keephealthy的英语作文【20篇】

With the spread of the consciousness of environmental protection, the word

“low-carbon” has been very popular in life. We can find it in many aspects, such

as low-carbon products, low-carbon consumption, and low-carbon travel and so on.

Generally speaking, more and more people are advocating “low-carbon”

lifestyle.

As implied in the name, “low-carbon” lifestyle is a kind of new pattern of

lifestyle which aims to lowering the carbon dioxide emission in living as much

as possible. For example, some office workers are not proud of driving private

cars from work to home any more but pride themselves on riding or taking public

transportation. In addition, they advocate recycling water and saving energy as

much as they can.

As college students, we also make some contribution in our daily life to

reduce the emission of the carbon dioxide. For example, switch off the light

when leaving and save water. In addition, we should use our knowledge and action

to arouse others’ concern about the importance of lowering emission of carbon

dioxide and lead them to lead a “low-carbon” life.

Chinahas a very long and brilliant history, whose people are so friendly

and hospitable. But I am wondering why some people pay such little attention to

the environment and nature. In many places of the countryside, rivers have

become stinking sewers and brooks have disappeared. Heaps of garbage obstructs

the scarce flow of dirty water. The grounds are littered with plastic bottles

and bags. People are cutting down trees even though it is illegal. In some

towns, rubbish is hidden behind walls. Garbage cans are often of little use,

making cleaners must rush all day long and also by night to clean the

rubbish.

This lack of consideration for nature in general is extremely detrimental

to children’s education, toChina’s image, to public health, to tourism and to

the future.Chinais the common treasure of all Chinese, and we should live up to

be a member of this big family, a descendant of 5000-year-plus ancient civilized

country. I think the environment must absolutely be strictly protected by all

means. This protection should go at the same pace as the marvelous development

of the nation.

In this respect,Germanyis a rare model and leaves me a very deep

impression. After you have an exciting tour around in this country for a week or

so, it is unnecessary for you to polish your leather shoes. Personally, first of

all, the strong awareness of people’s environmental protection; then, the

advanced technology applied in the field of preserving the nature; We can learn

form others in building China into one of the most environmentally friendly

places in the world.

Xiamen is Chinas first four special economic zones,it is

Taiwanese,southern Jiangxi,southern Hunan to the east to the sea,the Pacific Rim

will be developed into an international harbor.

"City at sea,the sea in the city," Xiamen is a graceful charm of the "Sea

Garden." Island,reef,rock,temple,flowers,wood backed each other,the hometown of

overseas Chinese customs,practices Fujian and Taiwan,coastal cuisine,exotic

blend of construction,year-round spring weather is more of the charm of the sea

icing on the cake.Beautiful scenery and pleasant weather,it can be said here is

the best environment for cities.Surrounded by sea water,broad sandy beaches,warm

sunshine,as a good ecological environment,Xiamens clean air,a habitat for

hundreds of thousands of egrets,Xiamen has formed a unique natural

landscape,since ancient times,Xiamen Egret is one of the major habitats,so

Xiamen Also known as "Lu Dao"; in addition to the beautiful natural

scenery,Xiamens urban environment is also very clean,is well-known tourist

city.

Olympic Games is the biggest event for the players, because it holds every

four years. I remembered that my father watched the games at midnight many years

ago, and I did not understand why he was so crazy about it. Now I watched the

game with him and I started to appreciate the charm of sports. No matter what

the result is, standing in the biggest stage and competing with the greatest

rivals make the players feel proud. They chase to be higher, stronger and faster

and these are the spirit of Olympic Games. When the audience see the players

break the record and challenge human being’s limitation, how excited it is.

When I was a primary school student, my family and I took a trip to five

cities which were in the south of China.

First, we came to Nanjing by plane. That was the first time I had taken the

plane and it took us an hour and a half to get there. We arrived in Nanjing in

the morning. At 11:30 we went to a restaurant to have lunch. The food tasted

delicious. In the afternoon we went to “Zhongshanling”. It was the place that

preserve the tomb of Mr. Sugshan.

