Think of a summer ritual (remember the definition given in my first post) and respond to these questions from your handout.
What summer ritual do you participate in? Why do you repeat this ritual? What purpose does it hold for you? For others whom you know? For society in general? What value does your ritual demonstrate? Use concrete examples in the same manner as Ray Bradbury. Write no more than 125 words in paragraph form.
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17 comments:
Theater RituaL
I do not recall the beginning of my summer break with out a tour to the theater with my mom , rearly with my stepfather; he managed to slip away from such a pleasure. Why am I so negative about the theater you would ask me? The answer is simple because of my lovely mom. The point is that my mom was a fan,no, a fanatic of art and theaters, in particular. She injoyed every play, even if it was candidly awfull.Imagine yourself as a ten year-old girl who wants to go out with her friends and have some fun,insteard going to the theater with her mom almost every day during the first month of the summer. Merrily, isn't it!? It became a ritual to wake up at 8 a.m (reminding, this is a summer vacation!) and be ready to leave our Penates at 9 a.m to catch the first play. During the summer time our city was especially full of different troups playing variety of performances. Usually in one day we visited around 5 different performances. Starting from something easy to digest for ten year-old and ending in a tour in the museum. Russian museum, for instanse, a very beautiful place as I consider it now.However, back than it was a mortal place to be, for me. The day was ended at 7 p.m.
I was exosted and confused. My mom was very excited. She would watched even more, but it was late for me.I imagined myself with my friends and thought what they we doing, which games they played etc.
My tours to the museums ended when i turned 15.Surprisingly, I couldn't get used to the infinit amout of time I received.Many years later i asked my mom about the tourture she was using to educate me.And my mom confessed, it was a tourture for her too to go to the theater with a child who didn't appreciate a thing in it, and who injoyed the buffet the most of all jorney. I laughed.I know it was hard for her as well , but she has done it for me because she belived i was special. She wanted a special education for me, a special attention, and thank you mom for that summer ritual.
The Summer Ritual in my Childhood
I spent my childhood in a small village with my grandparents. It is a beautiful village, there is a river in front of it. Eventhough there was no electricity, there was no problem for a child to have fun. I was often summoned to catch cicade by other kids in the village. Put some sticky gluten on the top of a long stick, gently approach a cicada and stick its wing. Sometimes we stayed in the river with a huge lotus leaf on head and played water-fighting. In the evening, bamboo mat was spread on warm earth. Often I lied on the mat, gazing stars in the sky, listening the stories from grandma, gradually, my eyelids became heavier and heavier, the voice got far away, away...
Hi Ken and Victoria,
Your writing is too long! If you reread the directions, you will find that the limit is 125 words. In addition, Ken's piece is not on a summer ritual; lunar New Year is in January or February. Please submit a piece on something in summer. I found my piece exceeded the limit, too, so I've rewritten it. Find it under this comment. Thanks.
Brad's revised piece (124 words)
Hiking with John
From my mid thirties through mid forties my pleasant summer ritual was hiking with John. John was a good friend, a man who loved to walk in the mountains. We hiked for eleven summers. My arms scratched by branches, sweat dripping off my nose, I followed him up impossible slopes. The views after we’d scrambled up a rocky scree, loose rocks pinging off boulders on their way to the valley below, were inspiring. The air was sweet. We even saw a grizzly bear—about five meters away—and lived to tell the tale. Those who had the pleasure of hiking with John never forgot it. I would have never climbed so high, travelled so far, nor seen so much if it weren’t for him.
I have a beautiful memory in my childhood.At that time ,my parents was very busy,so I had a good time with my grandparents.Every summer,after raining I always went to looking for mushroom in a forest near my hometown.I was very exciting when I found one.I could keep on looking for mushroom all the day until it become dark,and I could see nothing.Now I think that was crazy .In dinner I always found one special vegetable-mushroom fried with eggs.That is my favoriest.I am sorry,at that time I was so selfish and the mushroom was just for myself.Other people including my grandparents never eat it.
It was a happy time to stay with my grandparents.
