Name: < > Class: < > Date: < > Celebrations March, April, May Celebrate spring! Doesn't everybody? How about a day for a favorite storyteller, like Dr. Seuss? How about Children's Day? Spring is an important time for religious holidays. Jews celebrate Passover. Christians celebrate Easter. And you don't have to be Irish to wear green on St. Patrick's Day! Read about some of these celebrations below. Then write a response to the questions following the celebrations. March Dr. Seuss's Day The birthday of Dr. Seuss on March 2nd is worth celebrating! Dr. Seuss gave us those famous creatures in Cat in the Hat. He gave us Horton, the elephant who hatches an egg in a tree. Do you know how Horton came about? Here's how! Dr. Seuss drew a picture of an elephant on tracing paper and put it on a shelf. Then he began to draw a tree. The tracing paper flew on top of the tree! So, Dr. Seuss began to imagine why an elephant might sit in a tree. Thus began the story Horton Hatches the Egg! Dr. Seuss's first book was turned down twenty-seven times before it was published. Today, children around the world enjoy "their" Dr. Seuss books. Do you like Dr. Seuss books? Tell why or why not. < > Have you ever eaten "green" eggs and ham? Why do you think Dr. Seuss writes about things that aren't real? < > Name and save this file now. (Press Ctrl-S, type a name for the file, and press Enter.) ==================== Hina Matsuri In ancient Japan, people in springtime would rub their bodies with dolls made of paper to draw evil spirits out of their bodies. Then the dolls were tossed into the river. In the 1700's, people started making the dolls out of clay that were too pretty to throw away. Mothers began saving the dolls for their daughters. Soon, an old custom took on new meaning. On "Hina Matsuri" (Doll's Festival Day, March 3rd), girls put their doll collections on display. A collection often has 15 small dolls sitting on red cloth inside a glass case. The dolls are dressed as Emperor, Empress, and the Royal Court. Do boys have a special day to celebrate in Japan? Yes, they do! Long, colored paper or silk kites that look like the carp fish fly from houses on Boy's Day in Japan. Have you seen long colorful tube-like kites with streamers flying from houses? < > Why do you think people fly "kites" from houses in the United States? < > ==================== Saint Patrick's Day Did you know that Saint Patrick wasn't born in Ireland? Scotland, England, France, and Wales all claim to be his birthplace. No one is sure just when he was born or when he died. An Irish legend says he died at age one hundred and twenty! Some say there were two Patricks. That would account for his long life and the many churches, schools, and colleges he founded. In his writings, St. Patrick didn't claim to perform miracles, but many believe he did. And, legend says he drove the snakes out of Ireland. The shamrock custom began when St. Patrick held up a shamrock to explain the Trinity of three persons in one God. Today, parades are held on March 17 from New York to San Francisco! Persons of many nationalities take part in the "wearin' o' the green." Which is easier to find, a shamrock or a four-leaf clover? < > What do some people think about four-leaf clovers? < > What do you think about finding a four-leaf clover? < > ==================== Ibu Afo Festival About mid-March in Nigeria, people celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the new with noise -- lots of noise. Doors bang! Drums sound! Anything that clings or clangs sounds together at the moment when it's time to drive off old grief. When the noise stops, everyone rushes into the streets to welcome in the New Year. But children are very careful not to get caught outside before the noise stops; those who do might be carried away by the old year. New Year's Day in the United States is in mid-winter. Suppose it was in mid-March? Why would mid-March be a good time to celebrate the New Year? < > If New Year's were in mid-March, how would you celebrate the day? Tell how you'd dress, what you would do, and where. < > ==================== Teacher's Day March 28th in Czechoslovakia commemorates the birthday of Amos Komensky. He was the first person to write a book intended just for children! He thought everyone should have books. In 1658, he published a small book. His Visible World of Pictures had woodcuts to illustrate Latin words. He wanted children who looked at the pictures to remember the words. Because of Amos Komensky, Czech children honor their teachers with flowers and gifts on March 28. Today, picture dictionaries are common. Not so in Amos Komensky's time! Why do you think Czechs honor "teachers" because Komensky wrote a book? Write your ideas. < > What is an everyday saying about the importance of a picture? If you don't know, ask your classmates, your teacher, your principal. Or, check the end of the file for the answer. < > ==================== April April Fool's Day Up until the 16th century, the new year began in spring, on Annunciation Day. It was an eight-day-long festival of gift giving and celebration. When January 1 was adopted as the beginning of the new year, many people refused