讀書會|英文讀書會|快樂英語讀書會|中華民國快樂英語協會

網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論

歡迎加入Taichung Happy English Club粉絲團



Time：第 490 會，2019 年 11 月 30 日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?t=15

Agenda
14:30~15:30 Session One
15:30~15:50 Speech Session
15:50~16:00 Change Group and then Break Time
16:00~17:15 Session Two
17:15~17:30 Happy Time

Host: Kevin Hsu
Assistant Host:

Topic::
What is an advent calendar?
Source:
https://www.gotquestions.org/advent-calendar.html


Please Note:
Venue:台中市南屯區 大業路182號 Mos Burger二樓
Thanks a lot for your attention.

Questions:
1. Have you ever used an Advent Calendar? If yes, please share your experiences.

2. Christmas is coming soon. Do you have any plans for it? What do you have to consider when you plan?

3. Have you ever joined your friends’ potluck parties for Christmas? If so, please share your experience with us. How did you prepare for it? What do you think of it?

4. What do you prefer for Christmas gifts? What kind of gifts do you usually prepare for your friends and family?

5. Do you have any expectations for this Christmas?


例會須知
時間地點須知：
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15
協會章程：
http://www.happyforum.org/Association_Principle.htm
各分會章程：
http://www.happyforum.org/Club_Principle.htm
協會會員會費及各分會會員會費及入場費：
http://www.happyforum.org/15.htm
參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章，並帶至現場
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewforum.php?f=33
參與例會，請勿討論政治/種族/宗教/性，經勸導無效者，不得參加本會任何活動
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1766
週六晚餐(Saturday Dinner)
http://www.happyforum.org/happy/viewforum.php?f=76
戶外活動(Club Outing)

Dear Taichung Happiers,

It’s never too early for Christmas music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTwpK8rM-6o

Make this a Christmas to remember. Santa is coming to town, and the moment is so exquisitely tender. It inspires us to discover a new way of seeing things. American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957), suggested us fly back to childhood on the wings of Christmas. "Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." Our memories reach just back to the time when the satisfaction of Christmas celebration needed no exaggeration. In The Book Thief, Australian writer (of German origin) Markus Zusak imprints the image in our minds: "It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement." In addition, Irish writer Robert Wilson Lynd was fully aware of the essence of what Christmas is about. "Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need to be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive." Now, what triggers your Christmas memories? What is your favorite Christmas ever? Silent night. Holy night. Silence is where magic happens. The significance of Christmas offers an equal prose of affection and celebration. Enveloped by the murmur of winking Christmas lights and the smells, we experience a moment of happiness purer than usual. HoHoHo…Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to join our host Kevin Hsu in sharing our Christmas traditions, memories, or anything else.

All is calm, all is bright. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CPJRhQp__U During the Christmas holidays, all across the world, there is enthusiasm and enjoyment. All across the world, people feel nostalgic. All across the world, people feel affiliated with a sense of self. According to American environmentalist, author, and educator Bill McKibben, "There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.” The Christmas traditions. We read, write, teach, and study them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-FYkB4ecok During the Christmas holidays, we are always delighted by the churches painted in different colors. The Christmas traditions can vary in different corners of the world; yet, they never die. Christmas celebration is a remarkable reminder that our own presence is the only thing with a definite outline at any given time. So, if reading is our favorite Christmas tradition, can the weight of time and knowledge make us feel the outline more definite? https://www.readitforward.com/essay/art ... tradition/ Moreover, if you can talk to Santa for 15minutes, about any topics, what would you say? On Xmas eve, we are always overwhelmed by a wave of nostalgia, pleasant like songs. Santa really does have a voice that invites elegance. We find ourselves nodding—there’s something to nod about--because of Christmas, we can also require mercy and decency. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs ... /ejsp.2318

Celebrating Christmas or not, we’re all Christmas drunk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAJ0zgJd4p0 We have diagnosed the enthusiasm, going hand in hand with difficulties, as the symptoms of being Christmas drunk. Celebrating Christmas or not, what matters most is our sincerity in life—our lives and others’. Each form of celebration is actually formless, is indeed silently screaming, to urge an unbreakable awareness of everyone’s life purpose. Can’t wait for Xmas—there are so many things to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDCO_J1lOrA American author Lenora Mattingly Weber illustrated the bewitching ingredients of Christmas. "Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts." In other words, everyone is a language genius, in terms of describing the sights, smells, and sounds of Christmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwrStiDJvMw While preparing for Christmas, we are in a constant state of motion—no idle time. This is why everything looks extraordinary and elegant, and feels everlasting. What can we expect, other than a brief taste of the thrills? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGZIc0Pokhs

Share the Christmas spirit with a smile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLd2eChJggU Santa is coming to town. These days smell particularly persuasive, as though not belonging to the ordinary calendar. We cannot let this opportunity pass without appreciating and spreading more about the Christmas spirit. Author Isabel Currier simply put, "It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to one's fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit." Then, if you would like to give Santa a gift, what would it be? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J93ZCqSY10 Give more and share love with people, especially the down-and-out, the deserted, and the deprived—as we can see the Church serves humanity and culture as well. There is no chance for the world to sound slow and sleepy. We sing the Christmas spirit from our hearts; we feel the spirit deep down in our souls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PstSiT ... =emb_title We cannot really own the Christmas spirit until we really cherish it. When the relations between people take the form of calmness and brightness, we believe there's always hope. A flowering of beauty and purity has been specifically seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYaIQNjAX_8

From “Christmas gift suggestions” (by Oren Arnold)

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

If every day was Christmas… Christmas is exciting and relaxing; yet, sometimes, it can be disappointing. Nevertheless, we believe there's always hope. Christmas brings us to notice the links between things, their network of echoes. In order not to devalue people and things, in order not to see meanings break down, the Christmas spirit inspires us to start the search again—to go further, to discover, and to rediscover who we are and how it is between us and others. If every day was Christmas, we would have the happiness that tells a deeper truth about the way things are, the way people are. Serving as the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge clarified that "To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." If every day was Christmas, this mindset would not be exclusively for the American—it would be in everyone’s in the world. If every day was Christmas, we would keep everything from being reduced to the gray color. If every day was Christmas, our heads would be full of significance, and the world would glow. The Christmas spirit is to share your time, share what you really put in the higher place. May all of us be granted blissful satisfaction. Join us. Thanks!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aebt_OVEsl0






With Gratitude,
Jasmine

color=green]20191130, Gathering, Taichung[/color]