Swimming
When I was little I always tried all kinds of fresh activities which I only paid attenetion for a while and then put them behind me except swimming,also my life-time ritual in summer.The reason I was attracted to swimming was because one of my elder buddies convinced me that if I could learn to swim in the river, we might catch the crabs and in that way we don't need to see each other's watering mouths any more.It only took me 2 days to become a good swimmer due to the unbelievable desire of seafood and it turned out I was pretty talented
in it.I was tanned,well-banlanced,strong and I could catch the fish 3 meters under the water.It was a lot of fun and till now I
go swimming every summer execpt not in a home river,not for a crab;just
don't wanna lose the best memory I've ever had.
Better, Ken, but still 275 words, more than double the maximum. Andrew, yours is 149, so 9 words over the upper limit, too.
I do not recall the beginning of my summer break with out enduring tours to the museum. The reason i even commited this ritual was because of my mom, theater fanatic.
The ritual started at the first day of my vacation at about 8 a.m. At 9 a.m we were ready to leave our Penates all dressed up and heir done. Russian museum,cabinet of curiosities, performenses, oprahs, and ballets were mingle together in one day, in one head. In one day we usually managed to visit around 5 performanses. We ended home close to 7 p.m. I was exosted and confused.My mom , quite the reverse, excited and fresh.All these tours had ended when i turend 15. Since than i have all my summer to myself, but somehow i miss our ritual tours with my mom in the beginning of the summer.
Let’s go camping!
Summer time is the best time to go camping. Before taking a trip to some
place, I and my camp-friends are looking for a new place to visit. We love to
spend the summer time far from the cities, crowds, and daily activities. Camp-fire is the best part of the trip. I love the smell of burning wood, taste of roasted sausage, and jokes we all tell. Sometimes we have a boat with us, so we can sail on a lake or on the ocean. Sometimes we just hiking during a day. Another time we just lay down on a beach and roast on the sun.
Every summer gives me and my friends the opportunity to visit a new place, enjoy the nature, and enjoy spending time together. With a grain of excitement I always wait for the next summer camp. Enjoying the nature and fun with friends is the best part of going camping ; I love summer !
Summer Rituals Back Home
It took almost one day trip to go back home. Summer vocation was the day to see my parents. I had to take a bus in the early morning with my uncle or my aunt. They are many mountains in between so the winding road kept turning and turning, up and down like never ending. If typhoon came, the road would be heavily beaten and torn into pieces and became dangerous to travel. Traffic was blocked until it repaired. The bus drove along the edge of deep cliff along the Pacific Ocean. The journey was an adventure in every summer. At the end of the journey, the sun was set. My mom and sister, brother would welcome me to come back home again.
Summer Ritual
Li Xia is one of twenty-four solar terms in China. On this first day of summer, people used to welcome the summer in some special ways. When I was a child lived with my grandparents in country, on the day of each year grandmother always prepared a full tray of fresh horse-bean and gave a cooked egg packed with a net to me to hang on my neck. By growing up, I gradually learnt more knowledge about this summer ritual. For example, I knew three thousand years ago it had become an important fete-day to our ancestors and on the Li Xia day farmers usually prayed a rich harvest. Unfortunately, this historic summer ritual has disappeared little by little in modern society in China.
Hiking Trails
When I met my husband I begun my lovely ritual of hiking.He loves outdoors. My first hike was in Banff. Banff is a marvelous place where I was able to climb the slopes through mountains over Lake Louise.I was so excited but at the same time scared,for instance at one point I thought we were lost because I stop hearing voices from other hikers. So, I asked my husband are we lost ? It felt a little strange to perceive and hear the silence of the mountaints, but it felt very peaceful. Although, I saw a big horn sheep and took a picture.An hour later we decided to head back to our hotel because it was getting dark, and we were starving and exhausted.I can imagine summer without hiking, but I always will be thankful to my husband for introducing me to our natural ritual.