The next day, we came to Wuxi and then Suzhou where we visited the region

of rivers and lakes of “周庄”. It was a beautiful and old place. The house there

were along the river and the women always washed clothes at the bank.The fourth

day, we came to Hangzhou where We visited “The West Lake. It was very beautiful

and the water was clear .

As we all know, Hangzhou is famous for silk and tea, so we bought some

beautiful silk and famous tea of “龙井”.The last place that we visited was

Shanghai. It was one of the biggest city is China. The night view in Shanghai

was more beautiful than Beijing. We visited the TV tower of “东方明珠”. It was the

third tallest tower in the world. Standing in the tower you could see the whole

city. In the evening, we lived in a hotel with 25 floors. I was very excited

that evening.

This trip took us seven days and we went back to Beijing by plane. The

plane was very very big. There were three engine rooms. I felt happy and I would

never forget the trip.

If I were to leave my home for a year, there is one thing I definitely

would take with me: my cell phone. With my cell phone, I could call my friends

or family if I ever was lonely, needed advice, or just wanted to talk.

I am a love reading girl, since I was young, I very love books, and book

the indissoluble bond. I put the book as an indispensable nourishment, he saw a

book like the hungry to see bread, fondle admiringly. Because the book is the

source of human wisdom, is the ladder of human progress. Book give me knowledge

and wisdom, and also gave me strength and courage. In my room, there is a large

bookcase, there are all books, every birthday, mom and dad asked me to want what

gift, I will blurt out: "a book, I as long as the book." When reading, I often

forget all about eating and sleeping, as if into another world.

Reading, can make us grow many knowledge, solve the problem. On one

occasion, grandmother domesticated some hares, hares to depilate, grandma see

hares like bite lice, gradually to open mouth, the neck fur with red meat, and

then use the tongue to the sides, and behind them in a hurry to say to me: "you

see how this rabbit. Red meat are exposed, it doing?" . I to grandma said with a

smile: "it is the hair removal, then fluff will regrow of glistening." My

grandma listened to, smiled and said to me: "how do you know?" I proudly said:

"from the book to see." It seems that these reading useless really big ah.

Colorful in the book, read the "lei feng diary let me know how people live

to be more of others, read" how the steel was tempered "which I understand the

difficulties cannot be back, have the perseverance and strong will to overcome

difficulties.

本学期，我将结合学校工作计划和学校教学工作计划的要求，规范常规教学，提高教学质量，努力形成自己的教学特色。

一、总体思路

以努力提高教学质量为目标，以抓好教学常规工作，提高英语合格率为重点，采用任务型教学法，注重“学困生”的教育补差工作，形成良好的教学风气。

二、学生情况分析

经过一学期的学习，从上期期末成绩来看，七年级两个班的英语成绩比较理想。平均分82分。大部分学生学习目的明确，态度端正，掌握了英语学习的一些基本方法，能够积极主动认真地学习，学习成绩较好。但还有少部分学生没有明确的学习目的，缺少学习的热情和主动性，自觉性较差，相应的学习习惯也差，加上两极分化十分严重。

三、教材分析

《Goforit》七年级下册共14个单元，包括2个复习单元。全书采用任务型语言教学模式，融汇话题、交际功能和语言结构，形成了一套循序渐进的生活化的学习程序。每个单元都列出明确的语言目标，主要的功能项目与语法结构，需要掌握的基本词汇，并分为A、B两部分。A部分是基本的语言内容，B部分是知识的扩展和综合的语言运用。每个单元还有selfcheck部分，供学生自我检测本单元所学的语言知识。它采用“语言的输入---学生的消化吸收---学生的语言输出”为主线编排的。

