English Vocabulary - Celebrations

English Vocabulary - Celebrations
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Celebrations around the world

What is a celebration?
It is a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event.
What is the difference between holiday, festival and vacation?

The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and
continents, but will usually refer to one of the following activities or events:
A general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation
A specific trip or journey for the purposes of recreation / tourism
Official or unofficial observances of religious/national/cultural/other significance, often
accompanied by celebrations or festivities (public/religious holiday)
So what is the difference between holiday, vacation and festival?
Holiday
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/vocabulary-lesson-celebrations.php[01/12/2014 18:13:43]
Holiday is a contraction of holy and day, holidays originally represented special religious
days. This word has evolved in general usage to mean any extra special day of rest (as
opposed to regular days of rest such as the weekend).
Festival
A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique
aspect of that community. There are numerous types of festivals in the world. Though
many have religious origins, others involve seasonal change or have some cultural
significance.
Vacation
In the United Kingdom the word "vacation" referred specifically to the long summer
break. The French term is similar to the American English: "Les Vacances." The term
derives from the fact that, in the past, upper-class families would literally move to a
summer home for part of the year, leaving their usual family home vacant for countrywide
holidays.
Sabbatical, gap year or career break

Longer breaks from a career or occupation also exist, such as a sabbatical, gap year or career break
Types of holidays:
Holidays are either religious or secular:
Most holidays are linked to faiths and religious. They are religious holidays.
Secular or non religious holidays can be national (Independence Day) or international
(Mother Day)
Celebrations around the world:
April Fool's Day
Brazilian Carnival
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day,

although not a holiday, is a day celebrated
in many countries on April 1. The day is
marked by the commission of hoaxes and
other practical jokes of varying
sophistication on friends, family members,
enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on
Brazils most popular and festive holiday is

Carnival. In fact, many people consider
Carnival one of the worlds biggest
celebrations. Each spring, on the Saturday
before Ash Wednesday, the streets of
Brazils largest city, Rio de Janeiro, come
alive with wild parties, festivals and
a fool's errand, the aim of which is to

embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in
some countries, the jokes only last until
noon: like the UK, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada and South Africa, someone who
plays a trick after noon is called an "April
Fool" Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France,
and America, the jokes last all day.
Chinese new year
Chinese New Year is a very old

celebration, a time for repaying debts,
enjoying feasts, giving "red envelopes" of
lucky money to friends and relatives, and
remembering ancestors.This holiday is
celebrated approximately 15 days after the
start of the Chinese New Year.
glamorous balls.
The Samba School Parade is the highlight
of the four-day event. About 3,000
performers, clad in ornate costumes
embellished with feathers, beads and
thousands of sequins, dance down the
parade route alongside dazzling floats and
into the Sambadrome-a dance stadium built
for the event. Judges award a prize to the
most spectacular group of dancers.
Christmas
Christmas , also referred to as Christmas

Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on
December 25 that commemorates the birth
of Jesus of Nazareth.
Modern customs of the holiday include giftgiving, Church celebrations, and the
display of various decorationsincluding
the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe,
Yan Yat - The seventh day of the Chinese nativity scenes, and holly. Santa Claus
New Year is called Yan Yat, "Everybody's (also referred to as Father Christmas,
Birthday."
although the two figures have different
origins) is a popular mythological figure
The last day of the celebrations is called
often associated with bringing gifts at
Chinese Lantern Festival.
Christmas for children.
There are many old and delightful ancient
superstitions surrounding this holiday.
People buy presents, decoration, material,
food, and clothing. It is also the tradition
that every family thoroughly cleans the
house to sweep away any ill-fortune in
hopes to make way for good incoming luck.
Christmas is celebrated throughout the

Christian population, but is also celebrated
by many non-Christians as a secular,
cultural festival. Because gift-giving and
several other aspects of the holiday involve
heightened economic activity among both
Christians and non-Christians, Christmas
has become a major event for many
retailers.
Eid al-Adha
Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fit
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: ??? ?????)

