Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the United States. While many treasure the day for religious reasons, honoring December 25 as Jesus Christ’s birthday, it is also a joyous occasion for people of all religions and those who have no religion at all. The reasons for celebrating the Christmas holidays in the U.S. are as diverse as the people who celebrate them.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the two most prominent days of the holidays. Many families get together on Christmas Eve night or on Christmas Day to share a meal that generally consists of ham or turkey as the traditional main dish. Desserts, like pecan pie and cakes, are plentiful as well.
Along with being a time to reflect on spiritual values, Christmas typically involves exchanging gifts. In addition, Santa Clause is a big deal. Santa is a fictional chubby man with a white beard and a red velvet suit who hails from the North Pole where he lives with his wife and elves who make toys all year. On Christmas Eve night, Santa hops aboard his sleigh that is guided by his reindeers to deliver presents to all the good boys and girls in the world. In reality, presents are placed under the Christmas tree by the children’s parents.
Most places of business are closed on Christmas Day in the United States. A few stores stay open to accommodate grocery needs. Many businesses give their employees several days or a week off work for Christmas. It is common for people to go see their relatives during the holidays, all gathering at a central location, usually in a home.
Christmas is a huge event in the United States. It is something that is generally planned for all year long by businesses, retail stores, and by individuals. It is a time of symbolic items like Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and mistletoe and sentimental feelings like love and joy.
“Merry Christmas,” is the most common greeting during the holidays. On Christmas Day all around the U.S., most people are exactly that…merry.
Hi everyone,
If you’re learning English abroad in an English speaking country over the Christmas period, you might find yourself off for a few days.
As this is a festive period, there will always be lots of fun activities to take part in. But this can also be an expensive and exhausting time, so watching a Christmassy movie is a great way to take a break from the spending and the festivities.
Beside, one of the best ways to learn about Christmas is to watch one of the many popular Christmas Movies, which will show you what the holiday is like and the sorts of values that it represents for Americans.
In addition, watching English movies is a great way to practice your English! Below are a few of my favourite movies to watch:
1. Home Alone: Home Alone is a 1990 American comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It’s part of our Movie House Christmas Season.
Plot summary: Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season.
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik.
Plot summary: The Griswold family plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
3. A Christmas Story: A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark.
Plot summary: In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
4. Elf: Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum.
Plot summary: After discovering he is a human, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole decides to travel to New York City to locate his real father. with Buddy interferes with his job, he is forced tovaluate his priorities.
5. Love Actually: Love Actually is a 2003 British Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis.
Plot summary: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Let us know which movie do you like the most?
The Christmas words that you will see in 5 Christmas movie above
- Jolly: Happy, joyful (used a lot at Christmas or to describe Santa)
- Sleigh: the carriage that Santa drives with Reindeer
- Deck the halls: to decorate the house for Christmas
- Stocking: a big sock that is hung at Christmas, which Santa fills with presents
- Merry: Happy (also common at Christmastime)
- Gather: to get together
- Kegger: a party with large barrel(s) of beer
- Attic: the top part of the house between the top floor and the roof, often used for storage or as an extra bedroom
- Supervision: watch over someone to make sure they behave correctly or are safe
- Twist: an unexpected change in a movie/series
- To burgle: to rob (usually a house)
- White picket fence: a barrier of wooden posts painted white (common of American homes)
- Hick: a person who lives in the country, as opposed to the city
- Orphanage: a place for children without parents
- Elves: a small, magical creature that looks like a human, but with pointed ears. They are believed to help Santa make presents
- Carol: a Christmas song
- Stumble upon: to find something by chance
- Buddy: friend
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The post Top 5 Christmas Movies That English Learners should watch first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>Each year Christmas is celebrated throughout the world with great religiosity and festivity, however, the pattern of celebration varies according to cultures
| BRITAIN | RUSSIA |
| In Britain, family members take turns in stirring the pudding mix clockwise while making a wish. Some even put coins, rings or thimbles for good luck. | In Russia Christmas is celebrated on January 7th instead of December 25th. This is because the Orthodox Church, where most Russians pay worship, still uses the old Julian calendar for religious festivity. |
| U.S.A | CANADA |
| Just like the Comi-con, U.S.A celebrates a unique Santa-con festival. New York gather dressed as Santa dressed up as Christmas characters. You will see a lot of Santas, elves, snowmen and snow women. | In the northern region of the country, people participate in a Taffy Pull-in honor of Saint Catharine-patron saint of single women. For single women out there, this is the ideal chance to meet the man of your dreams. |
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Read more: Top Christmas foods: 10 British Foods in Christmas event
The post Discovering Christmas ❁ Christmas Around the World: Britain, Russia, USA, Canada, Sweden, China, Japan, first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>Hi everyone
Christmas is coming…
That why today, it’s not an English lesson, it’s about Christmas food.
