CHRISTMAS ADS

Watch these famous Christmas ads and talk about what is happening:

Tesco´s Chistmas advert

Sainbury´s  Christmas advert:

The History of Christmas

The festive season is here and we want to learn all about its origins and the most popular traditions in different cultures.

Discussion:

- How do you celebrate Christmas?
- Do you follow any special traditions?
- Is this festivity important to you and your family/friends?

Follow this weblink  from history.com and answer the questions:

http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas

Read the section ’An ancient holiday’ and look for the answers to the following questions:

1. What did Europeans celebrate long before the birth of Jesus?
2. Why did people celebrate during the winter solstice?
3. Who celebrated Yule from 21 December in Scandinavia?
4. How did fathers and sons mark the return of the sun?
5. Up to how many days was it possible for the Yule feast to last?
6. What did the Norse believe that each spark of the fire represented?
7. Why was the end of December a good time for celebrating?
8. Why were German people terrified of the god Oden? How did they show their fear?

Read the second section ‘Saturnalia’ and look for the answers to the following questions:

1. Who was Saturnalia intended to honour?
2. How did Roman society change during Saturnalia?
3. In what century did the Church decide to make the birth of Christ a holiday?
4. What was the problem with choosing the date of Christ’s birth?
5. Why was 25 December chosen?
6. Why do some churches celebrate Christmas on 7 January?
7. What was the main disadvantage for church leaders of holding Christmas at the same time as other winter festivals?
8. In what way were Christmas celebrations during the Middle Ages similar to those of Roman times?

Read the third section ’An outlaw Christmas’. Look at the statements below and decide whether they are true or false:

1. Oliver Cromwell took control of England in 1645.
2. Cromwell and his Puritan forces encouraged the English people to celebrate Christmas.
3. When the monarchy was reintroduced and Charles l became king, Christmas was celebrated again in England.
4. As a result of the Puritan pilgrims coming to America in 1620, Christmas was not a holiday from 1659 to 1681.
5. In Boston, from 1659 to 1681, anyone exhibiting ’Christmas spirit’ (= publicly celebrating Christmas) was fined five shillings.
6. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday in the USA until 26th June, 1870.

Think:

In what ways is the modern way of celebrating Christmas different from how it was done in the past?

What do you like most (and least) about Christmas nowadays?

Santa Claus

Read the introduction to Santa Claus taken from history.com:

The man we know as Santa Claus has a history all his own. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red, but his story stretches all the way back to the third century. Find out more about the history of Santa Claus, from his earliest origins to the shopping mall favorite of today:

What do you already know about Santa’s history? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

What do you call Santa in your country?

Is Santa part of your culture? Is there a similar character in your culture?

Go to the weblink text www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus and read the  different sections to answer these questions:

Read the first section ‘The legend of St. Nicholas’. Answer the following questions, then share the answers with your class:

1. When do people think that St. Nicholas was born? In which modern-day country is his birthplace?
2. For what qualities was St. Nicholas most admired?
3. Was St. Nicholas born into a poor family?
4. Which two groups of people is he particularly associated with?
5. When is his feast day celebrated? What do people think it is lucky to do on that day?
6. Why was the way in which St. Nicholas was regarded in Holland different from other saints?

Read the second and third sections ‘Sinter Klaas comes to New York’ and ‘Shopping mall Santas’. Answer the following questions:

1. How did St. Nicolas first become popular in America?
2. Where did the name Santa Claus come from?
3. As Sinter Klaas’s popularity grew, did people agree about what he looked like?
4. What did the advertisements for shops feature by the 1840s?
5. What happened in 1841?
6. In the early 1890s what did the Salvation Army do to raise money?

Read the fourth section ‘Twas the night before Christmas’. Answer the following questions:

1. What was the poem that became largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus? Why wasn’t its author sure that he wanted to publish it?
2. What, according to the now familiar image of Santa Claus, are his physical characteristics and special powers?
3. What cartoonist drew on Moore’s poem to create the first likeness of our modern day image of Santa?
4. How did the cartoon depict Santa?
5. What new elements did Nast add to the image created by Moore’s poem?

Read the fifth section ‘A Santa by any other name’. What are the names of similar figures all over the world, and what is special about each one? Write down each country, the name of their ‘Santa figure’ and the special features of their celebration.

