CHRISTMAS

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THANKSGIVING TODAY

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In the United States, it is on the fourth Thursday in November. Although its origins are religious, today, Thanksgiving is a largely secular holiday. For most Americans and Canadians, it is a day for coming together with family and friends to share a large meal. It is an occasion to spend time with loved ones and express gratitude for the year that has passed. In many households there is a tradition of everyone seated at the table sharing what they are most grateful for.

Thanksgiving food

Thanksgiving is also about food. Thanksgiving dinner traditionally includes roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and, for dessert, apple, pumpkin or pecan pies. Every family has its own recipes, sometimes secret recipes handed down through generations. Turkey, a bird native to North America, is the unofficial mascot of Thanksgiving, with roast turkey on the menu and turkey decorations on the wall. In the United States, a tradition of gifting turkeys to the President has more recently evolved into a humorous turkey ‘pardoning’. At this light-hearted ceremony, the President issues an official pardon for one or two turkeys, saving them from being cooked for supper.

More than food:

football, parades and traffic jams!

Beyond food and gratitude, there are some unexpected sides to the American and Canadian holiday. One of these is football. This popular sport is an important part of the holiday, when families gather around to cheer on local or national teams. American football and Canadian football are both similar to rugby, played primarily not with the feet but with the hands.

Parades are another common part of the festivities. In the United States, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place in New York City on the morning of Thanksgiving. It’s one of the world’s largest parades and is broadcast nationwide. A similar Thanksgiving parade happens in Canada as part of the Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest, a multi-day autumn festival.

Unfortunately, heavy traffic is also common at Thanksgiving. In both countries, the week of Thanksgiving is one of the most popular travel times of the year, as everyone heads home to visit their extended family. So try to avoid any road trips if you’re visiting North America during this holiday!

Are the sentences true or false? 

1. Thanksgiving was originally celebrated by European settlers in North America.
2. At many Thanksgiving celebrations, everyone tells the group what they are most thankful for.
3. Modern-day Thanksgiving celebrations are very religious.
4. The main part of Thanksgiving is the preparation and sharing of a big meal.
5. Only Americans play and watch football during Thanksgiving.
6. The American President kills two turkeys every year.
Complete the sentences
Words: feast, gratitude, light-hearted, pardon, secular and settlers.
1. New …… from Europe brought religious traditions with them to North America.
2. Even though the first Thanksgiving celebrations were days of prayer, the modern holiday is largely …………
3. A roast turkey is the centrepiece of the big Thanksgiving .…… .
4. Modern Thanksgiving is a……, fun holiday full of activities like football and parades.
5. The American President saves some turkeys from being feasted on by issuing a presidential ………… 
6. More than just food and fun, Thanksgiving is about ………… and reflecting on a successful year.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/magazine/thanksgiving

GIVING THANKS 

POETRY

Taking three symbols of Thanksgiving – turkey, stuffing and blessing, let’s take a look at 7 idioms that are commonly used in English.

1. To be stuffed
To be full and can’t eat anymore.
The meal was absolutely delicious. I’m afraid I can’t eat one morsel more. I’m stuffed.

2. To go cold turkey
to suddenly stop a bad habit and suffer from it at the beginning. (This is often used when talking about a drug addict who suddenly stops taking drugs.)
Many people who attempt to quit smoking do so by going cold turkey rather than by gradually cutting down.”

3. To count your blessings
to be grateful for the good things in your life
We have a lovely home, healthy children and each other – we should count our blessings.

4. A stuffed shirt
a person who behaves in a very formal way and expects to be treated as someone very important
The stuffed shirts in this company don’t realise that they need new blood if we are to survive the crisis.

5.  A blessing in disguise
something that at first appears to be bad or unlucky but is actually good
I was really upset when I was first made redundant but when I look back now, it was a blessing in disguise. I’ve never been happier with my current work.

6. To talk turkey (mainly American English) –to discuss a problem in a serious way with a real intention to solve it 
The politicians need to stop messing around and start talking turkey.

7. To be a mixed blessing
 something that has bad effects as well as advantages 
Being beautiful can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you receive a lot of attention, but on the other hand, people don’t always take you seriously.

QUIZ

THE PILGRIMS AND PLYMOUTH COLONY

The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony

The Pilgrims were a group of English settlers who left Europe in search of religious freedom in the Americas. They established the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

Why did the Pilgrims travel to America?

The Pilgrims traveled to America in search of a new way of life. Many of the Pilgrims were part of a religious group called Separatists. They were called this because they wanted to "separate" from the Church of England and worship God in their own way. They were not allowed to do this in England where they were persecuted and sometimes put in jail for their beliefs. Other Pilgrims were hoping to find adventure or a better life in the New World. 

