Grade 10 English Unit 2 Reading II Thanks Giving Around the World Exercises

 

 

Grade 10 English Unit 2 Reading II Thanks Giving Around the World Exercises

 

GRADE-10, ENGLISH (NEW COURSE)

Unit-2 : Festivals and Celebrations

 

Reading II

Answer the following questions.

a. What are the main festivals celebrated in your community?

b. Why are they celebrated? Discuss.

 

Thanks giving around the World

Festivals are not just the means of entertainment or rejoice (आनन्द). They also reflect our heritage (सम्पदा), culture and traditions. Thanksgiving (धन्यवाद) is celebrated around the world to extend thanks for the harvest, enjoying bountiful (प्रशस्त) food, and spending time with family and friends. Even though Thanksgiving seems to be uniquely American, the tradition is followed in different countries in various forms.

 

Thanksgiving, USA

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving in the USA is a national holiday that commemorates (सम्झना गराउदछ)  the feast (भोजन उत्सव) the Pilgrims held after the first harvest in 1621. The first celebration was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 pilgrims. Thanksgiving has been celebrated intermittently (विचविचमा) ever since.

 

Thanksgiving dinner with family plays a central role in the celebrations (उत्सव), with Americans eating more food on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year, including Christmas. Roast turkey is essential approximately 45 million of them are consumed every year – as well as mashed ( मसलिएको)  potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn and assorted (भिन्न-भिन्न प्रकारका) fall vegetables, all food that is native to the Americans.

 

Parades are a big part of the celebrations too. They range from small town affairs featuring the local marching band to Macy's Thanksgiving parade through the streets of New York. Billed (अभिलेख राखिएको) as the world's largest parade, it features parade floats and huge balloons, usually based on cartoon characters, current Broadway (a famous street in New York, USA) shows and other topical themes.

 

Chuseok, South Korea

Chuseok (a major harvest festival of Korea), also called Hangnail, is a Korean festive holiday celebrated on the 15th day of August, according to the lunar (चन्द्रमा सम्बन्धी) calendar. The festival is celebrated to commemorate (स्मरण गर्न) the fall harvest and to honour one's ancestors. Similar to Thanksgiving Day in the USA, the Harvest Moon Festival, as it is also known, is one of the most popular holidays in Korea. Traditionally, Koreans return to their ancestral hometowns to celebrate with their families.

 

The festival day begins with a ceremony in which food and wine are offered to ancestors. This is followed by a meal that typically (सामान्यतया) consists of fish and newly harvested vegetables and grains. The food most associated with the holiday is songpyon, a crescent-shaped (अर्धचन्द्राकारको) rice cake that is cooked on a bed of pine needles. Later in the day, celebrants (उत्सव मनाउनेहरू) visit the graves of relatives, where more ceremonies are performed. Chuseok is also marked by gift giving and athletic events, including tug-of- war  (डोरी तान्ने खेल) competitions, archery contests, and sirrum, Korean wrestling matches. Other activities include dancing and music playing. On this day, many Koreans wear hanbok, the traditional clothing.

 

Dia de Acao de Gracas, Brazil

In Brazil, Thanksgiving is a relatively new festival but it's celebrated with great gusto (उत्साह). It is said that when the former Brazilian President, Gaspar Dutra visited the USA, he was fascinated with the holiday and established the festival in his home country in 1949.

 

Dia de Acao de Gracas begins with the mass to offer thanks for an abundant (प्रचुर) harvest then there is a vibrant (जीवन्त) carnival and revellers (उत्सव मनाउनेहरू) head to the beach, Peru. Roasted turkey is still the centrepiece of the Brazilian Thanksgiving feast, but there are a few exotic (विदेशी) twists. Cranberries do not grow in Brazil, so a sauce made of Jaboticaba, known as the 'Brazilian grape', is whipped up (मिश्रित गर्नु) to spread on the bird.

 

Thanksgiving, Liberia

Liberian Thanksgiving is a vibrant and spicy affair. Founded in the 19thcentury by liberated American slaves, the festival gives thanks for freedom. Liberians celebrate the good things in life, while also marking their troubled past.

 

After a church service, families gather for a spread of roasted chicken, traditional green bean casserole (क्यासेरोल) and mashed cassava (सेतो तरुल) - all liberally doused with feast is topped off  (ended) with an evening of dancing, singing and celebration.

 

Crop Over, Barbados

The celebration of Crop Over is Barbados's biggest party. The festival spreads over a length of 12 weeks, from May until August, when it culminates (समाप्त हुन्छ) in the massive finale (समापन): the Grand Kadooment.

 

Originally a celebration of the sugar cane harvest, Crop Over has been celebrated since the 1780s when Barbados was the world's largest produce of the sweet-stuff. Carnivals pervade ( फैलिन्छ) the lengthy celebrations, and calypso (West Indian Music) bands and dancers compete in ever grander and more flamboyant (रङ्गीचङ्गी) displays.

 

Homowo, Ghana

The Homowo festival, meaning to jeer (उपहास गर्नु) or hoot at hunger in Ghana historically celebrates the ending of a long famine (खाद्यसंकट) suffered by the Ghanaians. What could be better to celebrate the end of shortage than a feast? Palm nut soup with fish is served alongside traditional Kpokoi, a kind of grits (मकैको पीठो) made from unleavened corn dough and palm oil.

