Festivities



Halloween



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Why do we celebrate Halloween?

Halloween is full of costumes and candy, trick-or-treating and terrifying haunted houses, pumpkins and black cats. But just where did Halloween come from? Why are we celebrating?

The history of Halloween goes back 2000 years. Many believe that Halloween’s origins are found in the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who were located in Ireland, the UK and the northern parts of France, celebrated their New Year on the first of November. Samhain was celebrated the night before the New Year.

The New Year, Celts believed, marked summer’s end, harvest time, and the start of dark, cold winter months. Those winter months were associated with death by these people. On October 31, the night before the New Year, the Celts celebrated Samhain. This day, they believed, was when the ghosts of the deceased returned to earth because the boundaries between the living world and the dead world blurred.

When we think of “Trick-Or-Treating”, the origins can probably be found in the English All Souls’ Day parades. During these celebrations, the poor would come out and beg for food from the more wealthy families. When the families gave them pastries called “soul cakes”, they asked for the poor to pray for their relatives that had passed away.

Another possibility that may have grown into “Trick-Or-Treating” is the tradition of people leaving bowls of food in front of their homes. They did this to keep the ghosts that were wandering the earth from entering.

Dressing in costumes has a couple possible origins. European and Celtic people both felt winter was a frightening time. It was cold, it was darker, and the possibility of running out of food was great. When they reached the time when they thought the dead returned, they thought they might encounter these ghosts whenever they left their houses. The wearing of masks and costumes grew from these people donning masks so the ghosts would not recognize them!

This holiday was brought to the US by Scotch and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. At that time, much of the “spookiness” of the holiday was removed and a sense of community and fun were added. Although scary themes are still the focus of many Halloween celebrations, that scariness is done for fun, not because of actual fear.

Halloween is currently the 2nd largest commercial holiday!

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DLTK's Crafts for Kids



Halloween Activities for Children



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El Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving ) es una celebración tradicional de Estados Unidos, que se celebra todos los años el cuarto Jueves del mes de Noviembre.

La mayoría de negocios y oficinas están cerrados durante este día. Algunos almacenes, centros comerciales, restaurantes y bares permanecen abiertos. Es una festividad muy arraigada, que reune en torno a una mesa a familiares y amigos. Aunque sus orígenes son religiosos, está considerada como una fiesta secular. No hay nada mejor que expresar gratitud por todo lo que tienes y reunirte con tus seres queridos.

La mayoría de personas en los Estados Unidos celebran esta fiesta con reuniones familiares en sus hogares, donde se prepara un tremendo banquete. Un gran pavo al horno es el plato principal para la cena. Este pavo suele ir acompañado de un relleno hecho de pan de maíz y salvia. Se sirve con una jalea o salsa de arándanos rojos. De postre es típica la tarta de manzana con una gran bola de helado de vainilla, todo amenizado con música navideña. En muchas casas es común realizar una oración de gracias. Constituye la fiesta familiar por excelencia, una celebración a la que nadie puede faltar. Marcando el comienzo de las fiestas de navidad .

En esta jornada una conocida cadena de tiendas , realiza un gran desfile por las calles de Manhattan, Nueva York, que atrae a millones de personas a la avenida Broadway para ver los enormes globos gigantes y presenciar las actuaciones de artistas invitados. También es costumbre que el Presidente del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos indulte a un pavo, justo el día anterior a Acción de Gracias.

El viernes siguiente es la tradicional apertura de la temporada de compras navideñas. Almacenes y tiendas ofrecen precios rebajados y mucha gente acude desde primeras horas de la mañana a los centros comerciales. Este día es mundialmente conocido como Black Friday (Viernes Negro). 


THANKS GIVING










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CHRISTMAS




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Click and drag the baubles to decorate the Christmas tree







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Christmas 
Games



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PEACE





 


 Scottish primary school children sing about peace in this original song written by teachers Jan and Randy Prichard.






ST. PATRICK'S DAY

El día de San Patricio (St. Patrick's Day) es el día del santo patrón de Irlanda. Esta fiesta constituye una buena ocasión para reunirse, disfrutar espectáculos celtas y degustar cerveza.




El Día de San Patricio (17 de Marzo) se celebra a nivel mundial por todos los irlandeses y cada vez más por gente que no tiene ascendencia irlandesa. La celebración generalmente tiene por temática todo lo que es verde e irlandés. Se viste de verde, se disfruta de la gastronomía irlandesa, desfiles y cerveza irlandesa. En algunos establecimientos se puede apreciar que venden cerveza teñida verde.



El desfile más destacado del día de San Patricio es el de la ciudad de Nueva York, en el participan más de dos millones de espectadores.
 
 

                                                              












Make your own shamrock


 
 
                                                                       (Click  here)

 
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EASTER


VOCABULARY
Ash Wednesday Miércoles de Ceniza
Easter Pascua
Easter break vacaciones de Semana Santa
Easter bunny conejito de Pascua
Easter egg huevo de Pascua
Easter egg hunt búsqueda de huevos de Pascua
Easter holiday vacaciones de Semana Santa


Easter Saturday Sábado Santo,
Sábado de Gloria
Easter Sunday Domingo de Pascua,
Domingo de Resurrección
basket canasta
chocolate egg huevo de chocolate
coloured egg huevo de color
decorated egg huevo decorado
Good Friday Viernes Santo
Happy Easter Felices Pascuas
Holy Week Semana Santa
Lent Cuaresma
Lenten Season Cuaresma






  • Why do we give Easter eggs? The traditional Easter gift is a chocolate egg. They symbolise new life. Rabbits are used as a symbol of fertility.


  • Colouring eggs for Easter was a custom in England during the Middle Ages and eggs were usually painted with bright colours, to represent the sunlight of Spring. However, this practice became more famous when King Edward I decided to give them as Easter gifts in 1290.

  • On the traditional Easter egg hunt, children have to find small chocolate eggs that are hidden in parks or gardens. In Britain it is estimated that each year nearly 80 million chocolate eggs are eaten.

  • The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.