When someone dies, we are very sad, We miss that person and think about him/her. In some countries there are special festivals for all the dead people. Some of these festivals are to remember our ancestors. Our ancestors lived a long time ago and are now dead. Every family has ancestors. For example, you grandfather's grandfather is your ancestor.
A festival for ancestor is a lot of fun, At the festival different people in different countries do different things for their ancestors. Some people give their ancestors food and drink. Some people have parties. What do you do in your country at a festival for ancestors?
Every spring there is an important festival for Chinese people all over the world called Qingming.
At Qingming families visit the graves of their ancestors. They sweep the graves and make them look nice. They also leave joss-sticks, candles, flowers, food and Chinese wine for their ancestors.
Most Chinese people live to visit the graves of their ancestors at Qingming. But some people live too far away from their ancestors' graves to visit them. These people often have a special party at home. They cook nice food for their ancestors and later them eat the food themselves.
Many people think (that) you should look after your ancestors. But some ghosts do not have families in our world. There is a special festival in the summer for these ghosts. It is called The Festival of Hungry.
People make special food for the 'hungry ghosts'. They put it outside so the 'hungry ghosts' can take it. People think that the 'hungry ghosts' also need money, clothes and houses. People make these things out of paper and then burn them beside roads. Some people drowned in rivers or the sea so their ghosts do not have graves. People float paper presents down rivers or in the sea for them.
The Day of the Dead is very special festival in Mexico. It is really three days, from 31 October until 2 November. On The Day of Dead, Mexicans think that the ghosts of dead people come back to the world. There are parties to welcome the ghosts in all the towns and cities of Mexico.
The Day of the Dead is not a sad day. People eat and drink and have fun. They make sugar skulls and chocolate coffins. There are model skeletons everywhere. The model skeletons are often doing something funny. Sometimes they are answering the telephone or playing the guitar.
On the night of 31 October Mexican families get ready for the Day of Dead. They cook food for the children''s ghosts first. This is because many Mexicans think that the ghosts of children come back before the ghosts of adults. They put many sweet things on the table for the children's ghosts. There are often chocolate and cakes to eat, and things like Coke and orange juice to drink.
Then the families cook food for the adults' ghosts. Each ghost is given his or her favourite food and drink. Some time people put special presents on the table for the ghosts to make them happy. Some families also give clothes to the ghosts.
The Cordoso family always remembers their grandfather on The Day of the Dead. Grandfather Cordoso's favourite food was chicken and his favourite drink was beer. They cook a big chicken for Grandfather Cordoso, and they give them a large glass of beer. They do this to tell him how much they love him.
Everybody knows that ghosts cannot eat and drink like us. The food will still be there the day after the Day of the Dead, and the Cordoso families will eat it themselves. Buy they think that Grandfather Cordoso will eat the food, too.
for all the dead people. for... 对所有死去的人的节日
Some of these festivals Some 不定代词作主语
ancestors 祖先
are now dead. 一般现在时态，now副词放在中间、后面
For example, 插入语
for their ancestors. 目的状语
for ancestors? 定语修饰 festival
for Chinese people all over the world 定语修饰 festival
graves n. 坟墓
joss-sticks 香
far away from 离……远， too ... to 太...而不能...
(that) you should look after your ancestors. 省 that 的宾语从句
make these things out of paper make sth out of sth. out of = 用…做…
drowned v. 淹死
float 不及物动词 漂浮，及物动词 v. （使）漂浮
down 作介词 顺着... 往下。
The Day of the Dead 亡灵节
to welcome the ghosts in all the towns and cities of Mexico. 做目的状语
have fun. 玩的开心
sugar skulls 糖骷髅头
chocolate coffins 巧克力棺材
model skeletons 模型骨架； 骷髅架
get/be ready for 为……做准备
Each ghost is given his or her favourite food and drink. 被动句，转肯定句 they give each ghost his or her favourite food and drink.
to tell him how much they love him. 含有宾语从句的不定式短语
Halloween is another important festival for ghosts. It is on the night of 31 October. Today people wear special clothes at Halloween . They tell ghost stories and play games. It is a lot of fun.
In the past Halloween was often very frightening. People called it The Night of the Flying Witches. People thought that the witches were women and that they flew on broomsticks on the night of Halloween. People also thought that they could do terrible magic so they lit fires to frighten them. In England there is a very old tower. It is on the top of the hill. Many people call it Witches Hill.
In the past many people thought the tower was a very bad place. They said that all the witches in England went there at Halloween. On the night of 31 October hundreds of people went to Witches Hill. Each person walked around the tower with a lighted candle. because they though that the witches afraid of the lighted candles.
Later people went to fortune-tellers at Halloween. A fortune-teller tells you things about the future. You can ask a fortune-teller any questions, for example, Who will I marry? Will I be rich? In the past many women asked, 'Who will I marry?' Then the fortune-teller gave the woman a plant and said, 'Put the leaves of this plant under your pillow at Halloween. That night you will see a man in your dream and you will marry him!'
There was also a special Halloween cake. A silver coin was put inside the cake. When the cake was cut into pieces, someone would find the coin inside one of the pieces. People thought that this person would become rich.
Halloween is still a special time today. In the USA and Canada children play a game called trick or treat. To play trick or treat children must wear strange clothes to look like ghosts, witches or animals. They also wear strange masks. The children knock on doors. They say 'trick or treat' to the person in the house. The person in the house must then give the children a 'treat'. A treat means something nice like chocolate.
When the person inside does not give the children a 'treat', the children then play tricks on him/her.
Children playing trick or treat often carry jack-o-lanterns. A jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin with holes cut in it to look like a face. The middle of pumpkin is cut out with a knife and a candle is put inside. A handle is then made from a piece of string. Jack-o'-lanterns are easy to make.
frightening adj. 可怕的，骇人的；令人不安的，令人担心的
In the past 在过去
broomsticks n. 飞天扫帚
lit fires 点燃火把
inside the cake 在被动句作主补
today 现如今
like chocolate. 定语修饰 something
then play tricks on him/her. play tricks on sb. 骗别人；戏弄某人
playing trick or treat 动名词短语作后置定语
jack-o-lanterns. 南瓜灯
with holes cut in it to look like a face. cut in it 过去分词短语作后置定语
is then made from a piece of string
Make sth out of sth = be made out of sth 被动
make sth from sth = be made from sth
make sth of sth. = be made of sth
Jack-o'-lanterns are easy to make. 主语+be+形容词 to+及物动词