四、教学目标

掌握本册书上的重点词汇、词组以及句型。通过本学期的学习，培养学生对英语的学习兴趣，形成有效的学习策略，有效提高学习效率，发展双基能力;培养听、说、读、写的能力，使学生初步获得运用英语的能力，达到语言运用能力的迁移和拓展;通过了解世界，了解不同地区的人文风俗，学会理解和尊重异国文化，并使学生在人际交往中学会尊重和理解别人，能在小组活动中积极与他人合作，相互帮助，共同完成学习任务，尽情享受学习的乐趣。

五、教学措施

1、加强词汇教学，包括单词拼写、词义记忆，语言功能的训练。

词汇是文章、句子的基本单位，词汇量的大小，将直接关系到学生能否流利地运用英语进行交际;能否熟练地用英语读和写;能否顺利地用英语思考。从上学期的期末考试所反映的问题看，在今后的教学中，在加强拼读与拼写的同时，应帮助学生进行有意识记，应加强对词的用法及内在含义的理解，要培养学生用英语解释单词的能力，逐步启发引导学生用英语思考。单词教学一定要做到词不离句，这样，学生在学会了单词的同时，也学会了词的一些基本用法。

2、每天背诵课文中的对话，培养语感。

3、基本的语法教学一定要与语境相结合。

进行语法操练时，要坚持“四位一体”，即话题、语境、结构、功能相结合。抓住话题，联系语境，确定语法结构，明确语法功能(交际功能)。要重视语法知识对于培养语言运用功能的基础作用，又要注重改革教法。课堂上一定要有生动活泼的教学活动。

4、进一步培养阅读能力和写作能力。

阅读和写作能力的培养是英语教学的又一重点。阅读和写作能力的培养在于平时。教师在平时讲解阅读理解题时，应着力帮助学生分析语言材料，而不是核对答案;平常应该多写作文。

5、做好学困生转化和优秀生培养工作。

优秀生：___，___，__，___。

学困生：___，___，__，___，___，___，___，___，___，___，___，___，___。

尤其对学困生进行专门辅导，布置一些作业，让他们在小进步、小转变中体会学习的快乐，树立学习的自信，尽快成长起来。

6、继续搞好师徒结对活动。

师徒结对活动也是一种好的学习方式。

7、作业布置要做到数量适中，批阅及时，对出现的问题要跟踪矫正，认真讲评，尽量面批面改。提高练习质量，要精选资料。

六、教研课题

《浅谈英语阅读能力的培养》

措施：用新的教学理念指导英语阅读教学，进一步改变教法和学法，培养学生对英语阅读的兴趣，提高学生的英语阅读能力，提高英语教学效果。

1、尝试通过各种形式的学习，例如复述课文、把课文改编成情景剧、阅读竞赛等活动，提高学生学习英语的兴趣，从而达到自主积累、综合运用英语的目的，并指导学生运用科学的方法记忆单词、阅读课文，取得事半功倍的效果。

2、通过信息技术与学科整合的手段，以课内为基础，增加课外阅读的量，指导学生借助信息手段和工具书理解文章基本内容的方法，提高学生的英语自学能力。

3、以复述课文、回答问题、判断正误、通过上下文线索猜词义为载体，培养学生的综合阅读技能，提高学生的英语阅读理解能力。

On January, 2013, the public started a campaign called Clean Your Plate. This campaign aims to call on people to save food instead of wasting anything on the plates. The main theme of this activity is do not waste any food, starting with me. This campaign was first started from Sina weibo. Just a few days, tens of thousands people in China have joined in this meaningful activity.

In my humble opinion, everybody should join in this campaign. As we all know, the Chinese traditional virtue is to be thrifty even we are live in a better life. According to the latest survey, more than 50 million tons of food is being dumped in China every year. This wasted food can feed about 200 million people for a year. The old generation usually appreciates the leftover, if there is any food in the plate, they will eat them up; while the younger generation will dump the leftovers into the dustbin, they rather spend the money on other food instead of eating leftovers. I think such behavior is not only waste of food and money, but also broadcast the wrong idea that wasting food is acceptable. People should come to realize the importance of saving food. The governments should also take measures to reduce food wastage and encourage people to eat at home. What’s more, people should put an end to the expensive feasts and banquets.

