Presentation on National holidays for EFL learners.

1. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
By Emma Louise Brown

2. WHAT NATIONAL HOLIDAYS DO
YOU KNOW?
• There are so many around the world but which ones do you recognise?
• Why do we have national holidays?

3. CHRISTMAS
• When: 25 December
• Why: Christmas Day is supposed to
be the birthday of Jesus Christ. The
story is that Jesus was born in a
small wooden house with a
donkey, three wise men, some
shepherds and his mother and
father.
• What: On Christmas we give gifts
and wait for Santa, a big fat man
who brings presents down the
chimney
Q: Why do we give gifts on Christmas Day?

4. VALENTINES DAY
• When: 14th February
• Why: St Valentine was a man who
made weddings during the Roman
times, when soldiers and Christians
weren’t allowed to get married. He
was killed by the Romans for doing
this.
• What: On Valentines day we send
letters and give gifts to the people
that we love the most. It is a
romantic holiday. Q. Why do we think about red when we
think about love?

5. HALLOWEEN
• When: 31st October
• Why: People used to believe that this
day was the first day of Winter,
because after this day they couldn’t’
do their farming. The nights became
longer and they thought that this day
was the day when people and ghosts
were closest together.
• What: We dress up and try to scare
each other, but also give candy.
Q. Why do we carve pumpkins?

6. DAY OF THE DEAD
• When: 2nd November
• Why: In Mexico they celebrate the
gift of life and remember their
family members who have died.
• What: They have parties and big
dinners, parades and they buy gifts
to give to their dead family. They
also wear masks that look like
dead people
Q. Do you recognise these masks?
https://youtu.be/Ga6RYejo6Hk

7. ST PATRICKS DAY
• When: 17th March
• Why: It celebrates the day that
Christianity came to Ireland.
• What: Everybody wears green and
carries around shamrocks, they
also drink lots of alcohol like beer
and wine. In Ireland, everybody
has the day off work and they
have a very big party.
Q. What are they wearing?

8. HOLI FESTIVAL
• When: 1st March
• Why: The festival is a Hindu festival
celebrated in India and is usually
called the festival of love or colour.
It celebrates the end of winter and
good winning against evil.
• What: People have huge
celebrations in the street where
they throw powdered paint at each
other in millions of colours.
https://youtu.be/AbFIkJ8KFZ8

9. MOTHERS AND FATHERS DAY
• When: Different times
• Why: We celebrates these days as
a way of thanking our parents for
always taking care of us.
• What: We give them presents
and cards, cook them meals or
just say thankyou in whatever
way we can.
Q. When do you have Mothers/Fathers day in
Vietnam?

10. EASTER
• When: Usually the last Sunday at
the end of March
• Why: Easter is a long holiday,
lasting about three weeks and
finishing on Easter Sunday when
Jesus came back from the dead.
• What: We eat a lot of food and
drink to celebrate Jesus coming
back. We also eat chocolate
eggs.
Q. Why do we have the bunny?

11. RAMADAN AND EID
• When: May until June
• Why: Ramadan is a Muslim holiday
that celebrates the first telling of
the Quaran to Muhammad.
• What: Muslims will not eat or drink
during the days in Ramadan, they
can only eat after the sunsets and
before it rises. Eid is the celebration
days at the end where they have
huge parties and eat lots of food.

12. WEIRD HOLIDAYS
• The world has many holidays and special days, can you guess which ones are true
and which ones are false?
• Nothing Day
• Toilet Day
• McDonalds Day
• Penguin Awareness Day
• Poop Day
• Vietnam Day