Vocabulary for describing festivals and celebrations challenge

with festivals and celebrations vocabulary word formation

Work together to use as many of the words and phrases below as you can to describe (local/ regional/ national/ international) festivals and celebrations, starting with any you like.

When your teacher stops the activity, ask about vocabulary you don’t understand, couldn’t make example sentences with, etc, working as a class to use the language each time.

Festivals and celebrations word formation

Without looking below, write as least one other form of each word below (e.g. the noun if it is a verb, or the opposite if it is an adjective). Many forms not below are also possible.

alcohol

ancestor

appear

applaud

believe

celebrate

ceremony

compete

dance

decorate

donate

duty

fright

history

locate

luck

memory

nation

official

parent

participate

perform

popular

pray

prepare

relax

scare

season

superstition

tradition

visit

Use the mixed answers on the last page to help, then compare below. Other forms of the words are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

act (as…/ out…)/ pretend

ancestors/ ancestral (great-grandparents, etc)

appear/ appearance (on the balcony/ in public/…)

award (with a degree/ with a title/ with…)

believe (in/ that)/ belief/ believer

(ring/ the chime of) bells

bless/ (a priest’s/ a monk’s/ a nun’s) blessing

(to/ a) bow/ curtsy/ kowtow

(traditional/ homemade) candy/ sweets

(Christmas/ New Year/ homemade/ post)card

(try to) catch/ find (a penny in the Xmas pudding/…)

celebrate/ celebration/ celebrant

(religious/ formal/ coming of age) ceremony/ ceremonial

chase/ run (away from/ after)

church/ cathedral/ mosque/ synagogue/ (Buddhist/ Hindu) temple

(traditional/ light/ summer/ formal/ smart/ casual) clothes/ clothing/ footwear

communal/ community

(compete/ competitor in a) (televised/ local/ dangerous/ strange) competition (relay race, cheese rolling, boat race, etc)

cook (grill, roast, fry, barbecue, boil, steam, bake, etc)

crowd/ crowded/ packed/ cram-packed

(maypole/ folk/ Morris/…) dance/ dancer

decorate/ decoration/ ornament (baubles, tinsel, fairy lights, wreath, etc)

dessert/ sweet/ pudding (Xmas pudding, red bean jam…, chewy rice cakes, etc)

(special/ traditional) dish/ (street) food (noodles, etc)

display (a model/ a life-sized…/ a nativity scene/ lights/…)

donate/ donation/ donor

dress up/ get dressed up/ disguise (a mask, a costume, etc)

(alcoholic/ non-alcoholic/ seasonal/ soft) drink (eggnog, rice wine, mulled wine, etc)

duty/ dutiful

exchange (cards/ gifts/ presents/ greetings/ good wishes/…)

(close/ extended) family/ (close/ distant) relations/ relatives

fast/ fasting/ avoid

(harvest/ summer/ winter/ music/ art/ biennial/ annual/…) festival

(bouquet of/ bunch of) flowers

fortune (telling) (astrology/ star signs, Chinese horoscope, etc)

frighten/ scare/ frightening/ scary (demon/ devil/ ghost/ monster/…)

(traditional) (board/ card/ children’s) game

gift/ present (cash, gift card, etc)

(local/ traditional/ pre-Christian/ chief/…) god/ goddess (of…)

(family/ ancestor’s/ great grandparents’/…) grave(yard)/ tomb/ cemetery

(invite/ receive) guests/ visitors/ visits

(public/ bank/ religious/ traditional/ local/ national) holiday/ day off/ long weekend

holy/ sacred (day/ place/ man/ woman/ relic/…)

homemade (card/ food/ decorations/ presents/…)

(to/ a) host/ play host to

(musical) instrument (gong, drum, etc)

(practical/ Christmas cracker) joke

fly a kite/ flags/ streamers/…

(have a) lie in (and breakfast in bed)

light/ burn (fireworks, sparklers, candles, joss sticks, incense, a bonfire, a lamp, etc)

(historical) location/ venue/ located

(bad/ good) luck/ (un)lucky (charm/ food/ omen/…)/ superstition/ superstitious

(formal/ family/ catered) meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, banquet, picnic, etc)

mourn/ mourning/ mourner

(folk/ traditional/ classical/ religious) music/ song/ singer (carol, hymn, chant, etc)

offer (food)/ offering (of…) (to…)/ lay (a wreath) on…/ sacrifice

official/ officially

(street) parade/ procession (floats)

participate/ participant

(office/ house/ housewarming/ street/ end of…) party

patriotic/ nationalistic

perform/ performer/ performance (a play, a nativity play, variety, a talent show, etc)

(plant/ harvest/ view/ pick) (seasonal) plants (flowers, blossom, bamboo, pine cones)

(un)popular/ (un)popularity (among…)

pray/ prayer (to…/ for…)

prepare/ preparation (beforehand/ in advance) (chop, grind, clean/ spring clean/ wash)

private/ privately

promise/ (wedding) vows/ (New Year’s) resolution

(member of the) public/ publicly

remember/ memorialise/ (war/…) memorial/ mark

replace/ replacement/ renew/ renewal/ renewable

rest/ relax/ relaxation

romance/ romantic (meal/…)

(miracle of a) (patron) saint

(summer/ New Year/ Black Friday/…) sales/ bargains/ special offers

season/ seasonal

(religious) service/ (midnight) mass

set off fireworks/ party poppers/…

show respect for/ gratitude for/ dedication to/ …

(household/ portable/ Shinto/…) shrine

(give a) (King’s/ Queen’s/ wedding/ best man’s/…) speech

(ancestors’/ returning/…) spirits/ ghosts

(traditional/ special/ seasonal/…) sport (running the bulls, etc)

(street/ food/…) stall

stay up (all night/ until dawn/ until midnight/…)

(tell a/ based on a) story/ (folk) tale/ myth/ legend (a love story, a birth, a death, etc)

support (clap/ applause, cheer/ shout/ yell, etc)

thank/ show gratitude for

throw/ scatter (paint, water, salt, tomatoes, etc)

(a/ to/ raise a/ propose a) toast

view/ viewing/ watch/ look at (blossom/ a firework display/…)

wish for/ make a wish

Word formation mixed answers

-alise

-alistic

-ance

-ant

-ation

-cal

-ening

-ess

-f

-ful

grand-

great-grand-

-ial

-ion

-itor

-ity

non-

-ous

-y

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Vocabulary for describing festivals and celebrations challenge