Important Personal & Cultural Celebrations
Last week I celebrated my wedding anniversary. An important date for me and many other happily married couples.
Over the years, we have developed a tradition for how we celebrate this day. People like to develop their own customs for personal celebrations and how we choose to celebrate significant dates can vary across different countries and continents.
Likewise, the way national celebrations are carried out varies widely from country to country and sometimes we celebrate on totally different days, or sometimes we even celebrate different things.
Let’s take the example of Christmas. Most people reading this will celebrate this holiday on either 24 (Christmas Eve) or 25 December (Christmas Day). However, in some countries, such as China, this holiday does not exist, or in others, it is celebrated on a different day altogether. (Christmas in Russia is on 07 January).
We also celebrate the New Year on December 31 (New Year’s Eve) and January 01 (New Year’s Day), but in China, the New Year isn’t until February.
Some celebrations are unique to a single country.
If you are an American, the holiday of Thanksgiving on November 26 is a very important national celebration, in the UK we celebrate on 05 November to remember Guy Fawkes with bonfires and fireworks. Both of these celebrations are unique to their respective countries.
Some important celebrations take place on different days each year, for example, Easter, Eid or Ramadan. All of these important national and religious holidays are determined by the different phases of the moon, so we are constantly changing when they happen.
Other celebrations happen on the same day every year, but only some people know about them. Take for example the Summer and Winter Solstice. Do you know what they are for and when they are celebrated?
How about Valentines Day (February 14).
Throughout much of mainland Europe, 01 May is celebrated as Labour Day and it is a big celebration, except in the UK, where it is just another public holiday.
Some cultures choose to celebrate religious holidays, while other secular states choose not to celebrate religion in any way.
Individually, people can choose what to celebrate and why. Some like to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries annually, while others only celebrate significant dates such as reaching 50 years of age, or a Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Sometimes people celebrate one-off occasions such as graduation, or that promotion at work.
What about you. What do you like to celebrate? How important are holidays and celebrations in your life?
The words highlighted in the text above are explained below.
To celebrate - (Verb) acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity.
Anniversary - (Noun) the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year.
Tradition - (Noun) the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
Custom - (Noun) a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time.
Significant - (Adjective) sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy.
Continent - (Noun) any of the world's main continuous expanses of land (Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, Antarctica).
Carry out - (Phrasal Verb) to do a particular piece of work, research etc. to do something that you have said you will do or that you have been told to do
Thanksgiving - (Noun) (in North America) an annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal.
Guy Fawkes - (Noun) Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Bonfire - (Noun) a large open-air fire used for burning rubbish or as part of a celebration.
Firework - (Noun) a device containing gunpowder and other combustible chemicals which causes spectacular effects and explosions when ignited, used for display or in celebrations.
Unique - (Adjective) being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.
The phases of the moon - (Phrase) the lunar phase or phase of the Moon is the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth.
Summer and Winter Solstice - (Noun) The summer or winter solstice, also known as midsummer and midwinter, occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun.
Public holiday - (Noun) a nationally recognized day when most businesses and other institutions are closed.
Secular - (Adjective) not connected with religious or spiritual matters.
Golden Wedding Anniversary - (Noun) A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Traditional names exist for some of them: for instance, fifty years of marriage is called a "golden wedding anniversary" or simply a "golden anniversary" or "golden wedding".
One-off - (Noun/Adjective) something that happens or is made or done only once.
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