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National festivals
What are these festivals? Read and find out.

This is a colourful festival

celebrated by the Hindus. They light
oil lamps in their houses and wear
new clothes for this festival.

B
This festival is in the month of April. A
It is an important festival of the
Sinhala and the Tamil people. They
make a lot of sweet meats, wear new
clothes and visit relatives at this C

Festivals
Festivals
festival.

This is a very special festival to the

Buddhists. It is in May. People
decorate their houses with colourful
lanterns and paper streamers during E
this festival.
D
This is the biggest festival of the
Muslim people. It is celebrated at the
end of the fasting period. They pray
at the mosque and enjoy good food
with friends and neighbours on this
day. G

Christians celebrate this festival in

December. They decorate a tree with
beautiful lights and balloons and F H
keep it in the house at this festival.
Ramazan Christmas
People give presents to friends and
relatives on this day. Deepavali Vesak
Sinhala and Tamil New Year

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What do people do at Diwali ?

Diwali is here again,

Diwali is here again,

Shining oil lamps,

One, two, three.

Lots of fireworks, lots of noise,

Lots of sweets for girls and boys,

Diwali is here again,

Diwali is here again,

Shining oil lamps,

One, two, three.

Match these words with the pictures:

oil lamps fireworks sweets noise

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D Here are the names of three important Muslim festivals.

D Match their names with the descriptions.

A B C
A festival that celebrates the A festival that celebrates A festival that
birthday of the Holy Prophet the end of the fasting celebrates the
(Peace be upon his name!). period. Haj pilgrimage.

Milad-Un-Nabi Id-Ul-Alha Id-Ul-Fitr

(Holy prophet’s birthday) (Haj) (Ramazan)

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Muslim festival days change every year.

Find the dates of the above festivals for this year from the calendar.
Complete these sentences and say them.
1. Milad-Un-Nabi is on the ............... of ............... this year.
2. Id-Ul-Alha is on the ............... of ............... this year.
3. Id-Ul-Fitr is on the ............... of ............... this year.

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Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.
Oh, what fun it is to ride,
In a one horse open sleigh!

Dashing through the snow,

In a one horse open sleigh.
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way.

Bells on bob-tail ring,

Making spirits bright.
What fun it is to ride and sing,
A sleighing song tonight!

Merry
Christmas!

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snowman Christmas card candle sleigh presents angel

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Amali : Look at the Vesak lantern I made.

Meena : It’s very beautiful. Tell me how you 1
made it.
Amali : First I cut some bamboo into equal
pieces.
Meena : How many pieces do you need?
Amali : Twenty-four pieces. 2

Meena : What did you do next?

Amali : I tied the ends of the bamboo sticks
and made six squares.
Meena : And then? 3
Amali : I tied the six squares together and
pasted on coloured tissue paper.
Meena : Did you cover all the sides with tissue
paper?
Amali : No, don’t cover the top and the
bottom.
Meena : Is that all?
Amali : To make it more beautiful I cut some
streamers and pasted them round the
bottom edge.

4 5

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Find the past tense form of these verbs used in the dialogue.
Present Past
make
cut
tie
paste
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1
Wishing you a Happy Thai Pongal.

2
I wish you a very Happy New Year.

3
Happy Vesak to you!

4
Merry X’mas to you!

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You need : A piece of hard paper

colours, scissors

How to make : (1) Cut a 6” x 6” piece of paper.

(2) Fold it in the middle.
(3) Draw a picture on the outside of the left-hand page.
Colour it.
(4) Write your greeting on the inside of the right-hand
page.
(5) Write “From” and your name.

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D How did you celebrate your New Year’s Day?

No. 7
Araliya Road
Ambahena.
17th April, 2001

Dear Meena,
. I received it yes-
Thank you for the New Year greetings card
terday.
time. Our uncle
We had a very exciting New Year’s Day this
brought presents
working in Dubai came home this year. He
of sweet meats like
for everyone. My mother prepared a lot
We shared this
kevum, kokis, aluwa and dodol for us to eat.
es and worshipped
food with our neighbours. We wore new cloth
morning. In the
our elders. We went to the temple in the
afternoon we played games. st of April. Would you
Our village New Year festival is on the 21
like to come to see it?
With love
Amali

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e

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eiv

eiv
rec

rec

shar shar ed
e hip ed hipp
wors wors

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pla pla


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D Speak about the festivals you celebrate

Ramazan

Ramazan is a big festival. We

celebrate Ramazan at the end of
the fasting season. We make a lot
of tasty food on this day. We
share the food with our
neighbours.

Vesak
- colourful
- May
- make beautiful lanterns
- go to the temple

Christmas

- beautiful
- December
- decorate

Deepavali

- beautiful
- October
- light oil lamps

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 LESSON

1
UNIT 4
Festivals

Look and say

D What kinds of special food do people prepare for ...............

New Year? Ramazan? Thai Pongal? Christmas?

Would you like to have some Would you like to taste some laddu?
Christmas cake? We prepare it specially at Thai Pongal.
We prepare it specially at Christmas.

