shortened to All Saints, is a feast celebrated on November 1 in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honor of all the saints, known and unknown. In terms of Roman Catholic theology, the feast commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven, while the next day, All Souls' Day, commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.
(1) History
In the early Church, Christians would celebrate the anniversary of a
martyr's death for Christ (known as the saint's \day\by serving an All-Night Vigil, and then celebrating the Eucharist over their tomb or the shrine at their place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighboring dioceses began to transfer relics, and to celebrate the feast days of specific martyrs in common. Frequently, a number of Christians would suffer martyrdom on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all.
(2) Customs
In Portugal, Spain and Mexico, offerings are made on this day. In Spain,
the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain people bring flowers to the grave of dead relatives.
In Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia,
Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.
In the Philippines, this day, called \Undas\Todos los Santos\
Saints\and sometimes \Araw ng mga Namayapa\(approx.- \of the deceased\observed as All Souls' Day. This day and the one before and one after it is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted.
In English-speaking countries, the festival is traditionally celebrated
with the hymn \For All the Saints\by William Walsham How. The most familiar tune for this hymn is Sine Nomine by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
4. St. Nicholas Eve
In mid-November Dutch television broadcasts the official arrival of St.
Nicholas and his helper live to the nation. Coming by steamer from Spain, each year they dock in the harbor of a different city or village. Wearing traditional robes, rides into town on a white horse to be greeted by the mayor. A motorcade and a brass band begin a great parade which leads Sinterklaas and his through the town. Nearly every city and village has its own Sinterklaas parade.
In the following weeks before , December 6, Sinterklaas goes about the
country to determine if the children have been well-behaved. He and his
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Zwarte Piet helpers visit children in schools, hospitals, department stores, and even at home. The bakeries are busy making molded spice cookies of the . During this time children put out their shoes with wish-lists and a carrot or hay, or maybe a saucer of water, for the horse. When St. Nicholas happens by, the next morning children may find chocolate coins or initial letter, candy treats, pepernoten, and little gifts in their shoes. Everyone hopes for sweets, not coal or a little bag of salt.
The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th, St. Nicholas
Eve, with festive family parties when gifts and surprises are exchanged. In the Netherlands, unlike other places, adults as well as children join in the fun. As the Dutch like an element of surprise, a small gift may be wrapped in a huge box, or it may be hidden and require following clues to discover where it is.
Gifts are prettily wrapped in special Sinterklaas paper or they may be
hidden, for example, in a potato or an old sock. Each gift, anonymously signed \person's shortcomings in a humorous way. (For the less creative, there are books with suggestions for making rhymes and packaging disguises.) Originality, not value of the gift, is what counts.
Children sing traditional Sinterklaas songs while waiting for the saint
to appear. A knock comes on the door and a black gloved hand appears to toss candies and inside. Children scramble to gather up the treats. A large burlap bag, \zak van Sinterklaas,\ also appears filled with gifts. At the table, decorated with specials and other sweets, guests may find their initial in a chocolate letter at their places. Food is apt to include hot chocolate, Bishop’s wine, and letter.
The Dutch feast of Saint Nicholas is about giving, for \
that we receive.\The fun is in trying to surprise people, to tease in a well-meaning way, to make a good joke, to produce a rollicking rhyme. The gift itself is just a bonus, as the fun is in the doing.
II. PREPARATION
a) Think and Write
Please list some of the regional specialties in your hometown. I. Chinese cuisine can be divided into five regional categories:
(1) Northern China - Beijing/Mandarin and Shantung known especially for its steamed bread and noodle dishes. Typical Beijing dishes: Beijing Roast Duck Beijing kaoya Instant-Boiled Mutton Mongolian Hot Pot shuan yangrou (Braised Shark's Fin huangmen yuchi 2Sauteed Chicken With Green Peppers jiangbao jiding )
Sweet Cake With Dates saqima
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(2) South Eastern China - Cantonese and Chaozhou known for its lightly cooked meats and vegetables. Typical courses:
Trumpet Shell Braised In Soy Sauce hongshao hailuo Sweet And Sour Carp tangcu liyu Dezhou Stewed Chicken dezhou paji Caramelized Apples basi pingguo (3) Western China - Sichuan or ChungKing known for its spicy dishes. Typical courses: Sliced Cold Chicken xiao jianji Twice Cooked Pork hui guo rou Shredded Pork and Hot Sauce yuxiang rousi Spicy Hot Bean Curd mapo doufu Hot Pot huoguo Fish Flavored Eggplant yuxiang qiezi Reflecting Beef dengying niurou Couple's Beef Fillet fuqi feipian
(4) Eastern China - Shanghainese known for its slow `red cooking.' Fukien known for its seafood and clear light soups. Typical Shanghai dishes:
Sour and Hot Soup with Eel and Chicken longfeng suanla tang Black Sea Cucumber with Shrimp Roe xiazi dawushen Duck with Prawn Rounds ruyi ya juan xian Shrimps of Two Colors shuangse xiaren Boiled Crucian Carp with Clam geli cuan jiyu
yuanlong fenzheng
Steamed Beef in Rice Flour
niurou
(5) Central China – Honan known for its carp from the yellow river Typical courses: Dong'an Chick dong'an ziji Peppery and Hot Chick mala ziji Lotus Seedpods With Crystal Sugar bingtang xianglian
II. Tea has been the traditional beverage of choice all over China. Today
Coca-Cola and beer are making inroads into China and are popular throughout China.
