Spending Christmas in a foreign country can be a truly eye-opening experience, especially since it's easy to believe that as a worldwide festival, most countries probably celebrate it in a fairly similar manner. Being from the UK, Christmas for me means spending time with family and friends, exchanging presents, eating and drinking, and, of course, hiding from the cold. In Colombia, however, Christmas is viewed much more as a time which devotes itself to religion.
With celebrations beginning on 7 December, Columbia is recognized as having the longest Christmas celebrations period in the world. The celebrations generally begin in the evening with the lighting of candles, either in the streets, parks or outside people's homes. Cities are lit up by candles, as this day marks the beginning of the Christmas period. Although decorations have been up since early November, another tradition in Colombia is that during the nine days before Christmas, family members and friends meet up to pray, sing songs and share traditional foods at home.
Probably the biggest surprise for me has been the music people listen to during the Christmas period. At first, you could easily mistake these songs for the classic salsa, which is played all year round. However, after asking a Colombian if it really felt like Christmas music, they explained to me that the songs are loved more for the memories they symbolize than for the way they sound, and that Colombia has been through so many dark periods in history, it was important to hold on to the good memories of years gone past.
Being in a country like Colombia during this festive period has taught me that you don't need to be religious to take part in these Christmas traditions.
Festivals in India are the special occasions when the country holds many celebrations. Socially, the whole nation becomes active in celebrations. This is the main reason why festivals in India are celebrated by the whole society. On such occasions, families will get together, exchange gifts and greetings, and take part in a lot of celebrations and even special fairs. All these are done to keep the festive spirit alive in modern times.
What is special about these celebrations in India is that people celebrate their common culture in their communities. There is a wide variety of festivals in India because of the presence(存在)of many different religions, beliefs, ideas and cultures. It is even said that some places in the country celebrate festivals 365 days a year. They are mainly religious festivals, cultural festivals and tourist festivals that are organized to keep the traditions, values and heritage of the region.
Religious festivals are celebrated as part of the Indian belief system. They are organized to honor spiritual personalities and events related to the journey of a religion. Cultural festivals in India are organized to provide a platform for different forms of music, dance and other art. To keep their artistic traditions alive and even make them become more popular in the future, many cities in India are active in cultural events. The rich cultural heritage of India attracts the Western world during the celebration of important festivals such as Onam, Holi and Durga Puja. Tourist festivals in the country are organized to celebrate the heritage of the land for tourism purposes. These celebrations every year bring good results and attract a large number of tourists, both within the country and abroad.
These festivals in India focus on enriching people's "Indian" experience in the most real way. For this purpose, foreigners are very interested in attending the festivals, which are organized to show the rich and colorful side of the country.
A letter to Mum and her mince (肉末) pies
When I was a little girl, you and I loved decorating the living room and Christmas tree. After 1, we would bake cakes. "Make enough mince pies, because Santa likes them," you would tell me.
Christmas Eve came and you would put me on my 2 made bed. I'd fall asleep until Christmas 3. I'd wake up and thrill at the 4 before me. At the bottom of my bed would be loads of presents. I'd scream in delight, 5 tearing the paper open. Running downstairs, I would 6 that Santa hadn't just stopped in the 7 : there were also lots of 8 around the Christmas tree.
Many years later, the 9 continued. The only thing that 10 was the presents at the end of the bed – I grew out of them.
One afternoon while we were 11 extra mince pies as usual, it 12 hit me that the extra wasn't for 13. I said, "Those extra mince pies were never for Santa, were they? They were for you!" You never said a word – a smile was your only 14.
Christmas changed in 1986, when you suffered a 15 brain disease. After 16 throughout Christmas, you passed away on the 29 December.
Only now am I starting to enjoy Christmas again, and while I don't do the 17 any more, I do have mince pies in the house. I leave one out just for you, as if you were 18 a part of my Christmas. And I make sure I put up the decorations 19 you, and us. Thanks for the 20 memories of Christmas, Mum.
If you have ever been in a school play or even made to believe you were a doctor, a detective, or a space traveler, you know the enjoyment that acting brings. Almost all of us have the wish to play the part of someone — or something else.
In the ancient world, acting was often connected with religious ceremonies and other special occasions. As far back as 2200 B.C., trained Chinese actors performed ceremonial dances in costume and makeup at harvest festivals.The imitation (模仿) of movements and gestures was gradually added to the dance, as well as the wearing of masks, the singing of chants, and finally the use of dialogue.
While acting was coming into its own in the ancient Chinese classical theatre, it was doing the same in the western world, in Greece. From about 500 B.C. on, acting became a highly specialized art in Greece. Greek actors, however, still wore masks, and their motions (动作) were largely fixed by custom.
Modern acting, by contrast, gives the individual actor great opportunity to develop his or her personal talents for serious, comic, or musical drama. The names, faces, and styles of famous movie actors are known worldwide.A special form of acting takes place in radio drama, which was highly popular before television. In radio drama the actors face a unique challenge. They are unseen by their audience. So they must rely on voice alone to make their characters real to the listeners.
Only forty percent of Broadway actors are employed, most of them for only part of the year. Those who become stars need not only talent, but determination. They must not be easily discouraged. Otherwise, they might give up before the opportunity for fame presents itself.
A. The origins of acting are in the act of remembering.
B. Drama in Greece began with festivals honoring Dionysus.
C. It is believed that this was the first step in the development of acting.
D. Historical records indicate that this desire is as old as civilization itself.
E. Acting is not, as many people think, a quick, easy road to fame and riches.
F. Broadway and television provide other stages on which actors can display their talent.
G. Consequently, they had little opportunity to display their individual personalities.