to give up the old custom. Guess what? They were called April fools! A new custom began of playing jokes and pranks. A favorite old French trick was to pin a paper fish on someone's back without getting caught. In Scotland, a person would be sent on a fool's errand on Huntigowk Day (hunt the cuckoo). Today in the United States, people give fake "presents" to a friend, wait for a smile and a "thank you," and shout, "April fool's!" What is a good April fool's joke or custom that you know? < > ==================== Passover Jewish people throughout the world celebrate Passover, a festival of freedom. It recalls the escape from slavery when the Egyptian pharaoh held Jews in bondage. God sent plagues down upon the Egyptians to punish the pharaoh for refusing to let the Hebrews go. Water turned to blood. Frogs, lice, wild beasts, cattle disease, skin disease, hail, locusts, and darkness plagued Egypt! The tenth plague brought death to the first-born male child in every family. Jews smeared the blood of lambs on their doorposts so the Angel of Death would "pass over" their homes. After Pharaoh's first-born son died, he called Moses and Aaron, ordering them to lead the Jews out of Egypt. Today, the feast of Passover is still celebrated with a special meal (or "seder"), reading of the Exodus, special prayers, and songs. What does the word exodus mean? < > What English word is similar? < > Have you ever escaped from great danger? Or, do you know someone personally who has? Write about it. Tell how you (or someone you know) felt after the danger "passed over." < > ==================== Easter The spring festival of Easter began in earliest times. It celebrated the return of the warm sun, the reborn spring sun. The sun is "born" in the east, and the Germanic name for the "dawn" goddess was "Eostre." Christians transferred the sun's symbols to Christ, who was "reborn" on Easter. Many modern Easter customs have pagan roots. Sacramental cakes offered to the pagan goddess became "folar" in Portugal, "spring cakes" in Russia, and "hot cross buns" in England and America. Wearing flowered Easter bonnets and new clothes began because the earth puts on new clothes in springtime; so it was thought people should put on new clothes, too. The egg has always been a symbol of new life. Some early people believed the world was hatched from a gigantic egg. Christians use the egg as a symbol of Christ's rebirth. Eggs gave rise to many customs from egg dying to egg knocking -- where two people, each holding up a hard-boiled egg, try to be first to break the other's shell. Good luck follows the winner! Do you celebrate Easter? If you don't, talk to someone who does. Tell how you or someone you know prepares for Easter and how the day is spent. < > ==================== May May Day The ancient Romans honored Flora, the Goddess of Flowering Plants, at the end of April. They honored the goddess Maia on the first day of her month, May. When the Roman Empire spread to Northern Europe, Roman holidays spread, too. Many customs continue. In England, young people go "a-maying" to gather greens and flowers or trees for a maypole. In Greece, wild flowers are woven into May Day wreaths. Maypoles are a symbol of a living tree, the growing that happens in spring. Today, May Day, a festival to welcome spring, is also a day to honor workers in Socialist and Communist countries. It is celebrated with speeches and military parades. Do you celebrate May Day? If not, maybe you could start. Tell what you would plan for a May Day celebration. < > ==================== Local Spring Celebrations Spring is full of special days. In many places, spring means the opening of baseball, soccer, and track. It's a time for marbles and jumping rope. Spring means puddles and umbrellas before daffodils and tulips. And the end of May means the opening of fishing season and beaches. Read about coming events in local newspapers or magazines. Better yet, participate! Then write a news report, a paragraph describing a spring event. Answer who-what-where-why-when questions. < > ==================== Make up your own springtime celebration. What do you like most about spring? It can be anything from spring green to sky blue! Name your celebration: < > Day. How does < > Day make you feel? (Use a "feeling" word like happy, scared, etc.) < > Why do you like < > Day? < > How should < > Day be celebrated? (Use specific words. For example, a cricket is more specific than insect.) < > Will < > Day be celebrated on a certain date of a certain month? Or will it be a "moveable feast," like the last Monday or Friday of a certain month? < > Write a short news item for your school or local paper to tell about < > Day. Give who-what-where-why-when information. < > Write a letter to a friend (real or imaginary). Tell about the kind of time you had on < > Day. < > If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press Ctrl-S, type a name for the file, and press Enter.) The answer to the Teacher's Day question is, "A picture is worth a thousand words." ==================== end of activity Copyright Renaissance Learning, Inc.Download Driver Pack
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