March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are four wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring. If you want to know more about them, please click here or visit http://www.buddhanet.net/

SongKran----Thailand

Dates: 13th-15th, April

In Thailand, people celebrate a festival called SongKran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray everyone who walks past.

Naghol----Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people's diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its "land diving ceremony". During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤) attached to their ankles.

Cherry Blossom Viewing----Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The festival is well-known. Japanese celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣) fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. That means the traditional festival only lasts for several days. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year----Sri Lanka

Dates: 13th or 14th, April

Just like in many other countries in South or South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day, falling on the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November.

【小题1】

On Black Friday, Many people choose to take trips to visit family members or friends who live in other areas or go on vacation. Shopping for Christmas presents is also popular on Black Friday. Many stores have special offers and lower their prices of some goods, such as toys.

Black Friday is a public holiday in some states. 【小题2】 Many organizations also close for the Thanksgiving weekend. Some stores extend their opening hours on Black Friday. Public transportation systems may run on their normal schedule or may have changes. 【小题3】

Background of Black Friday

【小题4】 One theory is that the wheels of vehicles in heavy traffic on the day after Thanksgiving Day leave many black marks on the road surface, leading to the term “Black Friday”. The other theory is that the term “Black Friday” comes from an old way of recording business accounts. 【小题5】 Many businesses, particularly small businesses, started making profits before Christmas. They hoped to start showing a profit marked in black ink on the day after Thanksgiving Day.

More recently, Black Friday has been exported to nations outside of North America such as the United Kingdom by major online retailers like Amazon or Apple. In 2011, IBM reported online Black Friday sales were up by 24.3%, according to a study that includes 500 retailers.

The Mysteries of The Maya

Extending south from parts known as Mexico into Central America, 【小题1】.The Maya built impressive palaces and temples and step pyramids. How were they built without the use of wheels, metal tools or even animal power? 【小题2】 They applied this understanding to the Maya calendar, which was accurate to within 30 seconds per year.

The fact that Maya society was technologically primitive makes its achievements all the more incredible and mysterious. 【小题3】 By 700 AD, Maya civilization was at its peak. Yet, within just a couple of generations, it began to mysteriously decline. The cities were left to be taken back by the jungle.

Why Maya civilization collapsed remains a mystery. A deadly disease? Conflicts between cities? 【小题4】 They had turned wetlands into fields for growing grains, and had dug huge canal systems. As their population expanded, yet more land was needed for agriculture and more trees for construction. By changing the landscape in this way, the Maya people unknowingly reduced their ability to deal with natural disasters.

【小题5】 Some recent studies have found that there were far fewer tropical cyclones (热带气旋) than usual between 700 AD and 1000 AD, which is likely to have led to a series of droughts. These droughts would have led to food shortages, conflicts and ultimately, the downfall of the cities.

Whatever the reasons, Maya civilization largely disappeared within the deep jungle. Its once-great cities fell into ruin, leaving various mysteries for later people to solve.