Setting Sail 

The Pilgrims initially set sail aboard two ships; the Speedwell and the Mayflower. However, not long after leaving England, the Speedwell began to leak and the Pilgrims had to return to port. Once back at port, they crowded as many of the passengers as possible onto the Mayflower and set sail once again for America on September 6, 1620. They managed to fit 102 total passengers on the Mayflower, but they had to leave 20 of the original Speedwell passengers behind. In addition to the 102 passengers, there were between 25 and 30 crewmen onboard the ship. 

Voyage on the Mayflower

The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was long and difficult. The extra people on the ship made the trip even worse. They ran out of fresh water and many people became sick. Storms also hit the ship very hard causing one of the main beams to crack. Two people died during the voyage. At one point, they considered turning back, but decided to stick it out. After two long months at sea, the Pilgrims finally reached land. 

Mayflower Compact

When the Pilgrims arrived in New England, they decided they needed to make an agreement on how issues would be settled and the colony would be run. They signed a document that is today called the Mayflower Compact. The compact declared that the colonists were loyal to the King of England, that they were Christians who served God, that they would make fair and just laws, and that they would each work for the good of the colony. The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 of the Pilgrim men (the women were not allowed to sign). The men also voted John Carver to be the first governor of the colony. 

Plymouth Colony 

After arriving in America, the Pilgrims searched the coast of New England for a good place to build a settlement. They eventually found a location called Plymouth. It had a calm harbor for their ship, a river for fresh water, and flat lands where they could plant crops. It was here that they built their village and established the Plymouth Colony.

A Hard Winter

The Pilgrims were happy to finally be in America, but things didn't get any easier for them. They were not prepared for the cold winter. They quickly built a main common house and then began to build small houses for each of the families. For a time, some people slept on the Mayflower. Many people got sick and died over the first winter. At one point there were only around six people well enough to continue working. By the end of winter, only 47 out of the original 102 settlers were still alive. Governor John Carver died that Spring and William Bradford was elected the new governor. 

The Wampanoag

The Native Americans that lived in the same area as Plymouth Colony were the Wampanoag peoples. The chief of the Wampanoag, Massasoit, made contact with the Pilgrims. They established a peace treaty and agreed to trade for animal furs. One Wampanoag man, Squanto, had traveled to Europe and could speak some English. He agreed to stay with the Pilgrims and teach them how to survive. He taught them how to plant corn, where to hunt and fish, and how to survive through the winter. Without Squanto's help the colony probably wouldn't have survived. 

Thanksgiving 

The Pilgrims held a feast after their first harvest in 1621. They invited some of the local Wampanoag people to join them. This feast is sometimes called the first Thanksgiving. They continued this tradition and, in 1623, when they were celebrating the end of a long drought, they began to call the feast "Thanksgiving." 

Interesting Facts about the Pilgrims

• The "Separatists" often referred to the other members of the colony as "Strangers." 
• The Mayflower was around 106 feet long and 25 feet wide. That's not a lot of space for 102 people to live for two months! 
• William Bradford was governor of Plymouth colony for around thirty years. A lot of what we know about the Pilgrims comes from William Bradford's journal called Of Plymouth Plantation. 
• There is a famous rock where the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth called Plymouth Rock. So many people have chipped off samples of the rock that it is now about 1/3 of its original size. 

QUIZ. THE PILGRIMS AND PLYMOUTH COLONY

https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/pilgrims_plymouth_colony.php

This text is Copyright © Ducksters. 

POCAHONTAS

30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

The Cold War

Berlin Wall

 

The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Berlin in 1961. The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin. 
It was built in order to prevent people from fleeing East Berlin. In many ways it was the perfect symbol of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the democratic western countries and the communist countries of Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. 

How it All Started

After World War II the country of Germany ended up dividing into two separate countries. East Germany became a communist country under the control of the Soviet Union. At the same time West Germany was a democratic country and allied with Britain, France, and the United States. The initial plan was that the country would eventually be reunited, but this didn't happen for a long time. 

The City of Berlin 

Berlin was the capital of Germany. Even though it was located in the eastern half of the country, the city was controlled by all four major powers; the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France. 

Defections

As people in East Germany began to realize that they did not want to live under the rule of the Soviet Union and communism, they started to leave the eastern part of the country and move to the west. These people were called defectors. 

Over time more and more people left. The Soviet and East German leaders began to worry that they were losing too many people. Over the course of the years 1949 to 1959, over 2 million people left the country. In 1960 alone, around 
230,000 people defected.
Although the East Germans tried to keep people from leaving, it was fairly easy for people to leave the city of Berlin because the inside of the city was controlled by all four major powers. 