What do Brits eat during Christmas dinner? People around the UK look forward to Christmas for many reasons, but one of the things I get very excited about is the thought of all the delicious food I can eat. So, today I would like to bring to you the top 10 British Christmas Foods that you should know.
Let’s take a look at these dishes
Read more: Christmas Around the World: Britain, Russia, USA, Canada, Sweden, China, Japan
The post Top Christmas foods: 10 British Foods in Christmas event first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition established in 1930. It is contested by the men’s national teams of the members of International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the sport’s global governing body.
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The tournament has taken place every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, when the competition was canceled due to World War II. The most recent World Cup, hosted by Brazil in 2014, was won by Germany, who beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time.
The World Cup final match is the last of the competition, and the result determines which country is declared world champions. If after 90 minutes of regular play the score is a draw, an additional 30-minute period of play, called extra time, is added.
If such a game is still tied after extra time it is decided by kicks from the penalty shoot-out. The team winning the penalty shoot-out are then declared champions. The tournament has been decided by a one-off match on every occasion except 1950 when the tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain).
Uruguay’s 2–1 victory over Brazil was the decisive match (and one of the last two matches of the tournament) which put them ahead on points and ensured that they finished top of the group as world champions. Therefore, this match is regarded by FIFA as the de facto final of the 1950 World Cup.
In the 20 tournaments held, 77 nations have appeared at least once. Of these, 12 have made it to the final match and might have won. With five titles, Brazil is the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have participated in every World Cup finals tournament. Italy and Germany have four titles. The other former champions are Uruguay and Argentina with two titles each, and England, France, and Spain with one each.
The current champions, Germany, took their fourth title in 2014, and it is the first title for the reunified German team. The 2014 German team also became the first European team to win in South America. The team that wins the finals receive the FIFA World Cup Trophy, and their name is engraved in the bottom side of the trophy.
The post The History of FIFA World Cup first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>1. Introduction
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
How to Speak English Fluently like American Speakers in 1 Month – Part 3
2. Celebrating Women’s Day in the USA
Over the last many years Women’s day has been celebrated around the world with utmost fervor and zest although in many parts of the USA it is yet to find significance. It is observed as a holiday though to give a boost to the fight for atrocities against women and to spread among masses awareness for eradicating the gender gap.
Today in most parts of the world including the United States, women’s Day is celebrated by performing several activities by school children and companies, by giving tribute to women with flowers.
Beata Pozniac, who has founded women’s day the USA, has been working in the political domain from last few years to teach the significance of this day to the people of the country.
The month of March is affirmed as a Women’s History Month in the United States. Besides that, there are many events organized all across the country during the women’s day celebration.
From last few years, the Secretary of state and the first lady are holding official events on this day, honoring many women who have shown courage in various fields. Also, many informal and formal events take place to show its significance.
3. Some Ways in Which Women’s Day is Celebrated in the USA
- People buy a bunch of some favorite flowers of the lady in their life and offer one flower to each of the ladies they come in contact with on 8th March.
- They give the women in their life attractive cards telling them their inner feelings and respect for whatever they have done in their life.
Women’s Day is a day when people around the world come together to commemorate the struggles of women and their achievements.
Women’s Day is a day when people around the world come together to commemorate the struggles of women and their achievements. It’s a highly debated topic in various communities, including colleges, where students get a task to write an essay on International Women’s Day. A lot of them seek help with writing essays from professional writers because they want an important topic of women’s rights and gender equality to be presented in the most concise manner.
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Valentine’s Day 2019 | Best Sweet Love Messages for your Lover
The post Valentine’s Day 2019 | Marriage: Should People Get Married Earlier? first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>Best Sweet Love Messages for your Lover Love Quotes and Sayings for Valentine’s Day
1. Love never gives up
2. There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.
3. Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.
4. I am happiest when I’m right next to you.
5. Your flaws are perfect for the heart that’s meant to love you.
6. My night has become a sunny dawn because of you
….
Source: Internet
The post Valentine’s Day 2019 | Best Sweet Love Messages for your Lover first appeared on Helena Daily English.]]>