Summer Camp
I go on a camping trip at the end of every summer. The trip tradition started about seven years ago. It lasts for five days. It costs fourty- five dollars which includes transportation, accomadation, meals, and activities. This year we went to Cultus Lake. We don't stay in tents, we stay in cabins. According to the other people in my cabin I giggle in my sleep ,and kick the wall. I was moved into a cabin with people who snore. One day one of the other campers took pictures of our belly buttons. The photogragher had an " outie" and we all touched it! He wouldn't let us take a picture of his for some reason. Every year becomes more fun.
A Dinner in the Yard
There are lots of rituals all over the world, but different races, countries and times have different rituals, each with its unique time and place such as hiking, blueberry picking, ice-tea making.
In the 1970's, in Shanghai, when summer came, especially in July and August, my parents, brother and I would like to go to the yard for our dinner in the evening, around seven o'clock. So did my neighbours. This is because it was very hot, and there was no air conditioner at that time.
On the first day of summer in the late afternoon, my mother cooked rice, vegetables, fish, sweet sour pork and soup. She made the dinner very fast like a cheetah. However, my mother was so busy with cooking that she didn't have any time to swipe out her sweat.
"Mum, I guess you are a swimmer who just came out of a swimming pool. Do you need help?"
"No, thanks. Jane, dinner is ready. Just set up the table, pleasë." said my mother, "I have to take a shower right now." My mother was so hot because of cooking that her body was full of sweat.
I swept off the yard with brooms, took a table and four chairs from a closet and put them in the yard and then dusted them with cloth and water. After that, I set up chopsticks, spoons, bowls and food.
Thirty minutes later, my mother appeared with a little bit of make up.
"Mom, you are a famous Hollywood actress sooner or later because you are good looking."
"Thanks. You did a good job. You are as smart as a crow."
At meantime, my father and my brother came home from a piano lesson of my brother. After they took showers, we started to have our dinner. Meanwhile, we enjoyed songs from crickets and cool wind.
"Dinner is so delicious that I want to eat them all." said my father.
"How was your piano lesson, brother?" I asked.
"Pretty good. I enjoy playing piano."
Having dinner on the summer night yard was so good, so easy and so reassuring that we hope to keep having dinner in the yard. However, four years ago, I immigrated to Canada, so I don't have a chance to have dinner in the yard with my parents and brother.
Have A Dinner in the Yard
There are lots of rituals all over the world, but different races, countries and times have different rituals, each with its unique time and place such as hiking, blueberry picking, ice-tea making.
In the 1970's, in Shanghai, when summer came, especially in July and August, my parents, brother and I would like to go to the yard for our dinner in the evening, around seven o'clock. So did my neighbours. This is because it was very hot, and there was no air conditioner at that time.
On the first day of summer in the late afternoon, my mother cooked rice, vegetables, fish, sweet sour pork and soup. She made the dinner very fast like a cheetah. However, my mother was so busy with cooking that she didn't have any time to swipe out her sweat.
"Mum, I guess you are a swimmer who just came out of a swimming pool. Do you need help?"
"No, thanks. Jane, dinner is ready. Just set up the table, pleasë." said my mother, "I have to take a shower right now." My mother was so hot because of cooking that her body was full of sweat.
I swept off the yard with brooms, took a table and four chairs from a closet and put them in the yard and then dusted them with cloth and water. After that, I set up chopsticks, spoons, bowls and food.
Thirty minutes later, my mother appeared with a little bit of make up.
"Mom, you are a famous Hollywood actress sooner or later because you are good looking."
"Thanks. You did a good job. You are as smart as a crow."
At meantime, my father and my brother came home from a piano lesson of my brother. After they took showers, we started to have our dinner. Meanwhile, we enjoyed songs from crickets and cool wind.
"Dinner is so delicious that I want to eat them all." said my father.
"How was your piano lesson, brother?" I asked.
"Pretty good. I enjoy playing piano."
Having dinner on the summer night yard was so good, so easy and so reassuring that we hope to keep having dinner in the yard. However, four years ago, I immigrated to Canada, so I don't have a chance to have dinner in the yard with my parents and brother.
Having a Dinner in the Yard
There are lots of rituals all over the world, but different races, countries, cultures and times have different rituals, each with its unique time and place such as hiking, blueberry picking and ice-tea making.
In the 1970's, in Shanghai, when summer came, especially in July and August, my parents, brother and I would like to go to the yard for our dinner in the evening, around seven o'clock. So did my neighbours. This is because it was very hot, and there was no air conditioner at that time.
On the first day of summer in the late afternoon, my mother cooked rice, vegetables, fish, sweet sour pork and soup. She made the dinner as fast as a cheetah.
However, my mother was so busy with cooking that she did not have any time to swipe out her sweat.
"Mum, I guess you are a swimmer who just came out of a swimming pool. Do you need help?"
"No, thanks. Jane, dinner is ready. Just set up the table, pleasë." said my mother, "I have to
take a shower right now." My mother was so hot because of cooking that her body was full of
sweat.
I swept off the yard with brooms, took a table and four chairs from a closet and put them in the yard, and then dusted them with cloth and water. After that, I set up chopsticks, spoons, bowls
and food.
Thirty minutes later, my mother appeared with a little bit of make-up.
"Mom, you are a famous Hollywood actress sooner or later because you are good looking."
"Thanks. You did a good job. You are as smart as a crow."
At meantime, my father and brother came home from a piano lesson. After they took their
showers, they went straight to the yard. At the same time, a blast of cooler wind was blowing,and appetizing smell was coming.
"Wow, dinner is so delicious that I need the whole table." said my brother.
My brother eagerly glanced at the table, and he swiftly flew to the chair in the yard like a
swallow. After a while, all of us sat on the chairs in the yard and started to have our dinners. We
listened to wonderful songs from crickets and viewed elegant dance of leaves and grasses along with wind. We talked each other, and on one remembered the next day.
"How was your piano lesson, brother?" I asked.
"Pretty good. I enjoy playing piano."
Having a dinner in the summer night yard was so good, so easy and so reassuring that I
hope to keep having a dinner in the yard forever. However, four years ago, I immigrated to
Canada, so I do not have any chance to have a dinner in the yard with my parents and brother.
Having a Dinner in the Yard
There are lots of rituals all over the world, but different races, countries, cultures and times have different rituals, each with its unique time and place such as hiking, blueberry picking and
ice-tea making.
In the 1970's, in Shanghai, when summer came, especially in July and August, my parents, brother and I would like to go to the yard for our dinner in the evening, around seven o'clock. So did my neighbours. This is because it was very hot, and there was no air conditioner at that time.
On the first day of summer in the late afternoon, my mother cooked rice, vegetables, fish, sweet sour pork and soup. She made the dinner as fast as a cheetah. However, my mother was so busy with cooking that she did not have any time to swipe out her sweat.
"Mum, I guess you are a swimmer who just came out of a swimming pool. Do you need help?"
"No, thanks. Jane, dinner is ready. Just set up the table, pleasë." said my mother, "I have to
take a shower right now." My mother was so hot because of cooking that her body was full of
sweat.
I swept off the yard with brooms, took a table and four chairs from a closet and put them in the yard, and then dusted them with cloth and water. After that, I set up chopsticks, spoons, bowls and food.
Thirty minutes later, my mother appeared with a little bit of make-up.
"Mom, you are a famous Hollywood actress sooner or later because you are good looking."
"Thanks. You did a good job. You are as smart as a crow."
At meantime, my father and brother came home from a piano lesson. After they took their showers, they went straight to the yard. At the same time, a blast of cooler wind was blowing,and appetizing smell was coming.
"Wow, dinner is so delicious that I need the whole table." said my brother.
My brother eagerly glanced at the table, and he swiftly flew to the chair in the yard like a swallow. After a while, all of us sat on the chairs in the yard and started to have our dinners. We listened to wonderful songs from crickets and viewed elegant dance of leaves and grasses along with wind. We talked each other, and on one remembered the next day.
"How was your piano lesson, brother?" I asked.
"Pretty good. I enjoy playing piano."
Having a dinner in the summer night yard was so good, so easy and so reassuring that I hope to keep having a dinner in the yard forever. However, four years ago, I immigrated to Canada, so I do not have any chance to have a dinner in the yard with my parents and brother.
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