3 . The Symbolism of Chinese Foods

China is a country with a long history, and food has played an important role in the development of Chinese culture. Every year many traditional festivals and events are celebrated with special foods. Some of these foods have particular meanings, such as good luck, best wishes, unity and commemoration (纪念).

Spring Festival(Chinese New Year)is the most important traditional festival in China. So New Year foods usually symbolize good luck and best wishes.

·Year cake (niángāo) means “increasing prosperity (繁荣)” because the name sounds the same as “year high” or “yearly increase”.

·Dumplings mean “wealth”, due to their traditional gold / silver ingot (锭) shape.

Lantern Festival is the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar year, and the full moon as well as the food symbolizes family reunion.

·Sweet round sticky rice balls in soup (tāngyuán) mean “togetherness and reunion”.

Dragon Boat Festival is an important celebration in China to commemorate Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic poet of China in ancient times.

·Glutinous rice dumplings (zòngzi) wrapped in bamboo leaves symbolize Qu Yuan commemoration.

Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important traditional Chinese festival. It is a time for family members and loved ones to get together to celebrate family reunion. Therefore, people celebrate it by preparing foods with family-reunion symbolic meanings.

·Mooncakes mean “family unity”, as they’re round, like the harvest moon.

·Pomeloes (yòuzi) mean “family unity” and “abundance”, as they’re round, too, and the Chinese sounds like the word for “to have”.

4 . On most Sundays, the sound of hammers(锤子)and other tools hitting stone can be heard in a village in the Chimalhuacan area, on Mexico City’s east side. The sounds come from stone carvers(石雕师)who still work on a skill that has been passed down for generations(世代)—even after the local stone was used up. The village is filled with meter-high religious(宗教的)figures and other beautiful stone objects.

Generations of stone carvers in Chimalhuacan also created much of the stonework found on buildings and in parks in the capital’s downtown.

While carvers in other areas long ago turned to machines, the workers here only use hammers and other special hand tools. Many are self-taught, but some, like Tomás Ugarte, aged 86, learned in the traditional way. This method of rock cutting has been passed down between family members, dating back about five generations.

The rock cutters are generally old. There were about 600 official stone carvers about 10 years ago. Now, there are probably only around 300. The carvers are dying and their children generally do not want to take up the trade.

Still, the stone carvers keep the old traditions alive. Many people in the area use stone tools made by the stone carvers.

Rev. Alberto Sandoval, who has known the stone workers since 1990, described them as “the backbone of the community.” Most of the carvers have work areas at home, which provides them with some money. They sell carvings for prices from $500 to $2,000. But they often do not sell much.

Unlike many craftspeople who want to see their works shown in museums, the carvers here also work for free at repairing the stonework at the 250-year-old local church, Santa Maria de Guadalupe.

Asked if the trade will continue, carver Mario Olivares read a poem written on the church wall: “Your art, your tradition, your culture and the nobility(高贵)of the people keep the spirit of this town alive.”

7 . Along the rocky Algerian coast, just east of where Mount Chenoua slides into the Medi-terranean, has stood Tipasa for more than 2,500 years. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in North Africa.

Tipasa fell into ruin in the sixth century. Both its main group of buildings on the coast and an inland monumental tomb(陵墓)surrounded by the olive trees were all forgotten. Most of the ancient city, in fact, remains buried under the ground. For the last few decades, however, what’s left of Tipasa’s past has been increasingly surrounded on three sides by the expanding modern town of Tipasa. And to the north, the waves lap ever closer.

“What’s special about Tipasa, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site since 1982, is its unique landscape, the shared presence of history and archaeology, culture, nature and architecture. It’s the spirit of the place,” said Lynda, who has studied Tipasa and the ongoing challenges from both rapid urbanization(城市化)and inadequate(不足的)site management.

Now, Tipasa is entering a new period, perhaps its last: It’s become a symbol of an entire continent’s heritage in great danger. In a recent Nature Climate Change paper, a team reported the results: How sea level rise is affecting nearly 300 World Heritage Sites around Africa’s roughly 20,000 miles of coastline. About 20 percent of the sites examined, including Tipasa, are already at high risk from flooding and erosion(侵蚀).By 2050 that figure is expected to more than three times.

