Holidays
Teacher Day Time Branch TA Class
Resources needed:
-Markers
-Christmas handout
-Article on The Day of The Dead/Halloween/Focus Questions
Stage: Warm up Aim: By the end of this stage students will be introduced to the topic and have a
discussion.
Page: Method:
Time: 10-12 • Teacher will introduce self to the class.
minutes • Begin by talking about favorite holiday; ask class what their favorite time of
the year is. Favorite season. Ask why. Tell the class I love summer, and don't
like the cold, but love winter for one big reason; Christmas; my favorite
holiday. Talk briefly about Christmas.
• Ask ss what the biggest holiday in China is. Describe briefly.
• Ask ss what other holidays are important to them. Describe them briefly.
• Write different holidays on the board.
Comments
Stage: Production Aim: By the end of this stage students will have a further discussion about holidays.
Method:
Page:
• Split ss into groups.
Time: 15-18
• Write the following categories on the board:
minutes
Traditions, beliefs/reasons, food, activities, colors & images(ie. Santa),
importance.
• Assign each group a different holiday from the previous discussion.
• If there are not enough holidays for each to describe a different one, ask class
once more if there are any missing? If not, have 2 groups do 1 topic.
• Show example of Christmas. Hand out to class.
• Give ss. 5-8 minutes to brainstorm ideas.
• Have a leader from each group present.
Comments
Stage: Aim: By the end of this stage students will read an article, answer questions and
Practice/Reading discuss thoughts.
Method:
Page:
• Ask ss if they know of any strange holidays.
Time: 20 minutes • If so, discuss.
• Hand out article on "Day of the Dead" and "Halloween."
• Give ss 10 minutes to read and answers focus questions.
• Discuss answers as a class.
• Ask if there are any thoughts on this, or any words they do not understand.
• Ask about the afterlife-what are their thoughts? Anyone have similar beliefs to
the Aztecs? What do you think about "life is a dream, death is life." Is death
something to celebrate?
• Ask again if they can think of any other strange holidays.
Comments
Stage: Production Aim: By the end of this stage students will create their own holiday.
Method:
Page:
• Put ss into groups.
Time: 15 minutes
• Tell ss to create their own holiday. Include what people will be celebrating,
when it will be, types of foods, any colors or symbols, activities, and anything
else they can think of.
• Encourage ss to be creative!
• Each group will pick a leader to present to class.
Comments
Stage: Production Aim: By the end of this stage students will discuss holidays and commercialism
Method:
Page:
• Debate
Time: 15-20
• Ask ss if there are any holidays in China that celebrates by exchanging gifts.
minutes
• Explain that a big part of Christmas is the gifts, and companies and stores
make a lot of money during this time of year. Children make "wish lists" and
some even get angry if they do not get the gifts they asked for. However, it is a
time to show people you care about them and are thinking about them-show
love through a gift. Many people think this takes away the true meaning of the
celebration.
• Split class into two (if it is a big class, just assign more groups the same side).
• Have one half argue that it is good to give gifts, one argue that it takes away
from the true meaning.
• Give ss 10 minutes to brainstorm reasons to argue for or against.
• Have a discussion.
• Be prepared to play devils advocate!
Comments
Stage: Production Aim: By the end of this stage students will discuss commercial holidays
Method:
Page:
● Ask ss what they personally think about buying cards, gifts, etc. for holidays.
Time: 4-6 minutes
● Do you think it takes away meaning?
● Name some examples.
● ie. Easter (Easter bunny-chocolate), Valentines Day (buying cards and gifts
for boyfriend or girlfriend), gifts for Birthdays, etc.
Comments
Stage: Cool down/ Aim: By the end of this stage students will address any finally questions or thoughts.
Feedback Method:
Page: • Discuss any new vocabulary and ask ss whether they had anything else to add,
or any further questions on topics discussed today.
Time: 3-6 minutes
Christmas:
Every year on December 25.
It is a holiday celebrated by the Christian religion, but many people in Western countries such as Canada,
America, Europe and Australia celebrate Christmas whether they are religious or not.
Christmas day is Jesus' birthday (Gods son in Christian religion)
Families get together to celebrate and give gifts.
Families have big dinners - turkey, potatoes, stuffing (bread and spices stuffed in the turkey), turnip,
squash, and many vegetables. Also lots of desserts-cake, pumpkin pie, cookies.
People will decorate their homes with lights-usually red and green or white-but any bright color can be used.
People will put "Christmas trees" in their homes and decorate them with lights and many colorful
decorations.
A star is often put on top of the tree- the star is important because it was shining over the place
Jesus was born.
Christmas colors are red and green.
A character named "Santa Clause" brings children presents during the night of December 24. Children will
wake up the morning to presents under the Christmas tree (parents play Santa Clause and children believe he
is a real man usually until they are about 8-10 years old.
Christmas is a very important holiday in Western countries. Many people begin preparing for Christmas
months before it arrives (shopping for presents, buying decorations, decorating their homes, listening to
Christmas music.)
Day of the Dead
More than 500 years ago when the Spanish came to Mexico, they saw the natives doing a strange ritual.
The ritual looked like they were celebrating, or acting out death.
It turns out the Aztecs-natives of Mexico-have been celebrating the Day of the Dead for over 3000 years.
This holiday is a celebration of the dead, to honor friends and loved ones who have died.
The Aztecs, and Mexican people to this day will make wooden skull masks, wear them, and dance to honor
their relatives. People will make skulls out of sugar, write the dead person's name on the forehead, and then
eat the sugar skull. Skulls are a symbol of death and rebirth.
The Aztecs believed that during this month long celebration the dead would come back to life.
They also believed that life was not real. Life to the Aztecs was a dream, and death was the beginning of
life. So death was something happy to them, something to celebrate, not fear.
Today, The Day of the Dead is still celebrated in Mexico and some parts of America on November 20.
In some parts of Mexico, people will take flowers, food, drinks and toys to the graves of loved ones and
leave it there in honor of them. People will spend the day in the cemetery by their dead loved ones graves,
dancing, and even bringing food to eat there.
In bigger cities in Mexico and parts of America, people will make a room in their home for dead loved ones,
burning incense, decorating with flowers, playing the dead persons favorite music and making their favorite
foods.
Halloween
Halloween is celebrated on October 31. It is a holiday that is over 250 years old, and was first celebrated
by Christians.
The Christians used to believe that on October 31 the dead would come back as ghosts/spirits and cause
harm, sickness and damage to farms. The people began having bonfires on this night, where they would
dress up in scary costumes, trying to scare away the spirits that would harm them.
Today, Halloween is celebrated for fun. Children and adults will dress up in costumes and attend Halloween
parties with friends, or family. Children dress up and go "trick-or-treating". They get bags, and walk around
neighborhoods knocking on peoples doors saying "trick-or-treat". The children are given candy.
People will decorate their homes to look scary- carving faces in pumpkins and putting candles inside.
Decorations of skeletons, monsters and ghosts and the colors orange and black are symbols.
Questions:
Where did the Day of the Dead begin?
What did the Aztec's believe life was?
What do Mexican's take to their loved ones graves?
What day is Day of the Dead celebrated?
Why was Halloween celebrated 250 years ago?
What colors are symbols to Halloween?
What do children do for Halloween?
How are Halloween and The Day of the Dead the same? How are they different?
