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
god
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/…
share
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
-al
-alise
-alistic
-ance
-ant
-ation
-cal
-en
-ening
-er
-ess
-f
-ful
grand-
great-grand-
-ial
-ic
-ion
-itor
-ity
-ly
non-
-or
-ous
-se
un-
-y