December Holidays

December Holidays

Do you remember what was on my first blog entry?

Santa Claus introduced all of you to my blog Holiday Talk.  He is one of the many major symbols of the December Holidays.  This blog will not only talk about Christmas, but two other holidays that is celebrated and recognized in the month of December.

The first holiday that is recognize in December in Hanukkah.  This holiday is also called the Festival of Lights, and is celebrated by people who follow the Jewish faith.  The holiday is celebrated for 8 straight nights, where people remember the re-dedication of the Holy Temple.  They light 8 candles on a menorah.  Watch this video on the story of Hanukkah.

The next holiday is called Kwanzaa.  It is also celebrated in December.  It is a week long celebration and is part of the African culture.  On each night, they celebrate one of the seven core principles that symbolizes their beliefs: unity, collective work and responsibility, self-determination, purpose, cooperative economics, creativity, and faith.  Watch this video that shows the importance of Kwanzaa.

The last holiday is Christmas.  It is celebrated on December 25, but is recognized and observed for many weeks because it has become commercialized.  Religiously, it is a time to remember the Nativity of Jesus; however, most people follow the decoration aspect on this holiday.  They put up Christmas trees and decorate the outside of their houses with lights.  Also, children love this holiday because on Christmas morning, they wake up and see all the different gifts under the Christmas tree.  They believe that Santa Claus came and left gifts for them.  Watch this video on Christmas.

Vocabulary

symbol- (noun) a representation of something

faith- (noun) a strong belief in something

dedication- (noun) action of committing 

core- (noun) the central or most important aspect of an idea

cooperative- (adjective) working together

commercialize- (verb) to use an idea or something in a way to make money or profit

Vocabulary Practice

(Fill in the Blanks)

1. The Christmas Tree is a _______________ of the Christmas holiday.

2. Many stores ____________________ the Christmas holiday as a way to make money.

3. Kwanzaa has seven ________ principles.

4. I go to church as a way to practice my Catholic ___________.

5. People remember the re-__________________ of the Holy Temple on Hanukkah.

6. We have to be ________________ so that we can get a good grade on our group project.

Let's Learn Grammar!

The past tense is used to represent actions that happened in the past.  For example, read this sentence: "Santa Claus introduced all of you to my blog Holiday Talk."  The verb "introduced" is in the past tense because Santa Claus already completed the action, and it happened in the past.  Try to re-read this blog entry and find words that you think is in the past tense!