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CANADA DAY - 1ST JULY
Canada Day (formerly known as Dominion Day) is a national holiday in Canada. It is always observed on 1 July, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case it is observed the following day
Why is this day formerly known Dominion Day?
On 1 July 1867, the British government (under Queen Victoria) approved a plan which allowed Canada to become an independent country with its own government. Four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) joined to form the Dominion of Canada.
Dominion Day was officially renamed "Canada Day" by an Act of Parliament on 27 October 1982.
Canada was once a British Colony, but it is now an independent country with its own legal system and constitution.
Facts about Canada
Canada is ......
•a country occupying most of northern North America,
•one of the largest countries in the world
•the second largest country in the world.
Only 27 million people live in Canada, making it the 28th largest in population.
Canada has the largest source of fresh water in the world. A large portion of Canada is covered with lakes and streams.
In Canada, 100 different languages are spoken.
The Canadian $1 coin is called the Loonie, named after a bird, pictured on the coin, native to Canada.
DAY OF AN AFRICA CHILD - 16th JUNE
"The Day of the African Child is celebrated on 16 June in recognition of the day when, in 1976, thousands of black school children in Soweto, South Africa, took to the streets to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot; and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than 100 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured."UNICEF
The Day of the African Child is a day to fight for the cause of children in trouble: the AIDS orphans, child soldiers and impoverished youth who will inherit the continent.
As many as 50,000 African children under the age of five will lose their lives as the result of preventable or curable diseases. And as many as 38 million children of primary school age in Africa still remain out of school.
HAPPY BLOOMSDAY
June the 16th is Bloomsday when Ireland celebrates the life of James Joyce. Bloomsday is a commemoration observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere in the world to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and recall the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. Joyce chose the date because his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle happened on that day. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses.
James Joyce lived for a time in Martello Tower situated beside the Forty Foot bathing place at Sandycove, a small village 7 miles south of Dublin. The opening scene of Joyce's Ulysses is set in this tower, which now hosts a small Joycean museum. Its people celebrate it with readings, music, songs, walking tours, and of course eating and drinking.
FOOD REVOLUTION DAY - 16th MAY
Food Revolution Day on 16 May is a chance for people who love food to come together to shareinformation, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers' markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.
Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980. For the first time in history, being overweight is killing more people than being underweight, and at least 2.8 million adults around the world die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. This has to change, and it’s down to us. We need to get back to basics and start thinking about where our food comes from. We need to become a conscious community and understand the food choices we make on a daily basis. We can do this by improving food education.
Encouraging people to cook from scratch at home is at the heart of this. We all have family and friends who could make better food choices. On Food Revolution Day we can work together to empower people with the skills to improve their diet. Making simple changes to our food choices will improve our quality of life and our children’s. Forty-two million children under five are already obese and we need to reverse this. Let’s make some noise, raise our voices together and have a lasting and positive impact on their lives and ours. Food Revolution Day is our opportunity to get the world to focus on food issues and rally our efforts to bring food education back into schools.
THE BOOK FAIR IN MÁLAGA 29th APRIL - 8th MAY
Another year is being celebrated the Book Fair in many Spanish cities, the annual meeting with news of the publishing world and bookselling in general.
In Malaga the Book fair is celebrating from the 20th April to 8th of May its 45 edition in the Palmeral de las Sorpresas. The Book Fair is also a good opportunity to enjoy the beautiful PORT and of the best view in Malaga during an excellent season.
If you want to find rarities, old books, comics, encyclopedias, and lots more, just wander to along the port. If you like reading, this is your opportunity to roam about and buy whatever you want.
Around fifty posts turn the Palmeral de las Sorpresas in a great celebration of the written with the presence many local and national authors.
In Malaga the Book fair is celebrating from the 20th April to 8th of May its 45 edition in the Palmeral de las Sorpresas. The Book Fair is also a good opportunity to enjoy the beautiful PORT and of the best view in Malaga during an excellent season.
If you want to find rarities, old books, comics, encyclopedias, and lots more, just wander to along the port. If you like reading, this is your opportunity to roam about and buy whatever you want.
