Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year begins according to the Chinese calendar which consists of both Gregorian and lunar-solar calendar systems. because the track of the moon changes from year to year, Chinese New Year can begin anytime between late January and mid-February

2014 Chinese New Year is on January 31 ( Horse Year )

Watch the video to take a look at some of the traditions  such as Lion Dancing , Firecrackers, Read Packets and more ...

How schools kill creativity

Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance.

 Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006.

English Phrasal Verbs

                                                              

Phrasal verbs are rather complicated , aren´t they ?

Click HERE and learn a few in these reference pages with audio and images .

Easily confused words

Christmas Symbols

It´s Christmas time !!

               MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Nelson Mandela dies

Former South Africa president Nelson Mandela died  at home in Johannesburg, he was 95. The news was broken on state television by the current president Jacob Zuma, who announced that Mandela had departed and was at peace.

South Africans assembled outside Mandela's home in Johannesburg and at his previous residence in Soweto to mourn and pay tribute to the former president. All over the world, others have joined the mourning.
Mandela's legacy and memory has been celebrated and his passing mourned by leaders around the world.
 Rest in peace

Learn a bit more about Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa. Becoming actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942.
For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies. In 1993,  Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle the country's apartheid system.

Click HERE to visit a web with lots of information , videos and pictures about this important figure of our recent history.

2013 National Turkey

One of the more lighthearted White House events, the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation and Pardoning Ceremony, takes place each year just before the Thanksgiving holiday. During the ceremony, the President of the United States grants a presidential pardon to the turkey, fortunate enough to be selected as the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

This somewhat odd tradition has evolved through the years, with its earliest roots possibly dating back to the Lincoln administration. Although the details are not documented, President Lincoln is thought to have spared the life of a turkey at the request of his son, Tad, who wanted to keep it as a pet.

The first record of a turkey being spared is from 1961 when President Kennedy decided not to eat that year's 55-pound  turkey, saying, "We'll just keep him." The bird was returned to his farm home.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush started the tradition of an official presidential pardon for the National Thanksgiving Turkey with the words, "This fine tom turkey has been granted a presidential pardon as of right now." Since then, the tradition has continued every year, usually on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day.

 

In addition to the actual National Thanksgiving Turkey, a second turkey is selected to serve as the first runner up each year, just in case the winner is not able to fulfill its duties.

Both turkeys receive pardons but only one takes the title of  National Thanksgiving turkey. American peole vote on Facebook , Twitter to choose the best candidate.

This year the candidates are POPCORN and CARAMEL

You can still vote for one of them !!

Ways to Vote: On Twitter, use #TeamCaramel or #TeamPopcorn
On Instagram, use #TeamCaramel or #TeamPopcorn and regram your favorite
On Facebook, "like" and "share" your bird of choice

                                 
Click on the image below to hear them  gobble

              

The story of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November, every year, is essentially a harvest festival. It is a time characterized with lot of fun , gifting, family feasting, community praying etc.

Thanksgiving is most celebrated in the countries of America and Canada. It is a time to thank not only God but also your fellow for their continuous support and care.

Parades,  fairs, eating at restaurants, shopping are an inherent part of the festive celebration. Football game is closely associated with thanksgiving celebration in America. Foot ball matches are organised every year to mark the occasion. Thanksgiving weekend is also the official beginning of the Christmas season in America.

But how did this celebration start?  Watch the video  and learn a bit more about the story of this holiday.

Swimming in the North Pole

 Climate change is for real and we need to do something  about it now.

Watch this fantastic video - you´ll surely enjoy it. It deals with the topic of polar ice melting. It explains how ice is unfreezing very rapidly.

You can change subtitles and do it completely in English