LESSON NOTES

Video Culture Class: American

Holidays #6
Christmas Day

CONTENTS
2 American English
3 Vocabulary
4 Sample Sentences

# 6
COPYRIGHT 2013 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 AMERICAN ENGLISH

1. Hi everyone, I'm Alisha.

2. Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25 in the United States. Though it is a

religious holiday for Christians, it's also a popular holiday with non-Christians, as well.
Parades, gift giving, holiday displays, and lights galore mark the arrival of Christmas in
the United States. It's a federal holiday and is observed by every US state.

3. A famous American city associated with the American Revolution was not big on
celebrating Christmas until the middle of the 1800s. Can you guess which one?

4. We'll show you the answer at the end of this video.

5. Christmas in the US involves a great many types of celebrations. For Christians, it

means church services and social gatherings. Even people who do not celebrate the
religious aspects of the holiday tend to enjoy gift giving, having family gatherings, and
feasting together. For students, it means a long break from school or college and is a
popular time to go home and visit family.

6. Putting colorful lights on one's house is a very popular way to celebrate Christmas in the
US. Being the darkest time of year in the northern hemisphere, the holiday turns into a
celebration of lights, with complexand sometimes very expensivedisplays
decorating homes. Competitions for the best lighting setup are fun and common ways
to celebrate the holiday!

7. The Christmas tree is another popular Christmas tradition in the US. Artificial or natural,
it's common to see a conifer tree decorating the living room of most homes. The trees
are decorated with colorful lights and with ornaments that oftentimes are family
heirlooms. There's also a National Christmas Tree in the US, which is lit up by the
president at the beginning of December.

8. Christmas songs are very popular, as well. There are traditional songs such as "Silent
Night" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas," along with many others. It was once
common to see carolers go door to door to sing Christmas carols, but now it's a rarity.

9. And now here's the answer to the quiz .

CONT'D OVER

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM VI DEO CULT URE CLAS S : AMERI CAN HOLI DAYS #6 - CHRI S T MAS DAY 2
10. Do you know what famous American city associated with the American Revolution was
not big on celebrating Christmas until the middle of the 1800s?

11. The Puritan Pilgrims who settled in New England did not approve of the celebration of
Christmas. It was actually banned in Boston until the late 1600s. Even after the ban was
lifted, Christmas in Boston didn't become popular until the middle of the 1800s! Today,
Boston is lit up as much as is any other city during Christmas.

12. How was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting?

13. In what ways is Christmas celebrated in your country?

14. Please leave a comment at EnglishClass101.com

15. Until next time!

VOCABULARY

V oc abular y English C lass

a member of a group of
English Protestants who, in
the 16th and 17th centuries,
Puritan Pilgrim advocated strict religious noun
rules of the Church of
England

to ban to prohibit verb

an arrangement of
display decorations, sometimes to noun
show a scene of a story

galore in very large numbers adjective

to observe to recogniz e verb

a Christian holiday
Christmas Day celebrating the birth of Christ phrase

gathering a meeting of many people noun

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM VI DEO CULT URE CLAS S : AMERI CAN HOLI DAYS #6 - CHRI S T MAS DAY 3
 a distinct feature or part of
aspects noun
something

to have or partake of a feast;

to feast to eat wonderfully verb

hemisphere half of the globe's land noun

consisting of many different

complex and connected parts noun

a contest for some priz e,

competition honor, or advantage noun

artificial made by human skill adjective

a family possession handed

heirloom down from generation to noun
generation

an object used for

ornament decoration noun

of mostly evergreen trees

and shrubs having usually
conifer tree needle-shaped or scalelike noun
leaves

a person who sings

caroler Christmas carols noun

Christmas carols traditional Christmas songs phrase

something rare, unusual, or

rarity uncommon noun

wide-reaching change in
revolution how something works noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

There are sushi shops galore in Although I like the money, it is other
Melbourne, Australia. aspects of the job that make me stay here.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM VI DEO CULT URE CLAS S : AMERI CAN HOLI DAYS #6 - CHRI S T MAS DAY 4
I put all of my Christmas ornaments into a Recently, many governments have
big box. undergone a revolution in terms of how
they are structured.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM VI DEO CULT URE CLAS S : AMERI CAN HOLI DAYS #6 - CHRI S T MAS DAY 5