I think this campaign should be moving on. Saving food for our offspring is everybody’s responsibility. Even if you’re a wealthy man, you still need to eat up the food on your plate. Waste is not a good habit.

Facebook is the most popular social communicational software. People like

to share their information in it and keep in touch with their friends. The

founder of Facebook is a young handsome guy named Mark Zuckerberg. He was being

a dad recently and he announced that he would donate 99 percent of his share for

celebrating his girl’s coming.

99 percent of his share! That is such great amount. The public were so

astonished by his decision. This young guy could only take out the small part of

his share, but he took out nearly the all. His great grace could help a lot of

people to improve their lives, even change their fate.

There are a lot of rich people in the world, but only less people could

make the great decision like Mark Zuckerberg. When the media asked him why he

did this, he said he wanted to reture society and help the people who were in

need of. This money was not necessary for him, but could change a lot of poor

people’s fates and I wanted to help them.

There is no doubt that Mark’s generous indeed will help a lot of

people.

Each people all have own dream, so I also have their own dreams. And some

of the dreams are hard to reach, some are very simple. My dream is to fulfill

their own responsibility, maintained a kind heart and cook, these are my dream

dreams.

Actually fulfill their duties and keep a good heart is not so easy to

accomplish, it needs to refrain from anywhere at any time, dont temper tantrum,

do their duty. In addition as a cook, you have to have a calm heart, because as

long as the dry dry floating, how can cook delicious? Alas! Dream is very

difficult to achieve! So I want to use any way to achieve your dream? First to

fulfill their responsibility must be very respectful to parents, teachers, we

also small friends want to have mercy heart, must be kind to everyone, to

serious about anything. Namely: "for the respect for the kind; for a person with

and; to is true". As for the current clinical chef is to craft a good, dont

often dry fast, but well done and so on. As long as do this way, I believe that

there must be a may achieve!

Dreams must depend on oneself, others cant help you, also may not have

spirit to help you. So all things must oneself to do, by himself. I hope my

dream will realize, I more hope you desire can be achieved.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has all interesting history. Long ago in one of the

dynasties of China there was a king who was very cruel to the people and did not

manage the country well. The people were so angry that some brave ones suggested

killing the king. So they wrote notes telling about the meeting place and time

and put them into cakes.

On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month every person was told to buy the

cakes. When they ate them they discovered the notes. So they gathered together

to make a sudden attack on the king. From then on the Chinese people celebrate

on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and eat moon cakes in memory of that

important event.

When the Mid-Autumn Festival is near, shop windows are beautifully

decorated. Many moon cakes are displayed for people to buy. People send presents

such aswine, fruits and moon cakes to their friends and relatives. In the

evening of the day, they have a feast. After the feast, they go out to the

garden to look at the moon. The children run and laugh on the streets.

It is believed that the moon is at her brightest on this night. Many poems

have been written about it, and poets are never tired of reading and writing

such poems. In Chinese literature, the moon of the Mid Autumn Festival has been

compared to a looking-glass, a jade rabbit, and so on. It seems that Chinese

literature takes far more interest in the moon than in the sun.

My summer holiday begun on July 7th.I love summer holiday because I dont

have to go to school and I can enjoy myself with my friends.I often spend the

mornings doing my homework.And I always watch TV in the afternoon at home

because its very hot outside.And in the evening,I go swimming with my family

and then hang out with my friends.I love swimming very much.

My plan for August is travelling.I travel with my family every summer

holiday.I like travelling because I can go to different places and meet

different people.Sometimes I make good friends during the journey.And its very

sad to say goodbye to them when the journey ends.

