2 . Summer services

Summer services contacts area non-profit organizations to determine the number of volunteers needed at the organizations throughout the summer weeks. Students sign up for volunteer expectations with Summer Services at the Activities Fair on Opening Weekend. Trips are scheduled throughout the summer on Saturdays.

Harvard Summer School Orchestra

The Harvard Summer School Orchestra is currently in its thirty-fifth season and the direction of Juith Zuckerman. Practice sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., in Sanders Theatre, on the following dates: Friday, June 28; Mondays, starting from July 1; and Friday, July 26. The performance is scheduled for Saturday, July 27, at 8 p.m. in Sanders Theatre, memorial Hall. For more information, please email hsso@verizon. net.

Harvard Summer Pops Band

This band is open to most instrument players from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area, regardless of age or experience.

Practice sessions are Wednesdays in Sanders Theatre from 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., starting from 24 June. The band will perform two concerts. The first on 23 July at 4 p.m. in Tercentenary Theater, Harvard Yard, and the second on 26 July at 3 p.m. at the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston. For more information, email meolson @ fas. Harvard. edu.

Harvard Summer Chorus

The chorus, founded in 1936, is led by Andrew Clark, Harvard University 's Director of Choral Activities. Practice sessions are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., in Sander Theatre, starting from Tuesday,25 June. The final performance is scheduled for Friday, 2 August at 8 p.m., in Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall. Visited the Harvard Summer Chorus website or email harvardsummerchorus@gmail.com for more information.

Festivals and celebrations have many     1    (original), some religious, some seasonal and some     2     memory of special people or events. Some festivals are held     3     (honor) or satisfy our ancestors. People light lamps and play music because they think this     4    (lead )the ancestors back to earth. India honors Mohandas Gandhi    5    helped gain India’s independence from Britain. And the Chinese Lunar New Year is the most    6     (energy) and important festival. Children look forward to     7    (dress) up and people may give them lucky money in red paper. Harvest and thanksgiving festivals can be happy events. People are grateful because their food     8     (gather) for the winter and the agricultural work is over. Japan,     9    (cover) with cherry tree flower, has Cherry Blossom Festivals. No matter     10     the reason is, festivals are always times for great feasts with lots to eat, and generally lots of fun.

I am happy to hear from you.

Yours,

Li Hua

How time flies! I have hardly had time to enjoy the warmth of my home while it's time go back to school. This winter I spend ten days studying math, chemistry and physics, none of them was easy for me.

And I still had some fun during the Spring Festival. I had attended my uncle's wedding and my new aunt was very beautiful. To my disappoiting, I didn't get many lucky money as I had expected. I also went to the cinema with several classmates. We played jokes on each other and had a big meal in a restaurant calling "Red Lobster". The food there was very delicious and we all really enjoyed myself.

9 . Ostara, upon which Easter is based, is the Pagan celebration of the vernal equinox (春分).

The holiday is named after Eostre, a spring goddess of the Germanic tradition. There isn’t much written record of Eostre, and it is thought she was worshiped by tribes who used oral tradition rather than written words to record history. Eostre was a symbol of fertility—she may have been the original source of the association of eggs with springtime celebrations. She may also be responsible for the Easter rabbit—the spring equinox was a time when hares would come out and mate. A female hare can even conceive (受孕) while pregnant with another one—this remarkable fertility became a symbol of the season. Therefore, we get “Eostre rabbits” in the spring.

Growth and awakening are important parts of Ostara celebrations. Because the day marks the coming of the planting season, modern Pagans store seeds to later transfer outdoors after frost has disappeared. Caring for the seedling is like worshiping the goddess. Besides, drawings replace the pretty colors of new flowers.

For Pagans, Ostara is a time for spiritual awakening and rebirth. Walking meditation is a common practice and special attention is paid to the signs of nature coming back to life. New beginnings are coming, and there is much soul-searching and clearing away negative energy. This spiritual cleaning is also reflected in the practice of spring cleaning.

Whether you’re Pagan or not, you might have noticed many of your own springtime celebrations in Ostara celebrations, and there’s a reason why Pagan customs have been practiced pretty much in the same way because so much of it is simply human nature. Who could resist a springtime walk in a forest? Is there anyone who isn’t inspired by nature’s annual new beginning? So whatever your own tradition, honor the season with a spiritual cleaning and rebirth—to make room for beautiful things to come.