The typical English Breakfast

Hi guys!!!

Have you ever heard of a typical English Breakfast!!  I know it's hard to learn about food at some time in the morning at high school but let's try!!

Today we are going to know more about the tradition of English breakfast.

Here you have a link to begin with!!

English breakfast


Sara.

European Day

EUROPE DAY

09 May 2014

9 May every year: Celebrating the creation of the European Union.

Europe Day commemorates 9 May 1950, when the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, to help maintain peaceful relations between European countries. This proposal, known as the 'Schuman declaration', is considered to be the act that created what is now the European Union.

5 May coincides with liberation day in Denmark and the Netherlands, celebrating the surrender of German troops there and in northern Germany in 1945. 9 May coincides with the eve of the German invasion of The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburgand France and with Victory Day, the end of World War II in the former Soviet Union (celebrated on 8 May in western Europe).

The European flag is the symbol not only of the European Union but also of Europe's unity and identity in a wider sense.

The European flag consists of 12 golden stars in a circle on a blue background. The stars symbolise the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe.
The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity.

History of the European flag

The history of the flag goes back to 1955. The Council of Europe - defending human rights and promoting European culture – adopted the present design for its own use.

Over the following years the Council of Europe encouraged the emerging European institutions to adopt the flag as well.

In 1983, the European Parliament adopted the flag. In 1985, it was adopted by all EU leaders as the official emblem of the European Union (called the European Communities at the time). All European institutions now use an emblem of their own.

Use of the EU emblem by third parties

Would you like to know more about Europe?

Check these websites out and learn more about European countries and European Institutions.

European Union in slides


Let's explore Europe


Europadiary

Now, let's play some games to test your knowledge about the European Union!!!

http://www.toporopa.eu/en/index.html


http://ec.europa.eu/languages/quiz/quiz_en.htm

http://europa.eu/kids-corner/index_en.htm

St. Patrick's Day

On 17th March, Irish people celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It is a well-known celebration around the world, not only in Ireland. Some parades take place in the USA. Even in some European countries, Irish communities celebrate this festivity. For instance, you can see some Irish typical clothes in Irish pubs in Europe.

Let's now answer the following question, who was St. Patrick? St. Patrick was the first bishop to arrive to Ireland in order to christianize it in the fourth century A.D.

When he was about 16, he was captured from Wales by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked.

By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. If you want to know more you can read the following article on

http://www.englishcorneratgallicum.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/st-patricks-day.html

and watch

Origins of St Patrick

Bet you didn't know about St Patrick

Would you like to know more about how Irish celebrate St.Patrick's?

Fat Dave prepares Corned Beef and cabbage in New York and Irish Stew

Dyeing Chicago River

Greening Chicago River

http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-St.-Patrick's-Day

You can visit the following website
St Patrick's festival 2015

Other traditions include greening some rivers such as Chicago's river. You can see an example in the following website.
Green Chicago River

Christmas around the world

Hi to everyone!!

Christmas is celebrated around the world with different traditions. However, most of us have a Christmas tree at home and celebrate Christmas Eve with our family. Something that is very typical these days are Chrismas Markets. Many towns in Europe organised Christmas Markets in squares and people can shop some presents and gifts, or just buy some Christmas decorations.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

Some days before Christmas the English people send Christmas cards to friends and relatives, 

They also  decorate their houses with:

- Holly which is the symbol of Jesus Christ’s Crown with the blood  (the red berry)

-Mistletoe which is the symbol of peace. it’s custom to kiss under it.

- A Christmas tree.  In 1840, Prince Albert introduced this German tradition and Queen Victoria decorated it. Then this fashion was copied by other members of the aristocracy and it passed to the USA.Every year the people of  Norway send a big Christmas tree as a gift to the English since 1947. 

 -The crib(Presepe) is popular in churches or schools 

It is tradition to prepare the  “Christmas Pudding” one month before Christmas and all the family takes part in its preparation .

Christmas Eve (24 December) 

Kids hang up the “Christmas stocking” to the fireplace or on their beds.They wait for Father Christmas bringing them gifts. 

