Interesting festivals in the world

    "The day will be the most memorable in the history of America," wrote John Adams in 1776. "People will honor it with parades, fireworks and celebrations," he added.

    Since 1776, Americans have celebrated July 4 as the country's Independence Day. Several early presidents of the United States died on July 4. They include John Adams, who became the second president. Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the country's third president, both died on the country's 50th anniversary of Independence Day. James Monroe, the fifth US president, died on July 4, 1831. And the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4.

    Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with barbecues, parades and fireworks. But a few celebrate by eating all the hot dogs they can, Since the early 1970s, a restaurant called Nathan's Famous has organized a competition to see who can eat the most hot dogs in a short time. In 10 years, Joey Chestnut has won the men's contest nine times, In 2016, he set a record at the competition by eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes. The 2016 women's winner, Miki Sudo, has won in each of the past three years. In 2016, she ate 38 and a half hot dogs. Sudo and Chestnut each won a $ 10, 000 prize.

    Let's go back to those fireworks, probably the most common image related to Independence Day. Americans really love fireworks. Where do many of our fireworks come from?          . By the way, we also import most of our American flags from China, too.

    In Britain. Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26th, which is the following day after Christmas Day. However, strictly speaking, Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas. Like Christmas Day, Boxing Day is a public holiday. This means it's a non-working day in the whole of Britain. When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is the public holiday.

    The exact origin(起源)of the holiday is unclear. One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, a Christmas Box was placed by a priest(神父)on each ship. Those sailors who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was sealed up and kept on board until the ship came home safely. Then the box was handed over to the priest in exchange for the saying of a mass of thanks for the success of the sailing. The priest wouldn't open it to share the contents with the poor until Christmas.

    One more thought is about the "Alms Box" placed in every church on Christmas Day. Worshippers(做礼拜的人) put gifts for the poor into it. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas. That is why that day became known as Boxing Day.

    Today, many businesses, organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by donating(捐赠) their time, services and money to aid Food Banks, providing gifts for the poor, or helping families in need. Besides, spending time with family and shopping are popular Boxing Day activities now.

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some ways. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year from midnight on December 31st to January 1st, People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的)clothes, and they may drink champagne(香槟) at midnight. During the first minute of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead, But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

    Many cultures also do special things to get rid of(摆脱)bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes, The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh(重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck he will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck on New Year's Day. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck-but to get good luck for a whole year, you have to eat 365 of them!

                           Public holidays in the United States

    Hundreds of foreigners got together in a small neighborhood in Qingdao on the afternoon of April 20 because of the Neighbor Day, an 18-day event celebrated across Qingdao. They learned the arts of Chinese handwriting, dumpling making, paper cutting, and discovered the culture of Chinese family trees.

    The festival started 12 years ago after a 10-year-old girl called Sun Ruihan was refused when paying a New Year's visit to her neighbor. Upset by this incident, she wrote to the Shibei district government of Qingdao, suggesting that they should introduce a "Neighbor Day" to encourage greater spirit.

    As the birthplace of the festival, Shibei hosted the opening ceremony of this year's Neighbor Day on April 19. With the theme of"    ▲  ", people from across the city got together to share their homemade food and discuss the family stories. They also set up a mobile neighbors' library to share books.

    Sarah from the United States said she had a great time with her neighbors as she experienced the art of Chinese paper cutting for the first time. Masha from Russia, who is studying Chinese at the Ocean University of China, described the event as a great chance to make friends with her Chinese neighbors and learn about the local culture with them. She tried her best at Chinese handwriting and also had great fun learning how to make dumplings. "I love eating dumplings but I never knew how to make them before, "she said." Now I can come to my neighbors' homes and learn in their kitchens."

    Neighbor Day grew from the needs of the people. With the big support from the government, it has become another culture symbol of Qingdao.

    Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There's no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe（贿赂） him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don't see the need for presents.

    Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn't. I don't often remember a friend's birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I'd get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner-that kind from his or her homeland-won't go wrong, except to government employees（政府职员） who can't be given presents.

    You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, "It's so nice. Thanks…" when you get Christmas or birthday presents.

    You may want to bring a bottle of wine（葡萄酒） or flowers to a dinner party, but you're never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.

    At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year—doormen, babysitters, housecleaners, newspaper senders—anyone who has often helped us.