Christmas tradition in United States
Special days
Christmas is a celebration that lasts for several days. In the UK and many other
countries, the main celebration takes place on Christmas Day (25th December). From
the Christian origins of the holiday, this day marks the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas Eve (24th December) is the time for last-minute shopping and
preparations, present-wrapping and maybe a drink in the pub. Others will be at home
preparing food for the big day or at a midnight church service to welcome Christmas
Day. Boxing Day (26 December) is also a national holiday in the UK – a necessary
one for many, to recover after eating too much the day before! Shops are usually
open on Boxing Day and the big after-Christmas sales begin.
Decorations
From huge cities to tiny villages, the month of December sees buildings and
streets covered in coloured lights, red ribbons and smiling Santa Claus faces. People
also decorate their houses and sometimes their gardens for the Christmas period. The
most famous decoration is, of course, the Christmas tree – a pine tree covered in little
shiny decorations and fairy lights. Some people put a nativity scene in their house.
This is a collection of little figures who represent the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Family and friends
Christmas is a time to be with the people you love. Often, this involves
travelling to your hometown to be with parents, siblings, cousins, old friends, etc. For
some households, it’s the only time of the year when all the family is together. In the
UK, this is usually a time for chats, cups of tea and watching Christmas films
together. However, it can also lead to occasional family tension. But don’t worry:
there are plenty of impossibly cheerful pop songs to help everyone relax!
Food
Christmas meals vary across households, but the most common Christmas
dinner in the UK is a roasted turkey with vegetables and potatoes. This may be
accompanied by stuffing (made with bread, onions and herbs) and pigs in blankets
(sausages wrapped in bacon or pastry). And, of course, delicious mince pies – little
sweet cakes with fruit inside. This is, of course, fantastic if someone is cooking for
you. If you’re the cook, you may feel under a little pressure as the extended family
start arriving for dinner!
Presents
Christmas is certainly the most wonderful time of the year for retailers! The
days and weeks before Christmas are characterized by frantic shopping for presents.
Many groups of friends or workmates take part in a ‘Secret Santa’ group. This is
where each person buys a small present for one other person in the group, but the
identity of the giver is never revealed. In many countries, Christmas Eve is a night for
kids to go to bed early before their house is visited by Santa Claus, a magic man in a
red suit who leaves presents for all the kids in the house.
Parties
Apart from dinner at home with family or friends, Christmas is also a time for
parties. At school, children often do a Christmas theatre performance or sing
Christmas carols in a concert, then have a party with sweets and cakes. For adults,
most workplaces usually have their Christmas ‘do’. This can be a dinner in a
restaurant or just a few drinks in a bar. At workplace parties, many romances have
started under the mistletoe, a special plant which people hang from the ceiling. If you
meet somebody under the mistletoe, the tradition is to kiss that person. However you
celebrate Christmas, for many it’s a time for having fun and spending time with the
people you love. Plastic decorations and neon Santa Claus faces might be considered
to be in bad taste by some people, but without them, it simply wouldn’t be
Christmas.
(general-english/magazine-zone/christmas, n.d.)
Words list:
Some abbreviations such as D for definition, Eg for Example.
1. Celebration(n) [ˌselɪˈbreɪʃn]
- [D]Celebration refers to a special event, such as a party, when you celebrate
something.
- [E]The villagers are so delighted because they’re holding a celebration to
mark the best harvest in years.
2. Recover(v) [rɪˈkʌvə(r)]
- [D] To return to a normal state after an unpleasant or unusual experience or a
period of difficulty.
- [E]After the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy of all countries around the
world has to take many years to completely recover.
3. Nativity(n) [nəˈtɪvəti]
- [D]The birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated by Christians at Christmas.
- [E]Christmas is the season when Christians around the world tell specifically
the story of the Nativity.
4. Represent(n) [ ˌreprɪˈzent]
- [D] Represent something to be a symbol of something
- [E]I find it easy to understand this chart because each colour on it represents
a different departmant.
5. Tension(n) [ˈtenʃn]
- [D]A situation in which people do not trust each other, or feel unfriendly
towards each other, and thay may cause them to attack each other.
- [E]Nowadays, the tension between parents and children is incresingly
becoming because of generation gap.
6. Vary (v) [ˈveəri]
- [D]To make changes or be different according to the situation.
- [E]Handshaking varies around the word. In the United State, for instance,
people prefer to shake hands firmly for a few seconds. In contrast, people in
some Middle Eastern countries hold the person’s hand gently for a longer
time.
7. Accompany (v) [əˈkʌmpəni]
- [D]To go with someone or to be provided or exist at the same time as
something.
- [E]The weather forecast predicted that it may be have strong winds
accompanied by heavy rain tomorrow.
8. Extended family (noun phrase) [ɪkˌstendɪd ˈfæməli]
- [D]A family group with a close relationship among the members that
includes not only parents and children but also uncles, aunts, grandparents
and so on.
- [E]Living in the extended family has both advantages and disadvantages. On
one hand, members can share households together. On the other hand,
conflicts are inevitable because each generation has different perception
about life.
9. Frantic (adj)[ˈfræntɪk]
- [E]Done or arranged in a hurry and a state of excitement or confusion.
- [D]Rescuers were engaged in a frantic all-night effort to reach the survivors
before the supply of air ran out.
10.Reveal(v) [rɪˈviːl]
- [D]To make known or show something that is surprising or that was
previously secret
- [E]The finacial report reveals that the company made a loss of 20 million
dollars last year as well as it will be able to bankrupt at the beginning of next
year.
Question 1-10
Question 1:According to Paragraph 1,
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5:Why do the store owners feel that the Christmas is the best time for them
every year?
A. On these days, they have rest to celebrate Christmas with their families.
B. The shoppers will have to purchase presents at higher prices than usual.
C. Customers’ need to buy gifts has increased greatly in the days leading up to
Christmas.
D. They will be gave wrapped-presents by their regulars, especially their shops
will be visited by Santa Claus.
Key: C ( paragraph 5)
[Christmas is certainly the most wonderful time of the year for retailers! The days
and weeks before Christmas are characterized by frantic shopping for presents.]
Question 6: According to paragraph mentioning Parties, what is NOT true about
activities youngsters did during Christmas?
A. Celebrating a Christmas theatre performance.
B. Having a dinner with friends at their school.
C. Singing songs releated to Christmas.
D. Having a sweets and cakes party.
Question 7 :
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10:The word ‘them’ in paragraph 6 refers to
A. Artifical decorations
B. Santa Claus faces
C. Some people
D. Decorations
