Spring Festival

    In China Spring Festival is the most important festival. It comes on the first day of the first lunar month（阴历月）．

    Before Spring Festival comes，people go out to buy things，such as meat，chicken，fish，fruit，sweets and new clothes. They clean their houses and decorate them. The Chinese character fu is a must. It is usually stuck（贴）upside down，which means "fu comes".

    The celebrations（庆祝）begin on the eve of the lunar New Year. The family get together for a big dinner. If a person is far from home，he will always try to get home for this big dinner. After the dinner，the whole family will sit together, chatting（聊天）and watching TV.

    During the holidays，they go to visit relatives（亲戚）and friends and exchange New Year greetings. They sit around talking and eating candies，cakes and all kinds of delicious foods. Every family prepares something special. Each child will get money as a New Year gift. People in the north of China often eat dumplings fir breakfast. People in the south often eat niangao because niangao means "higher and higher one year after another".

    The celebrations last（持续）15 days. It will come to an end when the Lantern Festival finishes.

    In Britain, Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26^th, which is the following day after Christmas Day. However, strictly speaking. Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas. Like Christmas Day. Boxing Day sing a public holiday. This means it's a non-working day in the whole of Britain. When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is the public holiday.

    The exact origin（起源）of the holiday is unclear. One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, a Christmas Box was placed by a priest （神父）on each ship. Those sailors who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was sealed up and kept on board until the ship came home safely. Then the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the sailing. The priest wouldn't open it to share the contents with the poor until Christmas.

    One more thought is about the “Alms Box” placed in every church on Christmas Day. Worshippers （做礼拜的人）put gifts for the poor into it. These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas, that is why that day became know as Boxing Day.

    Today, many businesses, organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by donating（捐赠）their time, services and money to aid Food Banks, providing gifts for the poor, or helping families in need. Besides, spending time with family and shopping are popular Boxing Day activities now.

    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

    In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give an injection(打针) so that they won't carry diseases. They have special animal food stores though they can get animal food in almost every store. Some people spend about two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food. When you visit people's home, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal.

    They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed(允许) to kill any animal in Canada.