"Festival of Sacrifice" is a religious festival
celebrated by Muslims worldwide to
commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim
to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of
Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (Arabic:??? ???
obedience to God. However, God provided
??), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim
a ram in place once Ibrahim demonstrated
holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the
his willingness to follow God's commands.
Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an
Eid al-Adha annually falls on the 10th day Arabic word meaning "festivity", while
of the month of Dhul Hijja (?? ?????) of FiTr means "to break the fast" (and can
also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah");
the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities
last for three days or more depending on the and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking
of the fasting period. It is celebrated starting
country.
on the first day of the Islamic month of
Men, women, and children are expected to Shawwal.
dress in their finest clothing to perform Eid
prayer in any mosque. Muslims who can Eid ul-Fitr is a three day celebration and is
afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid"
(Arabic:????? ??????) as compared to the
animals (usually sheep, but also camels,
Eid ul-Adha that is called the "Greater Eid"
cows and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's
(Arabic:????? ??????)
sacrifice. The sacrificed animals, called
uDHiyyah (Arabic: ?????, also known as
"al-qurban"), have to meet certain age and
quality standards or else the animal is
considered an unacceptable sacrifice.
Generally, these must be at least a year old.
Easter Day
July 4th(USA Independence Day)
Easter is the time for holidays, festivals and

a time for giving chocolate Easter eggs. But In the United States, Independence Day,
Easter means much more....
commonly known as the Fourth of July, is
Easter is the oldest and the most important a federal holiday commemorating the
adoption of the Declaration of
Christian Festival, the celebration of the
Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring
death and coming to life again of Jesus
Christ. For Christians, the dawn of Easter independence from the Kingdom of Great
Sunday with its message of new life is the Britain.
high point of the Christian year.
Independence Day is commonly associated

with fireworks, parades, barbecues,
Easter is the story of Jesus' last days in
Jerusalem before his death.The Easter story carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games,
political speeches and ceremonies, and
includes Maundy Thursday (the Last
various other public and private events
supper leading to the Eucharist), Good
celebrating the history, government, and
Friday (the day on which Jesus was
traditions of the United States.
crucified) and Easter Day (the day on
which Jesus came back to life).
May Day
Mother's Day/ Fathers Day
May Day occurs on May 1. In many

Celebrations which honor mothers and
countries, May Day is synonymous with
fathers. They are celebrated on various
International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, days in many places around the world.
which celebrates the social and economic
achievements of the labor movement
New Year's day
Thanksgiving
New Year's Day is the first day of the new

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival.

Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for
the harvest and express gratitude in
general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily
in Canada and the United States. While
January 1 marks the end of a period of
remembrance of a particular passing year, perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is
now primarily identified as a secular
especially on radio, television, and in
newspapers, which usually starts right after holiday.
Christmas Day.
Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the
year. It is celebrated on January 1, often
celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of
midnight as the new year starts.
This day is traditionally a religious feast,

but since the 1900s has become an occasion
for celebration the night of December 31,
called New Year's Eve. There are often
fireworks at midnight.
second Monday of October in Canada and

on the fourth Thursday of November in the
United States. Thanksgiving dinner (turkey)
is held on this day, usually as a gathering of
family members and friends
Valentine's Day
International Women's Day
Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day

is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In
the Americas and Europe, it is the
traditional day on which lovers express
their love for each other by sending
Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or
offering confectionery. The holiday is
named after two among the numerous Early
Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day
became associated with romantic love in the
circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High
Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly
love flourished.
The international women's day is

celebrated on 8th of March.
Women's Day or Working Women's Day is
a day of international solidarity, and a day
for reviewing the strength and organization
of proletarian women.
It was decided to have a Woman's Day in
every country as a form of struggle in
getting working women to vote. This day
was to be a day of international solidarity in
the fight for common objectives and a day
for reviewing the organized strength of
working women under the banner of
socialism.

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English Vocabulary - Celebrations

Celebrations around the world

What is the difference between holiday, festival and vacation?