By Li Xiaohui

At 10 am, on July 18th, the fourth lecture of the trimester was held in Liyun A202. The SFL invited Mr. Barrett Bowden, one of the member of the American delegation, to give a lecture entailed U.S. Culture and Holidays.

Mr. Barrett Bowden illustrated different geographic locations in the U.S. as well as their population by using a map. The distribution of population determines the region''''s economic development. Densely populated and most economically developed areas are usually close to the coast, such as New York and Boston. Spiritual power helps America to promote the development of the country. Almost 70% of the Americans have their own religions. Its level of the education is one of the highest in the world, due to its quality and pre-school education. He also mentioned that music, movies, sports and food play an important role in their daily life. Mixing the work and entertainment together can reduce the pressure. Mr. Barrett Bowden also introduced American holidays, their purposes and the way to celebrate them. For instance, on the eve of New Year''''s Day, Americans get together in the city to welcome the arrive of a new year; Most Americans don’t like Tax Day, as their full-year revenues based on taxes will be turned over to the state; On Halloween, which is October 31st, dozens of children are dressed in costumes and knock on their neighbors'''' doors and says "Trick or Treat"; Christmas was the biggest holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity.

Finally, Mr. Barrett Bowden divided the students into six groups to have a discussion and ask questions.