Around fifty posts turn the Palmeral de las Sorpresas in a great celebration of the written with the presence many local and national authors.
EASTER FUN
Read this interactive book about Easter
Now, after reading the book, play the interactive game below to practise your Easter vocabulary.
If you want to review and check what you know about Easter you can play with this wonderful activity
TRADITIONS AND LEGENDS IN MALAGA
CHRIST OF BLOOD
In a city with such a maritime tradition as Malaga, there had to be a legend linked to the fishermen. According to the story, a group of fishermen were at sea fishing off their boat when they were surprised by a sudden storm and, unfortunately, the waves swept them away from the coast. Despite all their efforts they were unable to control the boat and get back to land. Under menacing black clouds and in the midst of enormous waves they entrusted their souls to the Lord, sure that their end was near. However, following their prayers a ray of light lit the Heavens and the waters calmed in the middle of the waves, place in which the sculpture of a Christ Crucified appeared. The seamen immediately steered their boat towards the image, which they rescued from the sea and saw that blood was flowing the side. The storm finally blew itself out and they were able to return to land safe and sound and with the image of Christ Crucified, which was taken to the old Convent de la Merced, where it has been venerated since as the Cristo de la Sangre (Christ of Blood).
TRADITIONS AND LEGENDS - THE PARDONED PRISONER
It is said that in times of Charles III a serious epidemic of plague struck the city and a great many people died. Those who did survive where so weak that it was almost impossible for them to hold the processions to implore for the end of the epidemic. However, one of the places where the disease had struck with less virulence was the prison and the prisoners, knowing what was happening outside the walls that held them captive, asked the prison governor for permission carry in procession the image of Christ named Nuestro Padre Jesús "El Rico" . When the authorities refused, based on the well-founded fear that the prisoners would take advantage of the occasion to escape, these decided to rebel and fulfil their promise to carry out the procession as requested. When the procession had finished all of the prisoners returned as promised, except one, who came back the next day with a sculpture of the head of St. John the Baptist Beheaded, which he placed beside the bed of a cellmate, who was ill. The prisoner, just like the rest of the population of Malaga, recovered a few days later. The King, moved by the generous action of the prisoners issued a Decree by which, every year during the procession of Jesus el Rico, a prisoner would be set free. This tradition has been conserved to our days and HM King Juan Carlos I continues to sign the Pardon each year, the freed prisoner accompanying “El Rico” in its procession through the streets of the city, following a ceremony at Government Offices in which the Pardon is read and, more importantly, the prisoner receives the blessing of Our Father Jesus “El Rico” , for which purpose the sculpture’s right arm is articulated.
HOLY WEEK MUSIC
It is well known that one of Malaga’s nicknames is " Cantaora " ("singing" Malaga) and this enthusiasm we have for music here in this corner of the south is embodied in our Holy Week. Music is not only an accompaniment for the processions, but it is also an element essential for creating an atmosphere than invites meditation, joy, sincere prayer or moments of religious exaltation.
ST PATRICK'S DAY - VOCABULARY
Here you can practice about Saint Patrick's Day vocabulary with the following activities:
UNIT 4 - 1º ESO
VOCABULARY
Let's listen to walk through the maze!
What's the Weather like? 1, 2, 3
Weather story
What do you wear when it's hot, cold, ...?:
Become a weather man/woman
What's the weather like in Yorkshire?
What's the Weather like? 1, 2, 3
Weather story
What do you wear when it's hot, cold, ...?:
Become a weather man/woman
What's the weather like in Yorkshire?
THE THREE KINGS DAY
The next important day is the 6th January or Three Kings Day (Los Reyes). This is the day that the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem, it is also the most important day for the children as the Three Kings in effect replace Father Christmas for Spanish children (although Santa is becoming popular). They arrive overnight on the 5th January, riding camels and leave presents for the children. Parents encourage children to write to the Three Kings with their gift requests.
Every town and city in Spain will have a procession on the night of 5th January where tons of sweets will be thrown from the passing floats, much to the joy of the children (and adults).
On the morning of the 6th January you can only imagine the excitement of the children as they rip open their gifts.
