EARTH DAY - 22nd APRIL
Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held worldwide annually. While some people celebrate Earth Day around the time of the vernal equinox, others observe the occasion on April 22 each year. Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for earth's environment. It is currently observed in more than 140 countries around the world.
Watch this video by Greenpeace "Give Earth a Hand"
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
• Born: 29 September 1547
• Birthplace: Alcala de Henares, Spain
• Died: 23 April 1616
• Best Known As: Author of Don Quixote
Full name: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Miguel de Cervantes wrote the epic satire Don Quixote, which is regarded as the first true modern novel. Little is known of Cervantes's early life; at 23 he enlisted in the Spanish militia and then fought against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto (1571) where a gunshot wound permanently crippled his left hand. He spent four more years at sea and then another five as a slave after being captured by Barbary pirates. Ransomed by his family, he returned to Madrid but his disability hampered him; it was in debtor's prison that he began to write Don Quixote. The title character, a dreamy middle-aged nobleman, sets out through Spain on a makeshift quest to fight injustice through acts of chivalry. Cervantes wrote many other works, including poems and plays, but none had the impact or popularity of his masterpiece.
Because of his injury Cervantes was nicknamed "the cripple of Levanto"... Don Quixote is the basis for the musical Man of La Mancha... Cervantes died on the same day as author William Shakespeare.
THE FIRST MCDONALDS
McDonald's History
The first McDonald's Restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois by McDonald's Corporation founder, Ray Kroc, on April 15, 1955.
Travel through time using our Interactive Timeline! See the birth of McDonald's, the launch of your favorite menu item, McDonald's characters, or advertising jingles!
You can navigate the timeline by clicking on the various years at the right, or by clicking on the top of each event window. Enjoy the memories!
Travel Through Time With Us!
WORLD HEALTH DAY 7th APRIL
Every year, World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of concern for WHO.
World Health Day is a global campaign, inviting everyone – from global leaders to the public in all countries – to focus on a single health challenge with global impact. Focusing on new and emerging health issues, World Health Day provides an opportunity to start collective action to protect people's health and well-being.
World Health Day 2015:Food Safety - The Global View
NATIONAL TARTAN DAY - USA - 6th APRIL
National Tartan Day honors and celebrates Scottish culture and the role it has played in the development of the United States. Canada has been celebrating Tartan Day since 1993 and the U.S. Senate officially passed it into law in 1998.
There are three groups of people that came from Scotland to America -- the Lowland Scotts, the Highland Scotts, and the Scotch-Irish. Each of these groups has influenced American culture. They've passed on Scottish last names, introduced the sport of golf, shared the sounds of the bagpipes, and made tartan a fashion staple!
Tartan is a crisscrossed pattern of horizontal and vertical bands woven into cloth. It is made by weaving colored threads at right angles to each other. The Dress Act of 1746 attempted to ban tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture in order to bring people under tighter government control. The law was repealed in 1782 and tartan became symbolic as the national dress of Scotland.
To celebrate National Tartan Day, wear your favorite tartan and celebrate Scottish-American culture!
HOLY WEEK MUSEUM IN MÁLAGA
The Holy Week Museum (Museo de la Semana Santa) is dedicated to the processions that occur in Malaga during Holy Week. This is the first museum of its kind in Andalusia. Malaga is known for its Holy Week processions and is one of the few cities in Spain where all the thrones are carried on the shoulders of men and women. Other cities use thrones that are on wheels, and these are pushed by men under the thrones, which of course is much easier that carrying the thrones on the shoulders of men. It should also be noted that Malaga has the largest thrones in Spain, many of them having to be carried by at least 300 men and women.
The first Holy Week processions in Malaga took place 500 years ago, in the 16th century. The processions were a popular expression of the Christian faith by the people who took part in them, and they still are today, an outpouring of religious emotions by the people who take part in them and by the spectators. The cofradias (brotherhoods) were the organizations that organized the processions. Today there are 42 cofradias in Malaga and they all cooperated in opening the museum as a group.
The themes explained in the museum are the origin and evaluation of the brotherhoods, the processional routes, the processional image, the making of the images, the dressing of the images, the sculpture and the music. One will find many sculptures, costumes, gold and silverware used in the processions, and a large silver throne that was dismantled to bring it to the second floor of the museum. There is also a large audio visual room where 66 persons can sit and watch videos of the processions. This museum is a wonderful museum to see and experience. All explanations in the museum are both in Spanish and English.
APRIL FOOL'S DAY
Read and listen to the following text and then do the first exercise at the bottom of the page.
April Fool's Day originated from the New Year festival in the 16th century.The New Year celebrations began on March 25th and ended on April 1st. Peploe sent each other presents and invited guests round to their houses.
Then in 1582 King Charles IX of France declared, that there should be a new calendar, for the Christians, called the Gregorian Calendar.New Year was then celebrated on January 1st.
However,some people liked the old traditions and still celebrated New Year on April 1st. These people were called "April Fools" and a lot of tricks were played on them,like inviting them to imaginary parties or they were given funny presents.
After a while, everybody agreed to the new calendar, but they liked the fun they had on April 1st and carried on playing joke on people. So that is how it all started. Today it's a big tradition in Britain and people really enjoy themselves.
In France they make a paper fish and glue it to the back of a person and as soon as that person sees it they scream "Poison D'avril".(April Fish).
If you see a €100 note lying on the pavement on April 1st, then you best bet is to leave it lying there because it won't be real and you will be called and "April fool" if you pick it up.
Most April Fool jokes are meant to be funny and not to hurt others. The best April Fool joke is the one where everybody laughs - even the person who the tricks was played on in the first place.
QUIZ: Click here
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