The Beijing Opera is our national opera. It is an important part of Chinese culture. Do you like watching the Beijing Opera? Why does Bao Zheng always have a black face? Why does Guan Yu have a red face? Let's take a look at the art of the Beijing Opera facial painting or lianpu.

    Different colours and patterns of the Beijing Opera facial painting are for different roles. For example, a red face is for brave people; a black face is for fair people; a white face is for bad people; a blue and green face is for heroes and a gold face is for gods.

    There are five big roles in the Beijing Opera: sheng, dan, jing, mo and chou. Sheng is the biggest role for a man. Dan is the biggest role for a woman.

    February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love. On this day, these men and women give gifts (presents)and cards to each other for Valentine's Day(情人节).This day has been popular with people in love  for a long time. At first，this holiday was called Lupercalia. Then the name of the day was changed to Saint Valentine's Day. The man named Saint Valentine was killed on February 14，270 AD, because he was a Christian (基督教徒).

    Before Saint Valentine was killed，February 14 was the old Roman holiday，Lupercalia. The church wanted people to think of a Christian holiday on this day，so the church changed the name of the holiday.

    This change did not stop people in love from giving gifts to each other. People usually gave gloves, handkerchiefs, or even underwear was gifts. Sometimes people also put hearts and flowers on the presents before giving it to the other persons.

    Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s. The first Valentine cards were made by hand. People wrote their own words on the cards. These words were usually funny.

    Now, every year around February 14，cards and chocolates fill shops for people in love.

    Do you think that it's possible to raise money by playing tricks on others? It is possible on Red Nose Day in the UK.

    The day was on March 15 this year. People do some funny things to make people laugh and raise money. They tell jokes. They dance in a funny way. Most importantly, they wear red noses. All the money goes to help the poor in the UK and Africa.

    Red Nose Day is not the only way to raise money for charity. Here are some other interesting ways to help people in need. Let's have a look!

Charity shops

    In the UK, some people like buying things in charity shops. This kind of shops sell used(用过的) things like clothes, shoes and books. People donate them to the shops. So things in the shops are very cheap. The money they raise goes to help sick children and homeless people.

Charity concerts

    This is a common(普通的) way for pop stars to raise money. Concerts help raise money and awareness（意识). The Live 8 concert in 2005 was one of the largest concerts of this kind. It helped make people care more