Festivals and Celebrations- Vocabulary

Festivals and Celebrations- Vocabulary and Speaking
Festivals and celebrations discussion questions
Discuss the questions below in small groups.
What was the last public festival or celebration that you went to? Would you recommend it
to other people? Why/ Why not?

What is the most impressive and/ or unique festival or celebration in your country? Would
you recommend it to foreign visitors? Why/ Why not?

Are there any festivals or celebrations in other countries which you would like to go to?
Why those ones?

Choose one of the words describing festivals and celebrations below, brainstorm examples
of festivals and celebrations which match that word, then choose one example that you
both want to go to:
 arts festival
 bonfires
 Caribbean
 competitive/ awards/ choosing the best...
 decorations
 exciting/ thrilling/ wild
 family-friendly
 fancy dress/ dressing up/ costumes
 fireworks
 flamboyant
 Instagrammable
 lit up
 memorable/ unforgettable
 memorial/ anniversary/ honouring...
 multi-cultural
 music festival
 on a bank/ public/ national holiday
 perform...
 procession/ parade/ floats
 reconstruction
 religious
 romantic
 street food
 street party/ carnival
 street performers
 street stalls
 the highlight of the year (in that place)
 touching/ moving
 traditional/ ancient

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Try to find a festival or celebration that your partner has never heard of or knows very little
about but would enjoy. They will ask questions to check if they would enjoy it or not and so
that they can explain it to someone else in the next stage of this lesson.
Suggested questions
 When…?
 What kind of food…?
 What happens (…)?
 Do people (need to)…?
 What do people do/ wear/ eat/ drink/…?
 How long…?
 What is special about…?
 It is (very)…?
 What’s the best thing about…?

If you have extra time after you have both chosen, try to explain it back to your partner and
see if you have forgotten anything.

Suggested festivals and celebrations to discuss
 anniversary of...
 Burning Man
 Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year
 Diwali festival of lights
 Edinburgh Festival
 Eid (al-Fitr)
 Gay Pride
 Glastonbury
 Guy Fawkes Night/ Bonfire Night
 harvest festival(spring/ autumn) solstice…'s birthday
 Holi paint throwing festivals
 Krampusnacht
 La Tomatina
 May Day
 Mexican Day of the Dead
 Oktoberfest
 Running of the bulls
 Saint Patrick's Day
 Semana Santa
 Shrove Tuesday/ Pancake Day
 Tanabata
 War memorial day/ Poppy Day
 Water throwing festival

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021