【正文】 O n thi s im portant feast day, people eat fod i n the shape of skul s and cakes wi th “bones” on them. They offer food, flowers and gi fts to the dead. The Western hol i day H al l oween al so had its ori gi n i n ol d bel iefs about the return of the spi ri ts of dead peopl e. It i s now a chil dren’s festi val, when they can dres up an go to their nei ghbours’ homes to ask for sweets. If the nei ghbours do not gi ve any sweers, the chil dren mi ght play a tri ck on them. Feti val s to H onour Peopl e Festi vals can al so be hel d to honour fam ous people. The Dragon Boat Festi val in Chi na honours the fam ous anci ent poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Columbus Day i s in m emory of the arival of Chri stopher Col um bus i n the N ew Worl d. Indi a has a nati onal festi val on O ctober 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi , the l eader who helped gai n India’s i ndependece from Bri tai n. H arvest Festi val s Harvest and Thanksgiving festival can be very hapy events. Peopl e are grateful because their food i s gathered for the winter and the agri cul tural work i s over. In European countri es, peopl e wi l usual ly decorate churches and town hal s wi th fl owers and frui t, and wi l get together to have m eals. Som e peopl e m ight win awards for thei r farm produce, li ke the biggest waterm el on or the m ost handsom e roster. China and Japan have m i dautumn festi vals, when peopl e adm ire the m oon and in China, enjoy mooncakes. Spring Festivals The most energeti c and im portant festi val s are te ones that l ook forward to the end of wi nter and to the ing of spring. At the Spri ng Festi val in China, peopl e eat dum pi ngs i fsh and m eat and m ay gi ve chil dren lucky money i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnivals , and fam il es cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Som e Western countries have very exci ti ng carni cal s, which take place forty days before Easter, usual y in February. These carni val s m ight i ncl ude parades, dancing i n the streets day and ni ght, l oud musi c and colourful cl othi ng of al ki nds. Easter is an im portant reli gi ous and social festi val for Chiristi ans around the world. It celebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the ing of spring and new li fe. Japan’s Cherry Bl osom Festical happens a li tle l ater. The country, covered with cherry tree fl owers, l oks as though it i s covered wi th pink snow. People l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festi vals l et us enjoy li fe, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li ttl e whil e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Jin had sai d she woul d meet him at the coffee shop after work. But she didn’t turn up. She coul d be wi th her fri ends right now l aughi ng at him. She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ clock, and he thought she would keep her word. He had looked forward to m eti ng her al day, and now he was al on with hi s roses and chocolates, li ke a fool . Wel, he ws not goi ng to hol d his breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d drown his sadness i n cofee. It was obvi ous that the manager of the coffee shop was waiti ng for Li Fang to l eave – he wi ped the tabl es, then sat down and turned on the TV – just what Li Fang needed! A sad Chi nese story about lost l ove. The randdaughter of the Goddess of H eaven visited the earth. H er nam e was Zhi nu, the weavi ng fi rl . Whi l e she was on earth she met the herd boy Ni ul ang and they fel l in l ove. ( “ Just l i ke me and H u Ji n,” thought Li Fang.) They got m arri ed secretly, and they were very hapy. (“We coul d be l ike that, “ thought Li Fang. ) When the Goddess of H eaven knew that her grandaughter was m aried to a hum an, she became very angry and m ade the weavi ng girl return to Heaven. Ni ul ang tri ed to fol ow her, but the ri ver of stars, the Mil ky Way, stopped him. Fi nding that Zhinu was heartbroken, her grandm other fi nal ly deci ded to l et the couple cross the Mil ky Way to meet once a year. Magi pi es m ake a bri dge of thei r wings so the couple can cross the river to m et on the seventh day of the senveth lunar month. People i n Chi an hope that the weather wil be fi ne on that day, because i f i t i s rai ni ng, it m eans that zhi nu i s weeping and the coupl e won’t be abl e to m et. The announcer sai d, “ This i s the story of Qiqiao Festival . When forei gners hear about the story they cal l it a Chinese Val enti ne’s story. It’s a fine day today, so I hope you can al meet the one you l ove. ” As Li Fang set off for hom e, he thought , “ I guess H u Jin doesn’t l ove me. I’ just throw these fl owers and chocol ates away. I don’t want them to rem ind me of her. ” So he di d. As he sadl y passed the tea shop on the corner on his wasy home, he heard a voi ce cal li ng him . There was H uji n wavi ng at him and cali ng, “Why are you so l ate? I’ ve ben waiting for you for a l ong time! An I have a gift for you!” What woul d he do? He had thrown away her Val enti ne fi ges! She would never five him. Thi s woul d not be a happy Balenti ne’s Day! Wi nter Carnival i n Quebec A group of very col d touri sts are si ting i n a cafe in ol d Quevec, dri nki ng hor coffee to try to warm up. The tem perature i s 32 degres bel ow freezi ng. The windows are cobered wi th steam from the heat i nsi de. Outsi de, snow covers the streets and is pil ed up al ong the si dewalks. The musi c and l ights of the Carni val continue, but after a whole day of watchi ng parades, ridi ng i n horse carri ages and l istening to the music, thei r feet are freezi ng and thei r noses are red. Every year, hundreds of thousands of peopl e e to Quebec to take part i n the wellong wi nter festival , the bi gest i n the worl d. Everyone who es m ust be prepared to kep m ovi ng. As it i s to col d to stand and watch for long. Earl y i n the m orning, you can watch the snowboardi ng