Building the Wall 

Finally, the Soviets and the East German leaders had had enough. On August 12th and 13th of 1961 they built a wall around Berlin to prevent people from leaving. At first the wall was just a barbed wire fence. Later it would be rebuilt with concrete blocks 12 feet high and four feet wide.

The Wall is Torn Down 

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Berlin where he asked the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to "Tear down this Wall!" 

Reagan at the Berlin Wall 

Source: White House Photographic Office

Around that time the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse. They were losing their hold on East Germany. A few years later on November 9, 1989 the announcement was made. The borders were open and people could freely move between Eastern and Western Germany. Much of the wall was torn down by people chipping away as they celebrated the end to a divided Germany. On October 3, 1990 Germany was officially reunified into a single country. 

Interesting Facts About the Berlin Wall

• The Eastern Germany government called the wall the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart. The Western Germans often referred to it as the Wall of Shame.
• Around 20% of the East German population left the country in the years leading up to the building of the wall.
• The country of East Germany was officially called the German Democratic Republic or GDR.
• There were also many guard towers along the wall. Guards were ordered to shoot anyone attempting to escape.
• It is estimated that around 5000 people escaped over or through the wall during the 28 years it stood. Around 200 were killed trying to escape.

https://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/berlin_wall.php

HALLOWEEN

 

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

THE CELTS IN WESTERN EUROPE

 

IRISH IMMIGARTION 

TO THE UNITED STATES

All Saints Days Spain
Dia de Todos los Santos

   All Saints Day in Spain (Todos Los Santos) takes place on November 1st. It is a very important national public holiday when people from all over the country return to their town or village to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives. There are few religious days that mean quite so much to the ordinary people of Spain as this solemn festival. 

   However, on November 1st each year, the Feast of All of the Saints is held and this particular public holiday centres around remembering dead family members. Most people will visit the graves of relatives and decorate them with elaborate floral displays. Roads around cemeteries will be crammed with traffic, flower sellers line the streets and, in many places, additional public transport services are organised. Although this might sound over-commercialised and hectic it is actually, for most people, a day of high emotions. The Eucharist, or Mass, will often be performed in the cemetery several times during the day. 

   In common with many festivals throughout the country there are a number of special dishes which are associated with All Saints’ Day. At this time of the year you will also see in the shops huesos de santo – the saint’s bones – which have marzipan, eggs and sugar syrup and buñuelos de viento – puffs of wind – which are doughnuts liberally sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

   One of the All Saints’ traditions across Spain is the performing of the play Don Juan Tenorio, written by José Zorrilla. The final act of this portrayal of Don Juan’s choice between salvation or hell is set in a cemetery with the legendary lover lamenting over his betrayal of his dead lover.

TOP TEN LONDON LANDMARKS

SONG. STAND BY ME

The story behind Stand By Me 

By Alan Connor

BBC NEWS

"Oh darling, darling..."

These sound like words from a straightforward love song, but everyone who heard it performed in St George's Chapel on Saturday knew that Stand By Me was more than that.

It was published in 1905 by Charles Albert Tindley, though it may go further back into the black American oral tradition. Tindley was a slave's son who volunteered as a janitor at an Episcopalian church in Philadelphia, and eventually became the church's pastor, addressing its mixed-race congregations.

In 1960, Ben E. King, was inspired to update the early 20th century gospel hymn by Charles Albert T psalm, and was first released and made famous by Ben E. King in 1961.

In the context of 1960s America, a black man singing the words "No, I won't be afraid" is "a classic case of political masking". For many, this ballad is also, in fact, a civil-rights anthem.

That's why Harry and Meghan's choice of song meant more than a love song and the performance by the Kingdom Choir takes Stand By Me back further still, re-infusing it with the defiance as well as the devotion of gospel.

SCHOOL JOKES AND IDIOMS

Luke comes home from his first day of school, and his mother asks, “What did you learn today?”“Not enough,” Luke replies. “They said I have to go back tomorrow.”

Submitted by Luke C., Somers, N.Y.

Nate: Why was school easier for cave people?

Kate: Why?

Nate: Because there was no history to study!

Submitted by Nathaniel R., Glendale, Wis.

Chad: Why do magicians do so well in school?

Josh: I don’t know. Why?

Chad: They’re good at trick questions.

Submitted by Chad N., Firestone, Colo.

Jacob: Why was the teacher wearing sunglasses to school?

Leonard: Why?

Jacob: She had bright students!

Submitted by Jacob B., South Bend, Ind.

HOW TO BE AN EXCELLENT STUDENT

D-DAY ANNIVERSARY

WORLD WAR II






D-DAY FACTS

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
ABOUT D-DAY

ANNE FRANK

WHO WAS ANNE FRANK?