III. Chinese Cuisine is essentially five cuisines. The vastness of China and its
regional history, ethnic people and climate have created distinct cuisines. Besides these regional cuisines the minorities in China with their unique customs and habits have their own cuisines. The Uygur, Kazak and Ozbek ethnic people like roast mutton kebab and crusty pancake; Mongolians like millet stir-fried in butter, fried sheep tail and tea with milk; Koreans like sticky rice cakes, cold noodles and kimchi (pickled vegetables); Tibetans
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eat zanba (roasted barley flour) and buttered tea; the Lis, Jings and Dais chew betel nut palms. 2. Introductory Remarks
After taking a good look at our Chinese five regional cuisines, let’s have another look at ―What we eat and drink‖ in our text. As we know that, different people have different ideas about what is good to eat and drink. For example, a nomad enjoys the roasted meat of sheep and goats. The favorite meat for Americans is perhaps steak. Sometimes people in different countries prepare the same food very differently. Chinese like soup thin and clear, whereas Germans’ soup is thick and heavy. And Americans will give a variety of answers to the question how they like their steak cooked. Some like it rare; others like it medium or well-done. Even different regions of the same country have very different foods which are called regional specialties. But there are also national foods which you can find anywhere across a country, e.g. hamburgers in US. On holidays people eat traditional and special foods. Coffee and tea are two most popular drinks in the world. People in oriental countries, like China and Japan prefer tea to coffee. Besides our own foods, we also like to try foreign foods and to learn about how to prepare them.
III. LANGUAGE POINTS
PARAGRAGH 1
1. have different ideas about… hold different views toward … Examples:
— Students have very different ideas about studying abroad.
— The family have different ideas about where to travel during the
National Day.
2. …what is good to eat.
The word ―what‖ here in the sentence is used to introduce an object clause. Notes: If we use a what-clause as subject, we use a singular verb if the following main noun is singular and either a singular or a plural verb if the following main noun is plural (although a plural verb is preferred in more formal contexts): Examples:
— What worries us is the poor selection progress. — What caused the accident remains unknown.
— What is needed are additional resources. (or more
colloquially: ...needed is...)
3. if sb. was/were/did…sb. would… Examples:
— If he worked harder, he would pass the exam.
— If I were a tear in your eyes, I would fall down on you lips, kiss you!
But if you were a tear in my eyes, I would never cry, because I’m
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afraid to lose you!
4. as well (as sb./sth.): in addition (to sb./sth./doing sth.) Examples:
— Are they coming as well?
— He grows flowers as well as vegetables.
— She is a talented musician as well as being a photographer.
PARAGRAGH 2
5. Even when people in different parts of the world eat the same food, they often prepare it very differently — People in different parts of the world often cook the same food in a very different way. 6. whereas
(conj.) but in contrast; while Examples:
— He earns $8,000 a year whereas she gets at least $20,000.
— Some people like to stay alone, whereas others like to be with people.
7. delicacy:
(n) (adj.: delicate)
(of colors, food, smells) pleasantness that does not strongly affect the senses; type of food thought to be delicious, esp. in a particular place.
Examples:
— The local people regard these crabs as a great delicacy. — a scent of great delicacy.
PARAGRAGH 3
8. People living in different regions of the same country often prepare foods differently — Even living in the same country, people from different regions often cook foods in very different way.
9. ground beef: in this expressions, ground is the past participle form used as and adjective, the original form of ―ground‖ is ―grind‖. grind:
(v.) (ground, ground)
crush sth. to very small pieces or to powder between millstones, the teeth, etc or using an electrical or a mechanical apparatus.
Examples:
— The elephant grinds its food with/between its powerful molars. — grind coffee beans
— grind corn (down/up) into flour
— grind sth to dust, to (a fine) powder, etc. PARAGRAGH 4
10. in advance: beforehand, ahead in time Examples:
— The rent must be paid in advance.
— It’s impossible to know in advance what will happen.
— Galileo’s ideas were well in advance of the age in which he lived.
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