The Spring Festival is one of the most important festivals in China. During the Festival, Chinese people have many activities. They paste up（张贴）Spring Festival couplets （春联），greeting the New year, and saying _______ to the old year. On the first day of the Spring Festival, people _______ wearing new clothes. Nowadays, children get_______ pockets from their parents and their relatives by web chat. It is a good time, for people, to visit relatives and friends. More importantly, the Spring Festival is, celebrated not only in China but also in _______ parts of the world.

The Spring Festival was _______ in the UK from 1980. Every new year, people also get together and have lots of activities. They sing songs, dance _______ music, share photos with friends or watch _______ in the cinema. Additionally, the Spring Festival has become a key time, for Chjnese   living in the US. They _______ in a large evening party to welcome the traditional new year. The Chinese New Year will be welcomed, three weeks of celebrations across Australia. Thousands of people come to Sydney’s Chinatown. They enjoy fireworks（鞭炮）and lion dances. The family dinner on New Year’s Eve is an important tradition for Chinese _______they were born in Singapore or moved there from China. They usually hold it at ________ because having it in a restaurant takes away the meaning of the tradition.

Valentine’s Day is coming! Shops are filled with chocolates and hearts. In most countries, people celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14^th. In Japan, there are two Valentine’s Day. The first one is on February 14^th, when women make and give chocolates to their boyfriends, male friends, colleagues and bosses. The second one is on March 14^th and it was introduced in the 1960’s by a marshmallow（棉花糖）company. Since the marshmallows were white, the company called it White Day.

On White Day, Japanese men give presents to women. They give expensive gifts to the women who gave them chocolates on February 14^th. They do this to thank women for their love and care over the past year.

Shops earn a lot of money on these two days. A recent survey shows that 70% of women in Japan celebrate Valentine’s Day. On the other hand, only 39% of men celebrate White Day. Chocolates are not their only choice of gifts. The Japanese also make or buy cookies and sweets for their loved ones on Valentine’s Day.

Not only do adults celebrate Valentine’s Day but children around world celebrate it, too. In America, children like visiting their neighbors and singing songs. Their neighbors give them sweets or fruit as rewards. British children hold parties and give cards to people they like. In general, heart-shaped lollipops（棒棒糖）and chocolates are the most popular gifts among the children.

So don’t forget to go shopping this Valentine’s Day. You may even want to buy a gift for yourself.

We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs（习俗）for each festival.

Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China

“It’ll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we’ll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”

Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia

Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there is lots of music and dancing. What fun!”

Amy, 14, New York, USA

The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It’s still a very important day for families to be together. This year we’re going to visit my grandparents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year.”

    41    They like to have celebrations(庆祝活动). In China, people celebrate New Year.     42    They wear red clothes because red is the color that will bring joy. Chinese children get money in red envelopes for the New Year. In Gambia(冈比亚), people celebrate Independence Day(独立日). It is in February.     43     In England, people celebrate May Day.     44    They wear pretty clothes to celebrate the coming spring. The children like to dance on this day. In America, people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It’s on the fourth Thursday in November. They have a very big dinner with their families or friends.     45    They have a long talk after the dinner.

How are you? I had great fun last Monday,     46     18^th 2018. It was a traditional Chinese festival called Dragon Boat Festival that day.

This festival is in memory of QU Yuan, one of     47     greatest Chinese poets. He killed himself by jumping into the Miluo River on May 5^th of the lunar calendar（阴历）278BC. People there rowed the boats to     48     him. But it was too late. They were very sad and then threw rice into the     49     to feed the fishes so that they would stay away from his body.

    50     then on, every year on this day, people enjoy     51     zongzi which is made of rice with meat, eggs and so on. In the past we ate it only     52     a year, but now we regard it as our daily food. We have it any time we like.

Have you ever     53     the dragon boat race on TV? It is another important part of this festival. Several teams row their dragon-shaped boats as     54    as they can. They first team to reach the finish line wins.

If you have a plan to visit China next year, would     55     like to spend this festival with us?