THE SECRET ANNEX



THE MAIN CHARACTERS

WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

CHARLES DARWIN

Biologist, Scientist 

(1809–1882)

BIOGRAPHY

VALENTINE'S DAY

Best Valentine Mom

On Valentine’s day, I think of you, Mom;

I love you really a lot.

In my life that’s full of many good things,

You’re the very best thing I’ve got!It’s Valentine’s Day, so I want to say,

I’m the luckiest kid anywhere;

You’re the sweetest, greatest, best mom around

And I want you to know I care!Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom!

A Friend Is Like A Valentine

A friend is like a Valentine,

Heartwarming, bringing pleasure,

Connected to good feelings,

With memories to treasure.

Seeing a special Valentine

Brings happiness to stay,

And that’s what you do, friend,

You brighten every day!

Roses are Red

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Carnations are Sweet

And so are you.

And so are they

That send you this

And when we meet

We'll have a kiss.

LOVE IS LIKE A CABBAGE

My love is like a cabbage

Divided into two,

The leaves I give to others,

The heart I give to you.

What Love Is

Love is when that special someone kisses you.

Love is having someone to talk to.

Love is being romantic on that one day.

Love is happiness that is shown day after day

THAT'S WHAT LOVE IS!

WORKSHEET

FILM
ROMEO AND JULIET

MARTIN LUTHER KING ANNIVERSARY

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

• 
  

1. King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin. 

The civil rights leader was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929. In 1934, however, his father, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, traveled to Germany and became inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that of his 5-year-old son.

2. King entered college at the age of 15.

King was such a gifted student that he skipped grades nine and 12 before enrolling in 1944 at Morehouse College, the alma mater of his father and maternal grandfather. Although he was the son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, King did not intend to follow the family vocation until Morehouse president Benjamin E. Mays, a noted theologian, convinced him otherwise. King was ordained before graduating college with a degree in sociology.

3. King received his doctorate in systematic theology.

After earning a divinity degree from Pennsylvania’s Crozer Theological Seminary, King attended graduate school at Boston University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1955. The title of his dissertation was “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman.”

4. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was not his first at the Lincoln Memorial.

Six years before his iconic oration at the March on Washington, King was among the civil rights leaders who spoke in the shadow of the Great Emancipator during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom on May 17, 1957. Before a crowd estimated at between 15,000 and 30,000, King delivered his first national address on the topic of voting rights. His speech, in which he urged America to “give us the ballot,” drew strong reviews and positioned him at the forefront of the civil rights leadership.

5. King was imprisoned nearly 30 times.

According to the King Center, the civil rights leader went to jail 29 times. He was arrested for acts of civil disobedience and on trumped-up charges, such as when he was jailed in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 for driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone.

6. King narrowly escaped an assassination attempt a decade before his death.

On September 20, 1958, King was in Harlem signing copies of his new book, “Stride Toward Freedom,” in Blumstein’s department store when he was approached by Izola Ware Curry. The woman asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. After he said yes, Curry said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and she plunged a seven-inch letter opener into his chest. The tip of the blade came to rest alongside his aorta, and King underwent hours of delicate emergency surgery. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him. From his hospital bed where he convalesced for weeks, King issued a statement affirming his nonviolent principles and saying he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.

7. King’s last public speech foretold his death.

King had come to Memphis in April 1968 to support the strike of the city’s black garbage workers, and in a speech on the night before his assassination, he told an audience at Mason Temple Church: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

8. Members of King’s family did not believe James Earl Ray acted alone.

Ray, a career criminal, pled guilty to King’s assassination but later recanted. King’s son Dexter met publicly with Ray in 1997 and argued for the case to be reopened. King’s widow, Coretta, believed the Mafia and local, state and federal government agencies were deeply involved in the murder. She praised the result of a 1999 civil trial in which a Memphis jury decided the assassination was the result of a conspiracy and that Ray was set up to take the blame. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation released in 2000 reported no evidence of a conspiracy.

9. King’s mother was also slain by a bullet.

On June 30, 1974, as 69-year-old Alberta Williams King played the organ at a Sunday service inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. rose from the front pew, drew two pistols and began to fire shots. One of the bullets struck and killed King, who died steps from where her son had preached nonviolence. The deranged gunman said that Christians were his enemy and that although he had received divine instructions to kill King’s father, who was in the congregation, he killed King’s mother instead because she was closer. The shooting also left a church deacon dead. Chenault received a death penalty sentence that was later changed to life imprisonment, in part due to the King family’s opposition to capital punishment.

10. George Washington is the only other American to have had his birthday observed as a national holiday.

In 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that created a federal holiday to honor King. The holiday, first commemorated in 1986, is celebrated on the third Monday in January, close to the civil rights leader’s January 15 birthday.

I HAVE A DREAM

…..I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition…..

……I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…..

…..And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"