牛津译林版（2019）必修第二册 Unit 3 Festivals and customs课时作业Section Ⅲ

In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, which falls between October and November. It's a five­day celebration that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps.

In honor of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, people make special prayers on the first day to obtain blessings for welfare, success, and well­being. People welcome the goddess into their homes by decorating entrances with colorful lanterns and traditional designs. In addition, many people treat themselves to fine jewelry, praying for good fortune. Those who cannot afford so much, seek out cheaper items such as clothes or household goods.

The second day of the festival is called Kali Chaudas. For some，the day provides an opportunity to drive away misfortune from homes and businesses. They decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powder or sand.

The third day is when the biggest celebrations occur，which begin early in the morning with a visit to a temple to seek the blessing of the goddess. As the sun sets，festival observers light up their homes with small lamps and enjoy delicious traditional foods with their loved ones.

The festival's fourth day is celebrated in many different ways. Friends and relatives visit with gifts, sweets and best wishes for the season.

And the final day of the festival is called Bhai Oooj. It honors the close bond between brothers and sisters and is observed with traditional ceremonies and more delicious foods.

For children in India, Diwali is similar to Christmas. They get an entire week off from school and are treated to gifts, new clothes, amazing food, and，in the past at least，a large number of fireworks. It is no wonder that the festival ranks high among the country's favorite celebrations.

Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled down her window.

"Hey!"she shouted. "I'm driving around and giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now？"

The man looked to be in his 60s. He was balding, and missing a few teeth. Hearing this, he laughed, then paused." Actually," he said," I have a funeral to go to this week. I was really hoping to get a haircut."

Steller pulled out a red chair from her car and helped the man cut his hair immediately. After the work was finished, the man looked in a mirror." I look good！"he said.

Until last year, Steller had given such haircuts to people living on the margins(边缘) around the city. She was keenly aware of the power of her clean­up job.

"It's more than a haircut," she said." I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people. I want to build relationships."

Steller knew that a haircut could change a life. One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from a severe disease, and her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller's first professional haircut.

"To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just a patient helped me feel cared and less alone," she said.

After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way Steller felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets. Her aim was that by doing some kind acts, others would be inspired to spread their own.

"Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked," she said. "I think maybe I should go around and ask if people want free haircuts. I can't settle their problems, but maybe I can help them feel less alone for a moment."

It all began with a belief in simple acts of kindness, such as a free haircut. "The way you show up in the world matters," said Steller. "You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give them."

Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

In western countries，people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne(香槟) at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example,  in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh  (重新).

Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France，people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black­eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!