The winter holiday season is the most festive (欢乐的) time of the year. Students from elementary school through college have about two weeks’ vacation , beginning shortly before Christmas and ending soon after New Year’s Day. Many families go away for the holidays, but those who stay home have fun, too. There are many parties to cel- ebrate the birth of Christ and the arrival of the new year. The spirit of Christmas arrives about a month before the holiday itself. Late in November, street lights and store windows are decorated (装饰) with Christmas colours of red and green. Stores depend on Christmas shoppers for about one-fourth of their yearly sales. Christmas is expensive. To earn extra money for gifts, in December many Americans get part-time jobs. Many people make monthly bank deposits (存款)in special Christmas accounts so that they will have enough money for a nice Christmas. The most beautiful and meaningful parts of the holiday take place at home and in church. Many families go to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. After that, they gather around the tree and open their gifts. Then they sit down to enjoy a Christmas dinner— turkey (火鸡) or ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables and cranberry sauce (酸果蔓酱). |