Festivals and Celebrations- Vocabulary

Recommending festivals and celebrations

with festivals and celebrations vocabulary

 

Festivals and celebrations discussion questions

Discuss the questions below in small groups.

What was the last public festival or celebration that you went to? Would you recommend it to other people? Why/ Why not?

 

What is the most impressive and/ or unique festival or celebration in your country? Would you recommend it to foreign visitors? Why/ Why not?

 

Are there any festivals or celebrations in other countries which you would like to go to? Why those ones?

 

Choose one of the words describing festivals and celebrations below, brainstorm examples of festivals and celebrations which match that word, then choose one example that you both recommend or want to go to:

• arts festival
• bonfires
• Caribbean
• competitive/ awards/ choosing the best...
• decorations
• exciting/ thrilling/ wild
• family-friendly
• fancy dress/ dressing up/ costumes
• fireworks
• flamboyant
• Instagrammable
• lit up
• memorable/ unforgettable
• memorial/ anniversary/ honouring...
• multi-cultural
• music festival
• on a bank/ public/ national holiday
• ..
• procession/ parade/ floats
• reconstruction
• religious
• romantic
• street food
• street party/ carnival
• street performers
• street stalls
• the highlight of the year (in that place)
• touching/ moving
• traditional/ ancient

Try to find a festival or celebration that your partner has never heard of or knows very little about but would enjoy. They will ask questions to check if they would enjoy it or not and to be able to explain it to someone else in the next stage of this lesson. Continue until you have found one you didn’t know (much) about but think you would like. If you have both chosen before other groups, practise explaining it back to your partner.

Suggested questions

• When…?
• What kind of food…?
• What happens (…)?
• Do people (need to)…?
• What do people do/ wear/ eat/ drink/…?
• How long…?
• What is special about…?
• It is (very)…?
• What’s the best thing about…?

 

Suggested festivals and celebrations to discuss

• anniversary of...
• …'s birthday
• Burning Man
• Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year
• Diwali festival of lights
• Edinburgh Festival
• Eid (al-Fitr)
• Gay Pride
• Glastonbury
• Guy Fawkes Night/ Bonfire Night
• harvest festival
• Holi paint throwing festivals
• Krampus Nacht
• La Tomatina
• May Day
• Mexican Day of the Dead
• Oktoberfest
• Running of the bulls
• Saint Patrick's Day
• Semana Santa
• Shrove Tuesday/ Pancake Day
• (spring/ autumn) solstice
• Tanabata
• War Memorial Day/ Poppy Day
• Water throwing festival

Explain the festival or celebration that you didn’t know about but chose to someone from another group and see if they think they would enjoy it.