Canada Day

      Since 1982, July 1st has been officially known as Canada Day. Canadians of all ages take part in this festival across the country.
　　Canada Day is the year's biggest national party. In many towns and cities, the government organizes a lot of events, often outdoors. These include parades（游行）, concerts, festivals, firework displays and ceremonies for new Canadian citizens（公民）. The celebrations often have a patriotic mood. Canada's national flag, a symbol for Canada Day, can be seen everywhere and a lot of people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada's national colors. The celebrations in Ottawa, Canada's capital city, are especially grand and exciting.
　　In the province of Quebec, many home rentals（租赁）start on July 1st and last for exactly one year, and many people in Quebec spend Canada Day moving from one house to another. So in Quebec, Canada Day is also known as Moving Day.
　　Many organizations, businesses and stores are closed this day. Only some bookstores, ho spitals and gas stations may be open. Post offices are closed, too. As Canada Day falls in the Canadian summer holiday period, all schools are closed as well. In some areas, special services are provided for large events. The concerts, parades and festivals may cause some traffic jams.

One thing that British and Chinese cultures share is a love for fine tea. Today, when we think of western tea culture, we often think of the English and beautiful china cups.

  Afternoon tea

People believe that an English lady, Anna, first introduced the idea of afternoon tea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the English are only two main meals each day —breakfast and a heavy dinner that would last several hours in the evening. As a result, people often got very hungry during the long wait between these two meals. To solve this problem, Anna came up with the clever idea of inviting some friends to join her for an afternoon meal between four and five o'clock. This meal included cakes and sandwiches, and tea was served to wash down the food. In order to make this afternoon meal important, fine china cups and plates, and silver teapots, forks and spoons were used. Soon, afternoon tea parties became popular social occasions. Today, afternoon tea parties continue to play an important part in the social life in the modern Britain.

  Will you come for coffee?

 Coffee also has an important role in British culture. People often use the words “Will you come for coffee?”to mean "Would you like to come to my home for a chat?" Normally, several different drinks such as tea, hot chocolate or a soft drink like orange juice will be served as well as coffee, and you will be asked what you would like. However, you will not normally be offered wine at a “coffee" party.

  Coffeehouses and the London Stock Exchange(股票交易所)

  In the 17th century London, coffeehouses were busy and noisy places. Businessmen and bankers went to coffeehouses to do their business, as well as to drink coffee. In fact, the London Stock Exchange is believed to have started from these coffeehouses.

    Thang-ga(唐卡）is a special kind of painting .It was found only in Tibet,China. It started from the Tang Dynasty(唐朝). Thang-ga paintings show Tibetan people's lives. In recent years, Tang-ga paintings have caught the public's attention .At the same time,the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the art.

    The color of Tang-ga paintings looks wonderful and special. Because of the special environment of Tibet and the excellent skills of artists, the paints(颜料) used in Thang-ga are different from other paints. They were made from minerals like gold and silver, as well as some plants. The paints were made by hand and the beautiful colors could last(持续)for hundreds of years.

    However, with the development of technology, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make Thang-ga paints. The traditional paints used in Thang-ga paintings took a lot of work and they were made in many secret ways. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills needed to make them were almost lost. The traditional Thang-ga paintings are difficult to find now.

    On New Year's Eve, people in Italy throw out all the old things. So there are chairs, beds, clothes and plates in the streets. In Spain, New Year comes more quietly. Everyone holds a bag of grapes. When twelve o'clock comes, people start eating the grapes.

    In Japan, people eat noodles on New Year's Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next morning, some families climb Mount Fuji. There they watch the first sunrise of New Year.