Unique New Year Traditions from Around the World
How do you celebrate New Year’s Day? If I had to take a guess, you probably celebrate it surrounded by family and friends, enjoying drinks of your choice and watching the ball drop with Dick Clark. 36 Listed below are four of the top ten “Unique New Year Traditions from Around the World”.
1. Breaking Dishes on a Neighbor’s Door
A strange Danish New Year tradition, depending on how you look at it, is throwing dishes at a neighbor’s door. 37 The family with the tallest pile of broken plates, glasses, cups and other crockery(陶器) is considered to be the luckier, because it symbolizes their large number of loyal friends.
2. Talking to Spirits
Talking to spirits is a part of Mexican beliefs. Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. 38 And this is not done at home on an individual basis, but is a legal Mexican practice. Taos Inn, in New Mexico, for example, offers 15 minutes’ session of spiritualism and meditation for $15.6. Not a bad price for some helpful guidance!
3.Wearing Polka Dots
Imagine streets full of people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round-shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year. 39 Philippines believe that this will bring them prosperity by associating the round dots to coins and wealth.
4. Burning Scarecrow Dummies(稻草人)
Ecuador has a unique custom of crafting scarecrows and then burning them at midnight. They adorn(装饰)them and fill the scarecrows with newspapers and pieces of wood. As midnight approaches, everyone gathers outside their home and each family burns their own scarecrows. 40 The scarecrows also scares away bad luck, which in turn, fills their new year with luck and happiness.
A. New Year’s Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits to convey a message or ask for guidance.
B. It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them get rid of bad luck.
C. Have you ever imagined what New Year’s Day would look like in another country?
D. This all actually happens in the Philippines on New Year’s Eve every year.
E. Strangely, this makes them happy instead of annoying them.
F. We all want to start a new, fresh year with renewed enthusiasm and hope.
G. The tradition says that this destroys all the bad things that took place in the past months.
CEADG
Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?
In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.
Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences.
In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on greed and selfishness, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary. In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then. But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more isolated life and faced less pressure compared with their modern counterparts.
Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a mutually beneficial relationship.
In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a mutually beneficial relationship with others.
Are Modern People Becoming More Selfish?
Main comparisons | Contexts |
__76__ are changing | In the past people put caring, sharing and generosity in the first ___77____. |
Nowadays, people seem to be more ____78____about themselves. | |
___79___are changing too. | People in the past appeared to be modest and self-effacing(谦让的). |
People may strive to achieve their own __80___ at the price of their coworkers. | |
The author’s understanding | |
___81____ for the changes in author’s eyes | Fierce __82___ and great __83___on modern people may be responsible for the changes. |
The author’s ___84____towards topic | A relationship which can ___85___ two sides should be established. |