Practice ) Tex W6.10 8 Name__ Date. (continued) Celebrating the New Year in China 1 One of the oldest New Year’s Day celebrations is the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year, also known as the spring festival, has many traditions. It is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese New Year is meant to celebrate the start of new life and the beginning of plowing and sowing season. 2 InChina, New Year celebrations begin on the first day of the lunar new year, which is in January or February, The festivities last until the fifteenth of the month, when the moon is at its brightest. Since Chinese calendars follow the lunar cycle, each month is as long as one cycle of the moon. Years are also grouped into twelve-year cycles. Each year is named after one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. For instance, the year 2012 was the year of the dragon, and the year 2013 was the year of the snake. 3 New Year's Eve takes place on the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, New Year's Eve is usually a much quieter event than New Year's Day. Families gather at home for a big meal of traditional Asian cuisine. They wear all-red clothing as a symbol of fire. Before they dine, a family must do its spring cleaning to sweep away any bad luck remaining in the house. Family members then decorate the house with paper scrolls containing words of good luck such as “happiness” and “wealth.” 4 At midnight, people set off fireworks, and then go to sleep anticipating the exciting festivities of the New Year. When children awake on New Year's Day, they find a red envelope filled with money and candy under their pillow. The first week of celebrations involve visiting family and friends. Together, they fulfill traditions meant to bring good luck. The second week continues with more parties and feasting. 5 ' The celebration is capped off with the lantern festival, which takes places on the evening of the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. People decorate paper lanterns with scenes from Chinese history and legends. They then hang the glowing lanterns in their windows or carry them into the light of the full moon. Young men dance around the streets with a long paper dragon collecting money. This is called the dragon dance. If people want to say “Happy New Year!” in Chinese, they say “gung hei fat choi!” ‘Common Core Writing to Texts Grade 6 + ©2014 Newmark Learning,Practice @Q) Texts with Prompts Date___ Name___ Read the passages. Celebrating the New Year in America The United States begins celebrating the new year on December 31. This is the last day of the year and is known as New Year's Eve. Festivities usually begin 2 few hours before imidnight and include parties, parades, live performances, and other celebrations ‘Traditionally, people count down the final seconds of New Year's Eve and then shout “Happy New Year!” Many exciting activities take place on New Year's Eve in America + One of the most popular New Year's Eve Celebrations is held in the glowing Times Square intersection located in central New York City. Several city blocks are sectioned off to make room for the hundreds of thousands of people who come to the city to celebrate. Audiences are treated to an array of live musical performances and celebrity guest appearances. The event is broadcast live on news channels throughout the country, so viewers can watch at home + New Year's Eve in Times Square involves the annual “pall drop.” A minute before midnight, a giant lighted ball is dropped from the top of a pole attached to a tall building. The ball, (continued)ractice @) Texts with Prompts Name_ _ Date_ (continued) which is made of glass and weighs more than 1,000 pounds, descends slowly down the pole as the crowd counts down to midnight. It disappears behind the building when the clock strikes twelve. Then the crowd starts to cheer and shout "Happy New Year!" People throw confetti into the air and hug and kiss each other in celebration 5 Once the clock has struck midnight, many people sing a traditional Scottish song called “Auld Lang Syne.” The expression means “the old days gone by.” The song was written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in the eighteenth century. 6 After this song is sung, the festivities usually end, and everyone goes home. . Many Americans have the following day off. On New Year's Day, people spend time relaxing at home or visiting family and friends. People often watch football games on television while enjoying plenty of food and drink. 8 Many people watch the Rose Bowl, a championship football game held on New Year's Day each year. The game is preceded by the Tournament of Roses parade, an artistic celebration that includes marching bands and floats. The parade has a different theme each year. A common New Year's Day custom is to make a list of resolutions. These resolutions are promises people make to themselves, agreeing to do or not do specific things. Resolutions are meant to improve a person’s life in the year to come. (continue to next passage)