 

Starting in May with the sowing of millet, the festival takes place through August and September after a ban on drumming and singing that is meant to encourage proper care of the crops. The festival culminates in a night of singing and dancing and frantic beating of drums in loud defiance of hunger and famine.

 

Mehregan, Iran

A festival that dates back at least to the 4th century BC, Mehregan in Iran is held on the 196th day of the Iranian year. The festival celebrates a successful harvest and the goddess Mehr (ancient Persian deity of love, friendship and justic).

 

The celebration calls for new clothes, community blessings and a feast on a table decorated with marjoram (aromatic and flavorful leaves). The spread includes sherbert drinks and lavish dinners; in some villages, a sheep is sacrificed and slow- roasted throughout the day.

 

Revellers rub kohl (eyeliner) around their eyes as a good omen, and throw handfuls of marjoram, lotus and sugar plum seeds over each other.

 

Glossary:

Feast                     : a large and special meal or celebration

Intermittently        : occurring at irregular intervals or times

Mashed                : food that has been crushed or beaten into a soft, pulpy texture

Assorted               : a collection of various types or kinds

Billed                    : scheduled or advertised to appear in a performance or event

Lunar                   : relating to the moon or its cycles

Commemorate      : to honor the memory of someone or something

Typically              : usually, normally, or commonly

Crescent-shaped    : having a curved shape that resembles a crescent or a thin, curved moon

Celebrants            : people who are celebrating or taking part in a celebration

Gusto                   : great enjoyment or enthusiasm

Abundant             : present in great quantity; more than sufficient

Vibrant                 : full of energy, life, and color

Revellers              : people who are enjoying themselves at a party or celebration

Exotic                   : foreign or unusual in a way that is exciting or intriguing

Cassava                : a starchy root vegetable that is widely used in tropical cuisines

Doused                 : soaked or wetted thoroughly with a liquid

Topped off            : completed or finished with a final addition or flourish

Culminates           : reaches the highest point or final stage of development

Finale                   : the concluding part of a performance or event

Pervade                : to spread throughout or be present in every part of something

Calypso                : a style of music and dance that originated in Trinidad and Tobago

Flamboyant          : strikingly bold, showy, or extravagant

Jeer                       to make rude or mocking remarks or sounds, often in a disrespectful or insulting way

Hoot                     : a loud, sharp sound made by an owl or other bird, or a sound made to express ridicule or derision

Famine                 : a severe shortage of food, often resulting in starvation and death

Grits                     : a type of coarsely ground corn that is boiled and eaten as a breakfast food in the southern United States

Unleavened          : not made to rise by the action of yeast or other leavening agents

Marjoram             : a herb with aromatic and flavorful leaves, often used in cooking

Sherbert                : a type of frozen dessert that is similar to sorbet

Kohl                     : a cosmetic product used in many cultures to darken the eyelids and eyelashes

Omen                   : an event or phenomenon that is believed to be a sign of something that will happen in the future.

 

A. The meanings of some of the words from the text are given below. Find the words and write against the correct meanings.

a.   in a way occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady intermittent

b.   to remind people of an important event or person from the past commemorate

c.   in a way that shows the usual qualities or features of a particular type of person or thing typically

d.   a curved shape that is wide in the middle and pointed at each end cresent-shaped

e.   full of life and energy vibrant

f.    a person who is having fun in a noisy way, usually with a group of other people reveller/celebrator

g.   from or in another country; seeming exciting and unusual exotic

h.   to spread through and be easy to notice pervade

i.    brightly coloured and likely to attract attention flamboyant

j.    done quickly and with a lot of activity, but not very well organized frantic

 

B. The following events represent different activities observed during Thanksgiving around the world. Study them carefully and write the names of countries where they are celebrated.

a.   Families gather for a feast in the evening accompanied by dancing and singing. Liberia

b.   People wear new clothes and get community blessings. Iran

c.   Palm nut soup, fish and traditional Kpokoi are served. Ghana

d.   People return to their hometowns to celebrate the festival. South Korea

e.   Celebrants go to the beach in a noisy way. Brazil

f.    Parades are taken out in the streets. USA

g.   Food and wine are offered to the forefathers. South Korea

 

C. Answer the following questions.

a.   What is the main feature of American Thanksgiving?

The main feature of American Thanksgiving is a large feast shared with family and friends, usually including turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, and assorted fall vegetables.

 

b.   What do parades include in Thanksgiving in America?

Parades in Thanksgiving in America usually include floats, marching bands, and giant balloons in the shape of popular cartoon characters.

 

c.   When and why is Chuseok celebrated in Korea?

Chuseok, celebrated in Korea on the 15th day of August, depending on the lunar calendar, is a harvest festival and a time for families to gather and honor their ancestors.

 

d.   How did Thanksgiving begin in Brazil?

Thanksgiving began in Brazil as a new festival that has been celebrated since 1949, when former Brazilian President Gaspar Dutra visited the USA.

 

 

e. Who started Thanksgiving in Liberia? Why was it started?

Thanksgiving in Liberia was started by freed American slaves who had settled in the country. They wanted to celebrate their newfound freedom and give thanks to God for their blessings.

 

f.    What is Thanksgiving celebrated in Barbados for?

Thanksgiving is celebrated in Barbados to give thanks for a successful sugar cane harvest.

 

g.   What is Homowo marked in Ghana?

Homowo is marked in Ghana to defense hunger and famine.