Unit I: American celebrations and Parties

Active Reading

Reading for general information on the topic

Americans love to party. Besides globally-known birthday parties, dinner parties, Housewarming, Welcome and Farewell parties, here are some of the most popular parties among Americans.

Block party

A block party is a party for neighbors living on the same block. Usually, this means a residential block with private houses. A road would typically be blocked off for traffic and people would gather right on the street, where tables and chairs (and sometimes tents to create shade) will be set up. Such party can be hosted by one family/house but usually it is pot luck (meaning everyone contributes food and drinks).

Keg party/ kegger

The name for this party comes from a keg of beer. This party can be like any other party, but due to its name, it revolves around a large keg of beer. Usually, everyone will pump their own fresh beer from the keg into large plastic cups. Food provided for this party is usually typical beer snacks - chips and dip, chicken wings, meat balls - something store-bought rather than homecooked. These parties are mainly popular with college students.

Pool party

It is easy to understand from the name what this party implies. In southern states it is not unusual for the houses to have a pool - either a private pool at a private house or a small community pool in the middle of an apartment complex. Usually one family will host a pool party ether at the home or at a community pool. This can be for children and families or for adults only. Everyone comes wearing a bathing suit and some sun-appropriate clothes. The host may provide all towels, pool toys and food and drinks, or guests may be asked to bring them. It is very popular to have children's birthday parties as pool parties.

Costume party

Costume parties always require guests to wear a costume. They could be of two types. They can be associated with a holiday (mainly Halloween, when people are encouraged to wear a Halloween costume to the party - it can be scary, like a ghost or a vampire, but not necessarily such) or can also be organized just because. Themes can relay to a time period (like "70s Party") or a culture (Hawaiian Party) or focus on a theme ("Beach Party"). Which brings us to...

Theme party

Theme parties could be costume parties but not necessarily. Theme party is any party that has a theme to it, which requires special decorations and special food. Theme can be a holiday. Most popular would probably be Halloween party, when houses are decorated in a scary fashion and guests are asked to wear a costume. A theme party can also revolve around a cultural setting. A good example is Hawaiian Luau (feast). For this party Hawaiian dishes will be prepared, Hawaiian music will be played, and of course special decorations will be used in the house. Guests usually wear Hawaiian shirts - button-down shirt with short sleeves and a flower pattern. A theme can also be pretty much anything your imagination would allow. Me popular example is a Beach Party in the middle of winter. This of course is an indoor party where everyone wears summer clothes and fruity cocktails are served.

Shower

A shower is a party whose primary purpose is to give gifts to the guest of honor, commonly a bride-to-be or a mother-to-be. Guests who attend are expected to bring a small gift, usually related to the upcoming life event, like getting married or having a baby. Themed games are a frequent sight during showers as well.

As a gift-giving occasion, it may not properly be hosted either by the guest of honor or the close relatives of the guest of honor, as requesting gifts from friends for a near relative is seen as either greedy or begging.

Tailgate party

Tailgate is a party before a sport game. For this party people gather in a parking lot of a stadium. They bring beer, food and often even a transportable grill, so they can cook food right in the parking lot. The most typical food is chips, hot dogs and hamburgers. This party is called "tailed gate" because of the back door of a truck or SUV car than opens up by going down flat (it is called "tail gate"), then people can use it as a table to serve food and drinks. Because this party is sport-related a very important part of it is to wear your team's jerseys and colors and talk to other fans. Unfortunately sometimes this premise is used for fights between fans of different teams.

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