Festivals
Festivals
A B
Would you like to have some kevum? Would you like to taste this
It is specially prepared for the New watalappan?
Year. It is specially prepared for Ramazan.

C D
Read and find

Guess the food items.

1. You need eggs, coconut milk and jaggery to prepare this. It’s very sweet.
2. You need flour, sugar and oil to prepare this. It’s prepared in hot oil.
3. You need flour, sugar, eggs and butter to prepare this. It is baked.

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 LESSON

Festivals 2
UNIT 4

Look and read

D How many of the following items of clothing can you see in the shop?

Skirts, trousers, blouses, sarongs, sarees,

frocks, verti, salwar kameez, shorts, shirts, veils

Do you like the

pair of shorts?
Do you like
the skirt?

No. They’re
too long
for me.
No. It’s too
short for me.

Practise

small him
They’re
too big for her
It’s
tight me

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 LESSON

3
UNIT 4
Festivals

Read, find and match

D At which festivals do you see these things?

Find the matching picture and name the festival.

A group of people go round the village
singing at night. They are colourfully
dressed. One person is dressed like
an old man with a white beard. He
gives presents to the children.
There is a big round drum supported
by three legs. Several women are sit-
ting round it. They are beating the
drum with their hands to a tune.

A B

C D

Two people are sitting on a wooden

pole above the ground. They are
facing each other. In one hand each
person has a pillow. The other hand is
held behind. They are hitting each
other with the pillows.
A number of bullock carts are lined up
together. At a signal they start racing
as fast as they can. The bullock cart
that comes first wins the race.

Thai Pongal Christmas Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Match

Carols singing Raban playing Bullock cart racing Pillow fighting

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 LESSON

Festivals 4
UNIT 4

Read and find

D Find out how pongal rice is prepared.

D What is the second day of Thai Pongal called?

Thai Pongal
e celebrated Thai Pongal The second day of the festival is
W festival last week. We got
ready for the festival by cleaning
called Madu Pongal. On this day we
treat the bulls and cows specially
and decorating the houses. well because they help us to get a
good harvest. We bathe them and put
On Thai Pongal day we wore new
garlands of flowers round their
clothes. We made pongal rice by
necks.
cooking rice with milk and jaggery.
Thai Pongal is a harvest
festival.
Meena Rajeshwari
Grade 5 E

Complete the sentences.

Pongal rice is prepared by ............... .
People treat the bulls and the cows well because ............... .
People ............... and ............... on Madu Pongal day.

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D What special food have they made for ...............

Ramazan? Thai Pongal? Christmas? Sinhala and Tamil New Year?

A B C D
kevum and kokis laddu watalappan a Christmas cake

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1. It’s Thai Pongal.

Meena’s mother has prepared laddu. (prepare)
2. It’s Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
Amali’s mother has made ……………………………… . (make)
3. It’s Ramazan.
Nizar’s mother …………………………………………… . (prepare)
4. It’s Christmas.
Roy’s mother …………………………………………… . (bake)

make has made

prepare has prepared

bake has baked

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 LESSON

Festivals 6
UNIT 4

Read and answer

Today’s quiz programme is

about the national festivals.
I’ll read a description of a
festival. The competitors must
tell me the name of the
festival and when it is held.

It’s Thai Pongal

At this festival people cook a special
kind of rice mixed with milk and It’s held in ...............
jaggery.

It’s ...............
This is a festival celebrated by both
Sinhala and Tamil people. It’s ...............

It’s ...............
A religious festival at which people
decorate their houses with colourful It’s ...............
lanterns.

It’s ...............
A religious festival. Many people keep
a tree decorated with balloons and It’s ...............
streamers in the house.

Make sentences

It’s the Christmas festival. It’s held in January.

It’s the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. It’s held in December.
It’s the Vesak festival. It’s held in May.
It’s the Thai Pongal festival. It’s held in April.

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7
UNIT 4
Festivals

Role play
Hello Nizar, Mother, These are
we’ve come to my friends. They’ve
wish you Happy come to wish me
A Ramazan. B Happy Ramazan.

Oh, it’s very You are most

nice of you! welcome. Nizar,
Please come give them
in and sit something to
down. eat, please.
This is very It’s called
C tasty. What’s watalappan. D
it called?

Happy Ramazan to you,

How do you
prepare it? We prepare it Happy Ramazan to you.
with eggs, Happy Ramazan, dear Nizar,
milk and
jaggery. Happy Ramazan to you.

Practise saying
We’ve = We have They’ve = They have
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Festivals 8
UNIT 4

Read and role play

Please ask him Son, I am sorry to trouble

what he wants. you on New Year’s Day.
A B I’m hungry. Can you give
Father, there’s me something to eat?
an old man at
the gate.

Please come
into the house.
We have lots of
things to eat.

Mother, we have a
visitor. He’s hungry.
C Thank you son. D Can we share our
food with him?

Yes, of course we
can. What a good
thing on New
Year’s Day!

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