People like singing “Carols”(special religious songs)And collect money for charity associations. People go shopping and buy Christmas presents.

Christmas day (25 December) 

 The English have a big Christmas dinner: It consists of roast turkey with potatoes, vegetables, brussel sprouts and “plum pudding” (the Christmas cake) or mince pies. 

They also pull Christmas crackers which contain a party hat, a joke or a motto and a gift. 

On 25 December in the afternoon people sit down and watch the Queen's speech on tv. 

Boxing Day (26 December) 

 It is called boxing day because in this day many people receive boxes with a gift, for example the postman, the milkman, the newspaper man and also in shops or churches there are boxes for poor people.  

On Boxing day children go to to the theatre and watch Pantomimes, plays for children . They start eating mince pies until the twelfth night (6 January). 

Twelfth night (6 January) 

All decorations are removed because it is unlucky to remove them before or later. 

AMERICAN TRADITIONS FOR CHRISTMAS

The modern, more commercial­ized Christmas began to emerge in the 19th century, with the 
new custom of purchasing gifts for young children. Seasonal “Christmas shopping” began to 
assume economic importance.

Other Christmas traditions simi­larly began during the 19th cen­tury. Santa Claus — derived from the Dutch Sinter Klaas and the German Saint Nicholas — assumed the persona of a jolly dispenser of gifts and pilot of a reindeer­drawn sleigh through such works as the 1823 poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore and an 1863 portrait by illustra­tor Thomas Nast in the magazine Harper’s Weekly. It is known now as The Night Before Christmas.

Christmas trees are believed to date back to Martin Luther, the 16th century German cleric. 
According to legend, Luther brought home to his children a fir tree one Christmas Eve to remind them of the wonders of God’s cre­ation. The custom spread to Britain and the United States in the 19th century. Today, many Americans either purchase a cut, fresh ever­
green tree or a reusable aluminum and plastic model. The Christmas tree is decorated with lights and ornaments. In many families, Christmas gifts appear under the ree on the morning of December 25, deposited there by family mem­bers, or, as smaller children might believe, by Santa Claus.

Contemporary Observances with Christmas shopping vitally important to retailers, Christmas has expanded into a “season” of its own. The day after Thanksgiving 
is known as “Black Friday.” An important shopping day, it pushes some businesses into profitability for the year, or in accounting ter­minology, “in the black,” and can account for a substantial propor­tion of annual profits.

This extended Christmas sea­son, from Thanksgiving until Christmas, is about far more than 
shopping. For many Americans, it is a time of goodwill and an occa­sion for charitable work. Non­ Christian holidays celebrated at roughly the same time of year — most prominently the African­ American Kwanzaa and the Jewish Hanukkah — blend into a broader 
“holiday season.”

Christmas­themed programs such as the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life and the animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer often appear on television. An increasing num­ber of radio stations now adjust their formats to feature Christmas music, sometimes exclusively, dur­ing the four to six weeks before December 25.

The holiday’s original religious meaning remains for many its most important element. Churches hold well­attended Christmas Eve can­dlelight or midnight services. Some include a Mass of the Nativity or a dramatization of the birth of Jesus.

As with so many aspects of U.S. culturlife, Christmas in the United States reflects the values of 
a free and diverse people.

Source : UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS
Published December, 2011.

British Christmas Vocabulary

American Christmas Vocabulary

If you want to know more about Christmas traditions, have a look at this link.

http://www.pearsonelt.es/adventcalendar/

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2014!!

Bye for now,

Sara.

Ascot races

This is Ascot!!

Ascot races have been celebrated for more than 300 years. The Queen Elizabeth II and many people from the British aristocracy, such as her granddaughers, go to see the races and to be seen. Why? Because it is costumary tradition for ladies to wear stunning hats with different kind of colours and materials such as feathers, silk and staw.

Official website for the races

As I previously described, this tradition has been reported for a long time and we can see an example
in a very famous film like My Fair Lady.

Scene from My Fair Lady

Here you have some examples of the Royal Family:

Hats-Royal-Ascot-