is Thanksgiving Celebrated?
Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the
fourth Thursday of November.
 This year, it’s going to be on November
25th.
 People in the United States usually have
Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving.
 They don’t have to make up for the
classes on Friday on the following
Saturday.

Celebrating Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the time when people
have big gatherings. They invite family and
friends over to eat.
 The typical food for Thanksgiving is a
turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed
potatoes, and stuffing.
 However, some people use chicken
instead but most eat turkey.

A Very Fancy Thanksgiving Meal
Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and
gravy
Mashed potato and turkey
Thanksgiving Meal
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
One of the biggest event during
Thanksgiving is the Macy’s Parade.
 It is held in New York City on
Thanksgiving Day.
 In the past 82 years, the route of the
parade is from American Museum of
Natural History, bypassing Time Square to
Macy’s Department store. map

Cartoon characters balloons will go
on the street.
Many people stand on the streets while
many others are in office buildings.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Garfield
SpongeBob
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Me @ Thanksgiving Parade, 2005
Santa brings the parade to an end.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Sale! Sale! Sale!
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The day after
Thanksgiving Day,
Friday, that is. There
would be a BIG sale in
almost every store.
It is called the Black
Friday Sale.
Things can go up to
80-90% off.
Americans are crazy
about the Black Friday.
This is how crazy they can be
My Pal

My pal told me a lot about thanksgiving,
actually. I copied many sentences directly
from her mail. So my suggestion to you is,
to ask very specific questions about what
you want to know.
THANK YOU VERY
MUCH