The site’s 21st-century problems have only increased in the last two decades. UNESCO has repeatedly threatened to strip the site of World Heritage status. As recently as 2021, the organization noted a series of problems at Tipasa, such as modern building, including a proposed port, that threatened the site’s completeness.

8 . Top Four Festivals in the World

Saint Patrick’s Day, Ireland

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated anywhere in the world where there are the Irish. If you’re going to get involved, there’s no better place than Dublin. This festival runs for five days and five nights in March along with performing arts, literature, tours and food events.

Holi Festival, India

It’s also called the “festival of love” as on the full-moon day in March people get together, forgetting all types of bad feeling towards each other. You’ll mostly see Holi Festival across India and Nepal, but also in other areas with large Hindu populations. It starts by lighting a night-time bonfire (篝火)where people sing and dance. People throw coloured water and powder (粉末) to their friends and families to show love and respect.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland

One of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture in the world, the festival runs for three weeks every August throughout the Scottish capital. Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city to present shows for every taste. The Fringe is run by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Society to support and encourage the Scottish arts.

Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland

There are plenty of music festivals in Europe, but Montreux Jazz Festival held in October near the Lake Geneva is truly one of a kind and is the second-largest jazz festival in the world. It’s not just jazz, though. You’ll find broad-ranging concerts from pop to rock and blues, and best of all, most of the performances are free.

9 . Rebecca Williams, 42, from Australia, has been doing dubbing (配音) work in Beijing for many years. When she was very young, she would unconsciously imitate other peopled voices, not to make fun of them, but more out of habit. “My voice has always been very changeable, depending on who I’m talking to,” she said. She never expected this habit to land her a dubbing job in China in the future.

At 18, Williams was an exchange student at the University of the Nations in Hawaii, the U. S. Like most new adults, she was thinking about what to do with her life. Then, a group of exchange students from China visited the school. “They were sharing everyday life in China. As they were talking, something inside me got lit on fire,” she said. At that time, she realized her future would lie in China.

After graduation, Williams came to China and got into dubbing by chance. At this point, she has dubbed for nearly 100 English teaching films, TV shows and movies. Williams has cooperated with the StarTimes. The StarTimes has a TV network in more than 30 African countries. Most of the TV shows she has dubbed for are shown in African. “I think it’s a really great way to bridge cultures, to allow people abroad to watch some of the plays that Chinese people watch, and have a better understanding of Chinese life, but in a language they can understand,” Williams said.

Williams has lived in China for twenty years. She used to visit Australia once every two years. Luckily, there’s no time difference between her hometown of Esperance and Beijing. And thanks to advanced mobile networks, she can just pick up her phone and video chat with her family whenever they feel like it. “That helps me a lot,” Williams said.

Williams has become more and more at home in China and she sees China as her second hometown.

10 . Where to Eat on Christmas Day in London?

Bob Bob Ricard

The best choice for smaller child-free parties—or pairs—that think of Christmas as an excuse to enjoy distinctly adult treats, let’s say: caviar, oysters, steak, followed by cheese and fries, all washed down with wine (ordered by pressing a button, obviously).

Location: 1 Upper James St, Soho, London W1F 9DF, UK

Contact: 020 3145 1000

Min Jiang Restaurant

If a typical modern Chinese banquet (宴会) is required to refresh the family’s Christmas spirit, book a table atop the Royal Garden Hotel and look out over Hyde Park while sharing a feast that includes traditional Chinese dishes. Since it’s Christmas, it’s probably worth going all out by pre ordering a whole or hall Beijing (Peking) duck, too.

Location: 2-24 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 4PT, UK

Contact: 020 7361 1988

The Alexandra

A special case: The Alexandra in Wimbledon offers a wonderful Christmas dinner to anyone spending Christmas Day alone, no charge under whatever circumstances. It is a place of spirit, refuge, and generosity.

Location: 33 Wimbledon Hill Rd, Wimbledon. London SW19 7NE, UK

Contact: 020 8947 7691

The Pem

Sally Abé’s newest restaurant is serving up a classic three courses in Westminster, for £130 a head (children under six, free if accompanied by adults). Guests can choose between smoked sea fish and crab mousse or a special ham for a starter, with bee Wellington or a plate of goose coming as main dishes, followed by Christmas pudding and ice scream. We offer a 10% discount if the total cost is over £500.

Location: 22-28 Broadway, London SW1H 0BH, UK

Contact: 020 3301 8080