YOU CAN LEARN: febrero 2020

SHROVE TUESDAY 2018 (PANCAKE DAY) 25th FEBRUARY

In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.

What is Pancake Day?

Pancake Day ( also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent. It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes.

Why are Pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday?

Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

When is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)?

Shrove Tuesday is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is therefore the final day before the commencement of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday (Easter Day).

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between 3 February and 9 March.

Why do Christians call the day 'Shrove Tuesday'?

The name Shrove comes from the old word "shrive" which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

What is Shrove Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Throughout the United Kingdom, and in other countries too, people indulge themselves on foods that traditionally aren't allowed during Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

What is an English Pancake?

A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a pan.

LISTENING AND WRITE

READ

Pancake Day in London

Ten surprising Pancake Day facts

Cartoons

Vocabulary Practice: 1, 2, 3, 4

DAY OF ANDALUSIA - 28th FEBRUARY

The Day of Andalucía (Día de Andalucía), also known as Andalucía Day, marks the anniversary of a referendum held on February 28, 1980. A large majority of voters supported this referendum for Andalucía to become an autonomous community in Spain. A public holiday is held to remember this event in the autonomous community Andalucía (also spelled as Andalusia), Spain, on February 28 each year.

Many people spend the day quietly with family or close friends. However, some people organize or attend private parties with traditional music, dancing, food and drink. Some municipalities hold communal meals with traditional foods, drinks and entertainment. Local politicians may present people with certificates or medals for service to the community.

The Day of Andalucía is a public holiday in the autonomous community of Andalucía on February 28. Public life is generally quiet and many businesses and other organizations are closed. Many stores are closed but some bakers and food stores may be open. Public transport services generally run to a reduced schedule but there may be no services in rural areas.

If February 28 falls on a Sunday, regional or local authorities may move the public holiday to a different date. If February 28 falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many businesses and organizations are also closed on Monday, February 27, or Friday, February 29 or March 1. The Day of Andalucía is not a public holiday in the rest of Spain on February 28.

Andalucía's flag is widely displayed on the Day of Andalucía. It consists of three equal horizontal bars. The top and lower bars are dark green and the middle bar is white. Andalucía's coat of arms is at the center of the flag. Andalucía's coat of arms consists of an image of the mythical Greek hero Heracles between two columns. The columns represent the Pillars of Heracles. These are the rocks on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar.

You can listen and read in Spanish Andalusia hymn:

The Andalusian anthem

The Green and White Flag

returns after centuries of war

to tell of Peace and Hope

under our Land's sunshine.

— Chorus —

Andalusians, Stand up!

Demand Land and Freedom

for a free Andalusia,

Spain and Mankind.

We, Andalusians, want

to become once again

People of Light who to Mankind

gave a Human Soul.

— Chorus —

Andalusians, Stand up!

Demand Land and Freedom

for a free Andalusia,

Spain and Mankind.

INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY - 21st FEBRUARY

2019 International Mother Language Day: " “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999 (30C/62).

On 16 May 2009 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.

International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

PRESIDENTS' DAY - 17th FEBRUARY

Presidents' Day is celebrated in February to honor two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February.

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12 in 1809. Things were different then. When Abe was a boy, he lived in a log cabin. A log cabin is a small house made out of logs cut from trees. His father cut down the trees and made the cabin.

There were no electric lights in the cabin. Young Abe read books by firelight and drew with charcoal on a shovel. Abe's family was poor. Often he went barefoot because he didn't have any shoes.

When Abraham Lincoln grew up, he studied hard and became a lawyer. Then he was elected to be a law-maker. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States.

Visit the White House - Information on Abraham Lincoln
Information about the 16th president of the United States directly from the White House.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. When he was born, America was not a nation yet. It belonged to England, a country across the ocean. People in America didn't want to belong to England so they fought a war to become a separate country. George Washington was an American general in the war. America won the war and picked a new name for itself: The United States of America. George Washington was elected to be its first President.

PRESIDENTS OF USA

Presidents of the USA