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD:

Christmas is a global celebration. You have already seen how the legend of Santa Claus varies greatly from country to country. For the following task, you will read about different traditions around the world celebrated at Christmas time.
Take a look at the following traditions. As you read them, try to guess which of the countries in the box below these traditions come from. (Some countries are used more than once!)

El Salvador     United States     Great Britain     Spain     Japan     Venezuela     Canada     Brazil     Denmark     Guatemala     Estonia     Poland     Philippines     Italy     Armenia    Germany     Colombia

Twenty Christmas traditions from around the world (Complete this task in your notebooks):

1. During the Christmas meal, Christmas crackers containing toys, jokes and a paper hat are pulled. ________________
2. A white sponge cake covered with cream and decorated with strawberries is often consumed. ________________
3. Children put their shoes in the window in the hope that the three wise men will deliver their presents. ________________
4. Christmas carols are heard as early as 1st September. ________________
5. On 6th January, female puppets are burned on a pyre to symbolize the death of the old year and beginning of the new year. ________________
6. They celebrate the Cavalcade of Lights Festival. ________________
7. The Christmas tree usually stands centrally in the home, decorated with ornaments, tinsel and lights, with an angel or star at the top. ________________
8. People dress up in an ornamental hat named a Puritina and dance in a line. ________________
9. Potato salad with frankfurters and wiener sausages is a popular meal in some families. ________________
10. Children take presents of fruits, nuts and other sweets to older relatives. ________________
11. In many cities, and even in small rural towns, neighbourhoods get together and decorate their whole neighbourhood or street, turning streets into ‘tunnels of light’. ________________
12. Neighbourhoods get together for night festivals where children play with skateboards, rollerblades and bicycles. ________________
13. On 6th December, Saint Nicholas puts goodies in children’s shoes. ________________
14. Rice pudding is traditionally served with whipped cream and lashings of black cherry sauce. ________________
15. Electric candles and glowing stars are placed in almost every window during the month of December. ________________
16. A traditional meal includes herring and beetroot soup with ravioli. ________________
17. It is a tradition for children to leave a glass of milk and plate of cookies for Santa. _______________
18. In some cities, judges decide on the most beautifully decorated house. ________________
19. Children are visited by Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and must sing songs or recite Christmas poems before they receive their presents. _______________
20. Children celebrate Christmas by playing with firecrackers and sparklers. ________________

Now, visit the following weblink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_traditions and check your answers. Don’t try to read the whole article from top to bottom; instead, try to find the countries as quickly as you can.

Discussion:

What traditions above are similar to those in your country?

What is your favourite tradition from the list?

What is your favourite tradition from your country?

If you celebrate Christmas, do you think your country is losing any of its Christmas traditions? If so, why?

If you could start a Christmas tradition of your own, what would it be?

THANKSGIVING, THE ALL-AMERICAN HOLIDAY

Thanksgiving is the most important festival in the USA tradition. It is the time of the year when all families gather around the table to celebrate the time when the first pilgrims arrived to America and to give thanks for all they have.

Thanksgiving is a four-day holiday for most US citizens. It starts on the fourth Thursday of November and continues through Black Fiday to the weekend. It is an occasion for families to get together for a few days.

The date for Thanksgiving was set by the country´s first president, George Washington, at his inauguration in 1789. The US Congress wanted to unite their nation in a day of celebration and prayer.

LET´S FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AMERICAN FESTIVAL

Answer the following questions in your notebook:

Activity 1: The history of the Thanksgiving celebration:

Visit: www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving and read the first section entitled ‘Thanksgiving at Plymouth’. Look for the answers to these questions:

1. Who travelled on board the Mayflower and why?
2. Was their journey comfortable?
3. What route did their journey take?
4. What problems did the Pilgrims experience during their initial few months in New England?
5. Why was Squanto, a Native American, able to communicate in English with the Pilgrims?
6. What did the Pilgrims learn from Squanto?
7. Who were the Wampanoag and what was their relation to the Pilgrims?
8. Why did William Bradford organize a celebration?
9. What kind of food was eaten at the first Thanksgiving meal?
10. What differences are there between the Thanksgiving meal eaten by the Pilgrims and the one people eat today?

