Jane Coates 2013 How is the Spring Festival celebrated When What special food is prepared and eaten What preparations are made at home Are any special visits made Are gifts or cards given ID: 148931
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Slide1
A Comparison of the Chinese New Year Spring Festival and the Western Festival of Christmas
Jane Coates 2013Slide2
How is the Spring Festival celebrated?
When?
What special food is prepared and eaten?
What preparations are made at home?
Are any special visits made?
Are gifts or cards given?
Are any special games played?
How long do the celebrations last for?
What special arrangements are made for the children?Slide3
How is the Western Festival of Christmas celebrated?
Christmas occurs on
a fixed date-December 25
th
.
It is both a
religious festival
and also a very
commercialized festival
now.
It is a time for the
family
to meet together.
Special foods
are prepared and eaten.
The family exchange
gifts and cards
.
It is a very exciting time for
children
in particular.
The house is decorated with lights, a Christmas
tree and many decorations
.
Families travel
a long way in order to be together.Slide4
The birth of Christ over 2000 years agoSlide5
The Christmas story
The word ‘Christmas’ means ‘
Christ’s Mass
’.
The Mass is a very old Christian Church service at which people choose to pray and to praise God.
Christians believe that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem over
2000 years ago
and that He was the Son of God.
The story of His birth explains many of the things that we see and do at Christmas time.
But today-many people just enjoy
the traditions of Christmas. Slide6
The Advent CalendarSlide7
An Advent Calendar
Advent begins
4 weeks before Christmas
.
It is a time of excitement and getting ready-especially for children.
An advent calendar has
24 numbered doors-
one
for each day. Behind each door will be a picture, a sweet or a chocolate.
One door is opened each day.
The last door is opened on Christmas Eve.Slide8
Decorating the homeSlide9
The Christmas Tree and decorationsSlide10
Decorating the home
It is a tradition to bring
evergreen trees
and leaves inside the home.
A Christmas tree is very popular-but now many plastic trees are used!
Holly, Ivy and mistletoe
are common plants to bring into the home. Holly is a symbol of good luck. Mistletoe is a symbol of peace and friendship.Slide11
Holly Ivy and MistletoeSlide12
The Holly wreath and candlesSlide13
Christmas Candles
In the old days fires were lit to celebrate the
Sun
.
At Christmas we light candles to celebrate the
Son
-as
C
hristians believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Candles are also a lovely way to decorate the home in the winter.Slide14
Sending Christmas cardsSlide15
Christmas cards
Many people wrote letters at this time-but then these began to be replaced by cards.
Robins,
Santas
and winter pictures
are very common on the cards.
It is a good way to send news to family and friends.Slide16
Hanging up the Christmas StockingSlide17
Christmas stockings
Christmas stockings are hung up over the fire, at the front of the room or at the
end of the children’s beds
.
Small gifts, toys and sweets are place in them on Christmas eve-the night before Christmas day.
Children also hang up a large
Christmas
sack
-
in the hope that Santa will bring toys and presents for them.Slide18
Building a snowmanSlide19
Buying gifts for the familySlide20
The Christmas star and Christmas presents
It is common to put
a star
at the top of the Christmas tree and to use stars to decorate the home.
In the
C
hristmas story the wise men from the East followed a star in the sky to find the baby Jesus.
The wise men gave
gifts
of gold, frankincense and myrrh. So now it is a tradition to give gifts at Christmas.Slide21
Christmas StarsSlide22
A time for all of the familySlide23
Special foodSlide24
The Christmas dinner
The most common meat eaten on Christmas Day
is turkey
.
The turkey is a South American bird-larger than a chicken.
Duck
is also very popular at Christmas.
We eat lots of roasted vegetables.
Christmas is a time for eating!Slide25
Christmas pudding and cakeSlide26
The Christmas pudding
This is a
very rich fruit pudding
.
It is a tradition that every member of the family should help to make the pudding , stir it together and make a wish!
Sometimes small
coins
are added to the mixture.
When it is very hot and placed on the table alcohol is poured on the top and lit with a match
to create flames
!
A cake is also a rich fruit cake. It is decorated with
Santas
and winter scenes.Slide27Slide28
Mince pies
These are not made with meat but with lots of
dried fruit, spices, sugar and chopped peel
from the fruit.
They are very sweet and can be eaten hot or cold.
Christmas cake and mince pies are eaten throughout the
C
hristmas period.Slide29
Christmas CrackersSlide30
Christmas Crackers
The first cracker was made in 1840. It was made of paper with nuts, sweets and a love message inside. When it was pulled open the cracker went ‘snap’.
Today crackers contain a party hat, a joke and some small prizes or sweets.
They will be placed on the table on Christmas day for the family meal.Slide31
Children love ChristmasSlide32
Father Christmas or Santa ClausSlide33
Santa Claus
All over the world traditional gift bringers visit children at Christmas.
Santa Claus
is the best known one of these.
His name comes from Saint Nicholas, a Dutch man. He was a rich man who used his wealth and money to help others. He was famous for his generosity and his name is always linked with Christmas.
It was the Americans who gave Santa Claus a
sleigh and a team of reindeer
.Slide34
Christians will go to churchSlide35
Christmas Carols and songs
Many people will visit the Church at this time.
The
carols and songs
are about the birth of Jesus.
It is common for the church to be lit by candle light only.
Families will remember the Christmas story and sing songs about it.Slide36
PantomimesSlide37
Pantomimes
The word pantomime means
’all mime’.
They have become part of the
C
hristmas tradition.
Early pantomimes were acted entirely through acting, dancing and mime.
Now they tell
famous
stories
-
mainly children’s stories- and they are done with words, songs, dance and lots and lots of fun! They are for the whole family-but
mainly for the children
.Slide38
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is the day after Christmas day-the 26
th
December.
The name goes back to a time when boxes were placed at the back of the church in order to collect money for poor people.
The boxes were opened on the 26
th
and the money given to the poor.
Today this day is used for
sports activities
. Horse racing, hunting and football will take place on this day.Slide39
The Differences-Spring Festival
The
date
is different-February.
Families visit
the family tomb
.
Salt pork, sausage and fish are commonly eaten.
There are
fireworks
and lots of noise.
Red lanterns
are hung.
Lantern day is the last day of the celebrations.
Dragons and lionsSlide40
The differences-Christmas
December 25
th
-
a fixed date every year.
People go to
church
.
Chicken, duck and turkey
are eaten.
There are lots of special foods.
Children expect a visit from
Santa or Father Christmas
-with gifts.
Homes are decorated with
a tree
.Slide41
What is the same?
They are the most important festivals of the year.
There are lots of preparations to be made.
The family meets together-it is a very happy time.
There are many family meals with special food.
The house is cleaned and decorated with special things.
Houses are decorated-banners, lanterns, paper cuts, Christmas
decorations.
Visits are made to relatives, family and friends.
Presents are given-the red envelopes/Christmas gifts.
There is singing, dancing and family games.Slide42
What is the same?
Cards are given.
There is a long holiday for everyone.
The weather is cold.
Factories and shops are very busy producing goods and food.
The festivals are now very commercialized-lots of money is made by businesses, shop keepers and factories.
The cost of transport
and taxis rises.