The generation gap is unavoidable in almost every family, which brings

about a number of conflicts in a family. In my opinion, to limit the bad effects

of the generation gap, each family should use the following three methods:

First of all, it is important that family members discuss openly about

their pleasures or sadness in childhood in family gatherings. This activity does

not only create a close relationship but also help build up understanding among

all members. For instance, once children are aware that their grandparents and

even their parents did not have a good upbringing during their hard childhood,

they will stop complaining about the previous generations’ obsoleteness. In the

meantime, once old people realize young people are nurtured in a new modern way,

it is easy for them to be tolerant of young people’s new habits or hobbies.

Secondly, people of each generation should not develop a very high feeling

about themselves. In order to do that, they should not think that they are the

only right people in their family because each person has his or her own

limitations. Teenagers would realize that their parents have to struggle with

pain to support them financially, and they would stop rebelling their

strictness. Parents would realize that their children’s new style does no harm

to their studies and stop imposing their own unsuitable standards on their

children.

Finally, the generation gap and its bad effects can be limited if all

members cooperate to build up a close-knit family relationship and a harmonious

atmosphere in which they are open and tolerant of each other. I strongly believe

that each family, by doing that, can enjoy a cozy atmosphere with minimum

interference by the generation gap.

I have a wide range of interests and enjoy doing many things during my free

time.

I am fond of reading. I often read after class. My classmates like watching

TV while I prefer to read. I read various kinds of books and newspapers that

they afford me stories and news. The book I like most isThe House on the Mango

Street. I am also a music lover. Pop music is my favorite. I often listen to the

music programs on radio and I also have an MP3 downloading all my favorite

songs. In addition, swimming and badminton are my favorites, too. They help me

build a healthy body.

In short, I enjoy my life in school very much. Reading books, listening to

music and doing sports are very helpful to my health and my studies.

The end of the year, on New Years eve is the reunion night, every

household is decorated, celebrate the end of a year of peace, a good start in

the New Year.

On New Years eve, every family is busy to stick couplets on the Spring

Festival, our family is no exception, and each year couplet still stick by me at

home.Actually this stick couplet learning also pretty big, when you last as long

as a look at this couplet you will know the family in the New Years hope and

plan, also know that in the past year what has happened to the family home

wedding, you look at the couplet is not god.

On this day the most happy or children, they cried to early adult years,

because after taking the year can fireworks.Fireworks, several children beside,

hopping, forget about the overjoyed when, even adults were infected with the

following.After the fireworks family around the table to eat the family reunion

dinner, the most interesting is to eat dumplings, and it can eat dumplings eat

money, who eat money the luck in the New Year will be the best, so everyone

scrambled to eat, who also rob to that rich of dumplings, but whether to eat or

not to eat, the atmosphere of rob to eat the dumpling is the most

unforgettable...

On New Years eve is the most unforgettable night!

Mid-autumn day is a special festival in China, which is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. It falls on the 15th day of Augustlunar month every year. Our Chinese will celebrate it on that day. I think there are not too many people can reject the temptation of it. I like this festival very much. I have two reasons.

First of all, Mid-autumn has the deep meaning of reunion. In China, people regard Mid-autumn day as very important, so no matter where they are, they will come back to their family if there is a chance. They don’t like celebrate this festival outside, which will make them feel lonely. Thus, they will go home by all means. Luckily, the government also pays great attention to this traditional festival. There are laws tomake sure people have holidays on that special day. In the other word, mid-autumn festival gives a chance for family get together.

Secondly, every family will prepare a big meal on that day. All the food is delicious. It is good to have a big meal. I think nobody will not interested in delicious food. The mooncake is a necessary decoration forMid-autumn day. It tastes good, too. It is the tradition for a long time. How pleased to enjoy the glorious full moon with mooncake!

This is why I love Mid-autumn festival so much.

Notes：

Nowadays, more and more people realize the harm of smoking and the damage

it bring to the people around us. Considered the health of people themseves and

the one they care, many smokers try their best to give up smoking. When quiting

smoking, I have some suggestions. First of all, people should have strong will

on giving up smoking. Personal determination is the most important factor. When

feeling eager to smoke, people should think about the damage of smoking and the

people they love. And then they can strengthen their will not to smoke.

