Now the National Holiday is one of the biggest holidays in China.【小题1】

When the National Holiday is

The National Holiday usually begins on October lst.【小题2】If the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday falls within this period, the holiday period usually gets a day or two longer.

The history of China's National Day

On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's Republic of China in Tian'anmen Square. The next day, the new government passed the "Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China" and declared October 1 to be the Chinese National Day.【小题3】

National Day celebrations/activities

Now every 5 years, a military parade(阅兵)is held in Tian'anmen Square. Those great military parades have attracted a lot of people from both home and abroad.【小题4】

If one loves shopping, the National Day holidays is a great time, for many shopping centers offer big discounts during the holiday.

One of the biggest street parties in the world took over London recently.

The Notting Hill Carnival, which took place from Aug 28-29, is recognized as the largest street party in Europe.

But in these troubled times – with terrorist (恐怖主义的) attacks and religious anger on the front page of newspapers – is it appropriate to spend the weekend dancing in the streets without a care in the world?

Right now, “people must stand up for themselves”, said Patrick Bullock, 53, an artist who builds floats (花车) for the parade each year. “The smiles and dancing do not stop all weekend – the spirit of the carnival can’t be broken.”

The festival, now in its 50th year, started in 1966. But it was much smaller – around 1,000 people attended – and began as a way to bring together the different groups who called London’s Notting Hill their home.

Creator Rhaune Laslett, herself half Native American, half Russian, had the idea for the first carnival after having a vision (愿景). “I could see the streets full of people in brightly colored costurnes, they were dancing and following bands and they were happy,” she told the Caribbean Times in 1989. “Men, women, children, black, white, brown, all laughing.”

During a period of racial tension (种族关系紧张), Laslett believed that music and laughter could bring together the different nationalities in her west London neighborhood.

“We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very small area, there is very little communication between us,” she explained in an interview in 1966, shortly after the first carnival took place.

Over the years, the party has grown into its modern day form.

“Our participants find themselves in a space of music, color and creativity which brings about the emotion of joy and encourages the freedom to express themselves,” said Debora Alleyne De Gazon, the carnival’s creative director.

However, not everyone is queuing (排队) up to join in, despite (不管) the carnival’s all-inclusive (全包含的) idea.

“I can’t go out from my door on that day with all the rubbish around,” said Fortuoso Cruz, who lives in London.

But when a million people come together for a weekend of eating, laughter and music – forgetting about life’s troubles for 48 hours – perhaps a little rubbish is a price worth paying.