The three Kings are:
Gaspar has brown hair and a brown beard and wears a green cloak and a gold crown with green jewels on it. He is the King of Sheba. Gaspar represents the Frankincense brought to Jesus.
Melchior has long white hair and a white beard and wears a gold cloak. He is the King of Arabia. Melchior represents the Gold brought to Jesus.
Balthazar has black skin and and wears a purple cloak. He is the King of Tarse and Egypt. Balthazar represents the gift of Myrrh that was brought to Jesus.
THREE WISE MEN IN SPAIN - 5th JANUARY
On 5 January Spain celebrates the end of Christmas with a great party where everybody gives and receives presents. It is to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men - Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar - to the city where Jesus was born. In the same way that the Three Wise Men gave gifts to baby Christ, here they share out presents amongst children around Spain - in fact; they are more popular than Santa Claus.
There are lots of processions of the Three Wise Men in each city, the children go along with there parents to see the kings and receive sweets from them.
Before going to sleep, children put some milk and biscuits next to the Christmas tree for the Three Kings and some water for their camels. They also leave out their best pair of shoes to be filled with presents.
On the next day, 6 January children wake up and see how many presents they have received. If they have behaved properly, they will find a lot of good presents but if they have been naughty they will find coal. These days, the coal is actually made of sugar, but some years ago it was real coal.
During this day, all families enjoy a piece of roscon (a sugar-frosted fruit-filled bread) for breakfast tradition says that the person who finds a novelty such as a coin, in his or her portion will have good luck for the next year.
Both young and old enjoy opening their presents on this day, but sadly it also marks the end of Christmas.
TWELFTH NIGHT - DECORATIONS
Twelfth Night is the night before Twelfth Day.
Twelfth Night (5th January) is when all Christmas Decorations should be removed so as not to bring bad luck upon the home. If decorations are not removed on Twelfth Night, they should stay up all year.
Why is it bad luck to leave the decorations up after Twelfth Night?
Long ago it was thought that leaving the decorations up would cause a disaster. People believed that tree-spirits lived in the greenery (holy, ivy etc) they decorated their houses with. The greenery was brought into the house to provide a safe haven for the tree-spirits during the harsh midwinter days. Once this period was over it was necessary to return the greenery back outside to release the tree-spirits into the countryside once again. Failure to do this would mean that vegetation would not be able to start growing again (spring would not return), leading to an agricultural disaster.
It was also thought that, if you left the greenery in the house, the tree-spirits would cause mischief in the house until they were released.
Today people still feel uneasy about leaving the Christmas decorations up after Twelfth Night. Despite decorations now being made of foil or paper, and even though the tree-spirits are long forgotten, the superstition still survives.
RECIPE FOR THE ROSCÓN DE REYES (THREE KINGS)
• 500 gr. wheat flour• 200 ml warm milk
• 100 gr sugar
• 30 gr yeast
• 2 eggs (one for brushing the dough)
• salt
• 100 gr margarine
. dried fruit
First of all mix the yeast with a little of warm milk, sugar, and flour. Wait 15 minutes until it doubles it´s size. Now we must mix the rest of flour, milk, salt, margarine and sugar with a wooden spoon. Keep kneading until getting a soft dough. Now add the yeast mixture and continue kneading and try to get off all the air.
Now try to form a "Roscon" this looks like a doughnut and the decorate it with dried fruits. Rub it with the egg and bake it at a 200 ª C preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. This recipes makes two medium Roscones or cakes.
Then decorate it with some sugar and if you want put some whipped cream or even vanilla custard, but don´t forget to hide the little present inside!!!
LONDON'S NEW YEAR'S DAY PARADE 2015
London's New Year's Day Parade started in 1987 and has raised or donated nearly a million pounds to a wide range of London based charities.
More than 10,000 performers representing several countries worldwide and more than half a million spectators line the 2 mile route making this the biggest event of its kind in the world. Around 200 million TV viewers watch The London New Year's Day Parade so it's a very popular event.
OFFICIAL WEB
More than 10,000 performers representing several countries worldwide and more than half a million spectators line the 2 mile route making this the biggest event of its kind in the world. Around 200 million TV viewers watch The London New Year's Day Parade so it's a very popular event.
OFFICIAL WEB
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