Secondly, sweep away all the cigarette around. They can’t find any cigarette

when they want to smoke. And then after a while, their wants for smoke will

reduce gradually. Last but not least, prepare some candies in the pocket, when

people want to smoke, eat candies instead. Hope every smoker succeed in the

end.

OnFriendshipEveryone needs friendship. No one can sail the ocean of life

single handed. We need help from, and also give help to, others. In the modern

age, people attach more importance to relations and connections. A man of

charisma has many friends. His power lies in his ability to give.The term,

friend, covers a wide range of raeanings. It can be a nodding acquaintance, a

comrade, a confident, a partner, a playmate, a brother, an intimate etc.As life

is full of strife and conflict, we need friends to support and help as out of

difficulties. Our frinods give us warnings against danger. True friends share

not only joy but, more often than not, they share sorrow.With friendship, life

is happy and harmonious. Without friendship, life is hostile and unfortunate. I

have friends in the rank and file. Some are rich and in power. Some are low and

common. Some are like myself, working as a teacher, reading and writing and

content with the simple life we have. To many of my friends, I know what to

treasure, what to tolerate and what to share, I will never forget my old friends

and keep making new friends. I will not he cold and indifferent to the poor

friends and will show concern for them, even if it is only a comforting

word。

As human beings, we communicate throughout our lives for various porpoises.

But just because weve been communicating for a long time does not mean that we

are always successful or that we can’t improve our communication skills. How can

we convey successful communication? Well, there are several useful tips may help

you to improve your communication skills.

First of all, listen and respond thoughtfully to others. You should spend

more time listening to others instead of boasting yourself. Some of us are very

egocentric, which means self-focused. If you spend too much time talking about

your own stuff, the people around you may think you are a tedious and annoying

person. So, the best way to do is to consider our friends’ thoughts and

feelings. Try to be a good listener, when you express yourself, thinks about it

carefully before you really say it.

Second, appropriately adapt messages to others. It is not enough to be

sensitive and accurately understand others; when your send out your message, you

pick up the best ways and respond to others to achieve your communication goals.

But it does not mean to say something that the listener wants to hear. That

would be unethical. Appropriately adapt messages to others means carefully

editing and shaping your responses so that your messages can be understood by

others and you can achieve your goals.

Last but not least, try to interpret nonverbal messages. As we all know,

unspoken messages can express powerful ideas or emotions with greater impact

than mere words. You should try to observe others facial expressions or

movements and give correct responds to others. You can see the emotions or

attitude from one’s gesture stops. Be sensitive and appropriate interpreting

others.

Most people learn communication rules from experience, by observing and

interacting with others. You can do that too, if you have enough patient and

determinations.

China is the home of tea, is the birthplace of tea culture. The discovery

and utilization of tea in China, has a history of four thousand or five thousand

years, and long fill do not decline, spread throughout the world. Tea is one of

the worlds most popular, the most popular, beneficial to the physical and

mental healthy green drinks. Tea into the world in one, advocate tea, a

world.Tea culture including tea tasting techniques, art appreciation, operation

means of tea a better environment for the taste of the tea of my mood. The

process of form and spirit of unity, is the process of the formation of the tea

culture phenomenon. It originated long ago, has a long history, profound

culture, and religious activity. The whole world has more than 100 countries and

area residents are fond of tea. Some places tea tea as a kind of enjoyment of

the arts to promote. The tea is identical, each has its own merits. The Chinese

people have always had a guest to tea custom, which fully reflects the Chinese

national civilization and politeness.

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.

But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with celebrating and

cultivating positive relationship between people, families, nature and the

higher beings they believed were responsible for bringing/returning the light

each year.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven

in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny

of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided

when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings.

Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all the

emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to

bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of

the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he

proclaimed it as one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would

last throughout the night. They clean it all up in the morning.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the

Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of

the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of

entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which

they pray for good fortune.

Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival

speaks of a beautiful bird that flew down to earth from heaven, which was hunted

and killed by some villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in Heaven because

the bird was his favorite one. Therefore, he planned a storm of fire to destroy

the village on the 15th lunar day. The Jade Emperors daughter heard of this

plan, and warned the villagers of her father’s plan to destroy their village.

The village was in turmoil because nobody knew how should they escape their

imminent destruction.

However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should

hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and

explode firecrackers on the 14th, 15th, and 16th lunar days. This would give the

village the appearance of being on fire to the Jade Emperor. On the 15th lunar

day, troops sent down from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw

that the village was already ablaze, and returned to heaven to report to the

Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn down the village.

From that day on, people celebrate the anniversary on the 15th lunar day every

year by carrying red lanterns on the streets and exploding firecrackers and

fireworks.

There are many stories on how this festival was created. One other story is

about a maid. In the Han Dynasty, Mr. Eastern was a favorite advisor of the

emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying

and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. Mr. Eastern stopped her

and asked why. She said she was a maid in the emperors palace and her name was

Yuan-Xiao.

She never had the chance to meet her family after she started worked at the

palace. She missed them so much every 12th lunar month. If she couldnt have the

chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. Mr. Eastern

promised her to find a way so she could reunion with her family. Mr. Eastern

left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street and disguised

himself as a fortuneteller. Because of his reputation, many people asked for

their fortunes.

But every one got the same prediction - a severe fire accident on the 15th

lunar day. The rumor spread quickly. Everyone was worried about the future and

asked Mr. Eastern for help. Mr. Eastern said, "On the 13th lunar day, the God of

Fire will send a fairy lady in red to burn down the city. If you see a lady in

red wearing green pants riding a black horse on that day, you should ask for her

mercy." On that day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the red fairy lady. When people

asked for her help, she said, "Im the messenger of the God of Fire and came to

check on the city and Im going to set up fire on 15th. This is an order from

Jade Emperor. He will watch from the heavens.

I will give you a copy of the imperial decree from the God of Fire. You

should go to ask your emperor to find a way out." After she left, people went to

the palace to show the emperor the decree which reads "The capital city is in

trouble. Fire burns on the palace, and fire from Heaven burns all night long on

the 15th." The emperor of Han Dynasty was very shocked. He called and asked Mr.

Eastern for advice. After pondering for a while, Mr. Eastern said, "I heard that

the God of Fire likes to eat Tang-Yuan (Sweet dumpling). Does Yuan-Xiao often

cook Tang-Yuan for you? On the 15th lunar day, let Yuan-Xiao make Tang-Yuan.

Your Majesty will take charge of the worshipping ceremony and you will give

an order to every house to prepare Tang-Yuan to worship the God of Fire at the

same time. Also, deliver another order to ask every house in the city to hang

red lantern and explode fire crackers. Lastly, everyone in the palace and people

outside the city should carry their lanterns on the street to watch the lantern

decoration and fireworks. If everything goes this way, the Jade Emperor would be

deceived.

Then everyone can avoid the fire accident." The emperor happily followed

the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the 15th

lunar day. People were walking on the street. Fire crackers kept making lots of

noise. It looked like the entire city was on fire. Yuan-Xiaos parents went into

the palace to watch the lantern decorations, and Yuan-Xiao made a big lantern

and wrote her name on the lantern. They happily reunited together after her

parents called her name. Everybody was safe during the night. The emperor of Han

Dynasty had a new order that people should do the same thing every year. Since

Yuan-Xiao cooked the best Tan-Yuan, people called the day Yuan-Xiao

Festival.

Young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love.

Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns

were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer

has such implications.

Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern

parades. In addition to eating tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional

Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), another popular activity at this festival is

guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang

Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant

harvest, prosperity and love.