Starting off

Work in a small group and discuss the questions below together:

1. What Christmas traditions are most popular in your country?

2. Do you follow all of these?

3. What traditions do you have in your family?

4. How do you decorate your house and your tree at Christmas time? Describe what you do.

Look at the part of the text in the green box (`Decorating your tree'). Were your ideas similar or different?

Before you read

The main part of the text is about the tradition of Christmas trees. Before you read, look at the questions below. With a partner or in a small group, try to answer the questions.

1. How old are our traditions of having trees, or parts of trees, inside our homes at Christmas time?

a. over 2000 years b. less than 2000 years c. less than 500 years

2. There have always been Christmas trees in Churches.

a. True b. False

3. Christmas trees are only popular in Christian countries.

a. True b. False

4. Which country has the biggest Christmas tree?

a. The United States b. Brazil c. Japan d. China

5. The most expensive Christmas tree is in which continent?

a. Europe b. North America c. South America d. Asia

First reading

The text has six sections, each with its own heading. Look at the headings below and then match each to the right section of the text (A-F).

1. Lights, Tinsel, Angels, Baubles and Stars

2. Remarkable Christmas Trees

3. Decorating your tree

4. Christmas trees today

5. The origin of the Christmas tree

6. Christmas trees around the world

Second reading

Now read the text more carefully and check your answers to the questions in `Before you read'.

Vocabulary 1

Look at the words below and match them with the definitions.

1. evergreen		a. exactly
2. just		b. better than all the rest
3. bewildering		c. doing something the way it has always been done
4. some time		d. used in lists for the middle example: from… through… to…
5. best		e. a tree or bush which does not lose its leaves in winter
6. through		f. at any time
7. stations		g. confusing, often because there is too much or too many
8. traditionally		h. more than
9. over		you can choose to listen to or watch these on TV or radio
10. ever		j. when we are not sure exactly when

Vocabulary 2

Complete the sentences below using one of the words from Vocabulary 1.

1. In many countries, presents are ……………………. given on the 6th of December.

2. I don't think I've ……………………. seen a better film, to be honest.

3. We'll have to tell him ……………………., you know.

4. I've asked everybody - from Bob and Bill, ……………………. Sue and Paul, to Ian and Andy, but no luck.

5. Holly and mistletoe are examples of ……………………. plants.

6. I love flying when I go on holiday. It's just the ……………………. feeling in the world.

7. I spent ……………………. three hours doing my homework last night.

8. I hated that film as well, ……………………. like you.

9. My favourite TV ……………………. are BBC World and France 24.

10. The catalogue has so many different ones to choose from it was just ……………………..

Third reading

The words have been removed from different parts of the text. Find the paragraphs for each word and read them carefully, deciding where the word should go.

1. evergreen paragraph 1 (`Traditions of…')

2. just paragraph 2 (`The ancient…')

3. bewildering paragraph 4 (`There is…')

4. some time paragraph 5 (`Which is…')

5. best paragraph 6 (`Many families…')

6. through paragraph 7 (`Christmas trees…')

7. stations paragraph 8 (`In Colombia…')

8. traditionally paragraph 9 (`In Georgia…')

9. ever paragraph 11 (`The tree…')

10. over paragraph 12 (`Another amazing…')

Speaking

Christmas is often seen as a special time: a time of peace when people try to be on good terms and help one another and when families gather to be together. Imagine you could introduce some changes to your town or your country to make this a reality. These could be changes to how people live, study or work, changes to how your town or country looks or perhaps changes to the law - changes to what people must or must not do. Work in a small group and think of three changes you would like to see in your town or country and then explain to the rest of the class why these changes would be good.

A Monthly Newsletter for Teachers of English

December 2008

© Pearson Education Polska 2008 PHOTOCOPIABLE

A C T I V I T I E S S H E E T

December 2008

F. ____________________

What we put on our Christmas trees is really a question of taste, but there are many things to choose from.

Christmas tree lights, or `fairy lights', are very popular, but do you prefer coloured or white lights, flashing or steady, large or small? Nowadays there are even musical lights, if you want them.

Once you have your lights, you can choose other things to add. Baubles, usually made of painted glass, are very popular. You can also put brightly coloured tinsel on the branches of the tree.

Not all decorations cost money. Slices of fruit, dried on the radiator, can be a simple and beautiful decoration. Another idea, very popular with children, is to hang biscuits, preferably homemade, from the tree.

Last, but not, of course, least, is the decoration for the very top of the tree. Usually this is a star or an angel, but some people prefer more original ideas.

Whatever you choose, have a very warm and happy Christmas with your family and friends. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

How Poor and Sad Would Our Christmas Be,
Without Our Beautiful Christmas Tree?

A._____________________

_____________________

Traditions of taking branches and leaves from trees into the home in the winter are very old indeed - much older, in fact, than Christmas. In ancient times evergreen branches symbolised life surviving through the winter until the spring.

The ancient Egyptians took palm leaves into their houses while the Romans took whole trees and even decorated them with gold and silver - just as we do today.

In Europe there were similar traditions, but at first these were not associated with Christmas. In fact, at first the Church prohibited Christians from decorating their houses with evergreen branches and leaves. It was only around 200 years ago that Christmas trees became popular once again.

B. _____________________

_____________________

There is a bewildering choice of trees these days, both real and artificial. For those who like a real tree the most popular kinds are fir and spruce; for those who prefer artificial trees there are thousands of designs to choose from.

Which is better: a real tree or an

artificial one? Most people agree

that a real tree looks much nicer,

but when the needles begin to

E. _____________

______________

to find the best Christmas trees in each region.

In Georgia special Christmas trees called Chichilaki are traditionally made, though western-style Christmas trees are also popular.

D.________________________

________________________

There are some famous trees around the world. Each year in London's Trafalgar Square a large Christmas tree, given as a present by the people of Norway, is erected and lit. Thousands of tourists visit the tree every year.

The tree in Trafalgar Square is big, but it is not the biggest! That is probably to be found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its tree is 85 metres tall and is lit by over 2.8 million lights.

Another amazing Christmas tree is to be found in Singapore. An artificial tree, it has more than 20,000 diamonds on its branches and would cost over $1 million, if anyone ever wanted to buy it, of course!

… our Christmas trees can be real works of art. But even with such beautiful things, can we have too much of a good thing? When decorating Christmas trees, perhaps it is true that less is more…

fall they may change their minds! And, of course, an artificial tree is good for many years, whereas a real tree is only for one Christmas and usually ends up on a bonfire some time later in the year.

Many families who have gardens, do not bring trees indoors but instead decorate a tree in their garden. This may be the best solution - a natural tree which you can use every year and whose needles will never make a mess of your floor!

C.__________________
__________________

Christmas trees are not only popular in Christian countries. All over the world this symbol of the Christmas season is popular, from Korea and Japan, through Brazil and Colombia, to Nigeria and Lebanon.

In Colombia Christmas trees are treated very seriously. Neighbourhoods will organise special displays, with lights on many trees along their streets, and competitions are organised by radio and television stations

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