Activity 2: A traditional Thanksgiving meal
Visit: www.organicauthority.com/sanctuary/history-of-thanksgiving-table.html. Read the descriptions of typical Thanksgiving dishes and find the answers to these questions:

1. Which dish with an exotic background got a sweet addition in the twentieth century?
2. Which sweet nut dish has ancient origins?
3. Which food helped make a brand of soup more popular?
4. Which food is made from different ingredients, depending on the origins of the people cooking it?
5. Which food is very good for you and can be stored for a long period?
6. Which food made one woman very rich?
7. Which food got its name by mistake?
8. Which food probably wasn’t eaten at the first Thanksgiving meal because of lack of technology?

Activity 3: Thanksgiving traditions

Read about some typical traditions in North America at Thanksgiving  and check whether these sentences are true or false. Explain the false ones:  people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/thanksgiving5.htm 


1. Many people watch tennis at Thanksgiving every year.
2. Shops often sponsored Thanksgiving parades.
3. Washing neighbours’ cars is the most popular way to help others in the community at Thanksgiving.
4. The White House is given three turkeys each Thanksgiving – two are dead and one is pardoned and not cooked.
5. The turkey that is kept is given a name chosen by the president’s family.
6. The president announces the official date of Thanksgiving every year.

Activity 4: Discuss the following questions:

1. How much did you already know about the tradition of Thanksgiving?
2. What information surprised you?
3. What are the most important festivals and celebrations in your country or culture?

• How are they celebrated? What do people eat and drink?
• What are the origins of the celebrations? Have they changed over time?
• What celebration are you most looking forward to?

BLACK FRIDAY

If you are in New York, you can celebrate Thanksgiving by joining a parade like Macy´s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy´s, a large Manhattan department store, organises the parade with actors, bands and balloons.

On Black Friday, everyone goes shopping. It is the second biggest shopping day in the year
(December the 23rd is number one). Why black? Because shop owners make big profits and pay off their debts, so they are " in the black".

DO YOU FANCY COOKING A TYPICAL PUMPKIN PIE? HERE IS THE RECIPE:

PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE




Ingredients:

- 3 eggs
- half a cup of white sugar
- half a cup of brown sugar
- 1.5 cups of milk
- 600 gr of ground pumpkin
- half a teaspoon of cloves
- half a teaspoon of cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- one teaspoon of lemmon extract

Instructions:

First beat the eggs and the white sugar together, then add the ground pumpkin and continue beating.

Now dissolve the brown sugar in the milk and the add this to the pumpkin mix.

Next add the spices and the lemon. Put the pastry crust in the pie pan and add the filling.

Bake in the oven at 180º C for 50 minutes.

Enjoy your pie!!



DESCRIBING DISHES M1R

To describe a dish to customers is a very important task for a waiter/waitress.

Here are some videos and links to learn expessions and vocabulary that will help you be a good professional!

Watch this video by engVid to learn cooking vocabulary in English: chop, grill, saute, boil, slice...



Learn some more cooking actions:

Now follow this LINK to practise the language of describing dishes and do the activities on the web page.

Follow this LINK to read the recipe for Sheperd´s Pie.

VERB TENSES- A GRAMMAR LESSON

This lesson is intended to help you remember verb tenses in English and how to use them correctly!

Please watch this video by Solex to remember the theory and copy all the examples in your notebook:

 Present and past tenses:

Future tenses:

Now let´s concentrate on the 4 different ways to talk about the future: Will, Going to, Present Continuous and Simple Present! 

Watch this great explanation by Emma from engVid!

Finally, watch this great video from Ted-Ed to have a bigger picture of verb tenses in English: 

Make sure you take notes of all the examples in your notebook

REMEMBER REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

GUY FAWKES AND THE GUNPOWDER TREASON

On the 5th of November British people celebrate Guy Fawkes day. This is a very traditional festival that we are going to learn about as part of our cultural topics and related to the history and traditions of the UK.

Follow this link to BBC Newsround to learn about it!

Now watch this video to understand events on the 5th of November better:

Jade from engVid explains everything about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night in this great video:

-ED endings- pronunciation lesson

As you know, the “-ed” endings of regular past tense verbs can be pronounced in three different ways: /t/, /d/ and /ɪd/:

SLOW PRACTICE OF THE -ED ENDING:

Practise pronunciation with these 12 very famous songs.

Luis Otávio Barros on Vimeo



CONNECTED SPEECH PRACTICE:

 

 


YOU CAN PRACTISE PRONUNCIATION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT SOUNDS IN ENGLISH IN THIS GREAT WEBSITE BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS