HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WINTER
FESTIVALS
QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet

Expemo code:
19ZG-T7RC-8FRF

1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What festivals or special occasions have you heard about that take place in winter?
2. Have you ever taken part in any winter festivals?
3. Is there any winter festival that you would like to attend?

2 Key vocabulary

Part A: Match the words on the left to the definitions on the right.

1. gather (v) a. come together

2. principles (n) b. remember something officially by having a public event

3. vary (v) c. think about something seriously for a long time

4. symbolise (v) d. be different in the same situation

5. supply (n) e. ideas or theories that a system of beliefs is based on

6. holy (adj.) f. important in a religion

7. commemorate (v) g. an amount of something that is available for use

8. meditate (v) h. represent something

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Bartlomiej Cebula's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WINTER FESTIVALS

Part B: Now, write your sentences using vocabulary from Part A.

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

3 Before you read

You are going to read an article about winter festivals and celebrations around the world. Before you
read, match the words to make sentences about the festivals. Then scan the text on the next page to
check your answers.

1. St. Nicholas Day a. is an African American celebration.

2. Bodhi Day b. takes place in Japan.

3. Kwanzaa c. is celebrated in parts of Europe.

4. Omisoka d. is a Jewish festival.

5. Shab-e Yalda e. is observed by Buddhists.

6. Hanukkah f. is held in Iran.

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Bartlomiej Cebula's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WINTER FESTIVALS

Winter festivals
Celebrations around the world

A. Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration that lasts for eight days and nights each year, and is held during either November
or December. Candles are lit on a special holder called a menorah, which has nine branches. Each night, the candle
on the top branch is used to light the rest, until the final night. Hanukkah honours the Jews’ fight to win religious
freedom, 2,500 years ago. Greek-Syrians had taken control of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When the Jewish
rebel armies took it back, they wanted to rededicate the temple. They only had one day’s supply of pure olive
oil for the ceremony, but they needed more. However, the oil eventually burned for eight days. People eat fried
foods such as doughnuts and potato pancakes during this time, and they play a game with a spinning top called a
dreidel.

B. St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated in many European countries on the 6th of December, the anniversary of his death.
Nicholas of Myra was the real-life inspiration for the tradition of Santa Claus/Father Christmas. He spent most
of his life helping people in need, by giving them gifts and money. Traditions on the day vary across different
countries, with children in the Netherlands putting out clogs filled with hay for St. Nicholas’ horse. In other
countries, children put out empty shoes, hoping they will be filled with gifts.

C. Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 in the US by African studies professor Mualana Kareng. It is based on ancient
African festivals, and it is celebrated from the 26th of December to the 1st of January. The name means ‘first
fruits of the harvest’, and it aims to reconnect people with African culture. Each day is dedicated to a different
principle, such as unity or faith. Millions of African Americans dress in special costumes during the festival and
decorate their homes with fruits and vegetables.

D. Omisoka

Omisoka is celebrated on New Year’s Eve in Japan, when people prepare to start the new year with a clean slate
by cleaning their homes and removing clutter. At 11pm people gather to have a meal of toshikoshi noodles for the
last time in the year, and to finish watching the Red vs. White singing contest, which can last for over four hours.
It is considered bad luck to make food in the first few days of the new year, so a lot is made on the last day of
the year. People visit shrines at midnight, where a large iron bell is rung 108 times, to symbolise the desires that
created human suffering.

E. Shab-e Yalda

Shab-e Yalda is a festival celebrated on the ‘longest and darkest night of the year’. In the Iranian Northern
Hemisphere, this day is the 21st of December – the Winter Solstice. Customs performed on this day were originally
to protect people from evil, as bad spirits were thought to be at their peak at this time. People were told to stay
awake for most of the night, and they also gathered in groups for safety. Today, people come together to eat,
drink and read poetry until long after midnight.

F. Bodhi Day

Buddhists usually celebrate Bodhi Day on the 8th of December, to commemorate the day that Siddhartha sat
under a special tree to meditate and then achieved enlightenment. What he realised became the principles of
modern Buddhism. People often decorate a tree in their homes with lights to mark the occasion, and they serve
cookies shaped like the tree’s leaves. For many people, the day is an opportunity to meditate on the life of Buddha.

Sources: Wikipedia, BBC

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Bartlomiej Cebula's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

WINTER FESTIVALS

4 Checking understanding

Read the text again and put T (True) or F (False) next to each statement below. Be ready to explain
your answers.

1. A menorah holds small tree branches.

2. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on the day that the saint died.

3. Kwanzaa is a festival for people to get back in touch with a traditional way of life.

4. The Red vs. White singing contest during Omisoka is over very quickly.

5. Shab-e Yalda is celebrated on the day with the least amount of daylight.

6. Bodhi Day is to celebrate the birth of Buddha.

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means:

1. a toy that turns round and round on a small point (n, para. A)

2. have a ceremony to state the purpose of something again (v, para. A)

3. shoes made of wood (n, para. B)

4. a situation where people join together to agree about something (n, para. C)

5. a new start where bad things in the past are forgotten (phrase, para. D)

6. a lot of objects that are in a disordered state (n, para. D)

7. mental or physical pain that affects people (collocation, para. D)

8. in large numbers (phrase, para. E)

9. the highest spiritual state you can reach (n, para. F)

6 Talking point

Discuss any of the questions below in pairs or groups.

1. Have you ever taken part in any of these festivals? What was the experience like?
2. Which of these festivals do you think you would like to experience? Why?
3. Do you have any different festivals in your country at this time of year? What happens at these
festivals?

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 4/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Bartlomiej Cebula's lessons.