A bunch of traditions. And the grapes?

 

The tradition of Christmas celebration is very old. It slowly evolved with time. All the traditions and customs are started with the initiation of Roman Pagan to Christian ceremonial. Traditionally, it involves 12 days of Christmas with several elements included within. The dazzling fires, the Yule log, exchange of gifts, the feasts, carols, and the church processions are the integral components of Christmas traditions.

The concept of Christmas traditions is not at all static. In the due course of time, it changes dynamically and quite dramatically as well. Almost every New Year comes with a promise of new or moderated mode of Christmas traditions. Christmas, originally celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ, has changed from a religious issue into a cheery hearted affair exclusively incorporating carnivals, bonfire, cookies and Santa Clause.

Yule Log

It is a form of sun worshipping. The idea is very old. Yule Logs are a part of red oak trees. They are burned during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In modern days, it can be expressed also in the form of log-shaped Christmas cakes. If the preparation is with chocolate, it is known as chocolate logs.

Snow

Snow has an important significance in Christmas traditions. So the Christmas days are full with fun activities that are largely based on snow playing such as skiing, snow boarding, sled riding, hiking and many more.

Wreath

Christmas days exclusively represent greenness. It promises the exhibition of green full of life and vitality. In these days, evergreen is worshipped as a holy entity representing eternal life as it never becomes brown or leafless. Evergreen holy is worshipped as religious groups believe that the crown of Jesus was made up of this evergreen holy. It is said that originally the berries were red but it became red with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Mistletoe

The use of mistletoe is not very common. It is actually derived from the ancient Druid ritual rejoicing winter solstice. This tradition is believed to be started when a young girl was standing under a tree and a young boy while passing her picked up a fruit and kissed the girl.

Biscuits

No historical or mythological evidence has been found yet to support the exact time of inclusion of this tradition in the history of Christmas. It is assumed that the biscuits are left for Santa during 1930’s. It used to be an exciting activity for naughty kids for bribing their Santa, even at the last minute. On the other hand, nice kids prefer to use this as part of their thanksgiving occasion. They wish to thank Santa for his wonderful but hard contribution at the time of Christmas Eve.

Santa Clause

When we are talking about Christmas traditions, if we do not discuss about Santa Clause, it seems that our discussion becomes incomplete. This tradition is as old as 4th century. Santa Clause was born on the memory of Saint Nicholas who was worshipped and loved by everyone for his loving and caring nature towards children.

That’s all for today, folks. Tomorrow I’ll bring you another Christmas recipe and a farewell for the holidays. Stay tuned!

Christmas around the world

It’s easy to forget that there is a big world out there. We are so intent on our own routine, the hectic lifestyle these days of shopping, gift-wrapping and cooking bring to every waking hour. So I invite you to have a look around and find out how our international neighbours broach the most fantastic time of the year.

Let’s start with how “Merry Christmas” is said in other languages:

Cantonese: Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun

Corsian: Pace e salute

English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal

German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!

Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lao: souksan van Christmas
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua

Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År

Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho (good New Year not Merry Christmas)

Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen

Now why don’t you join me for a parade through Christmas time in other countries? Customs and traditions are so awesome around the world!

EGYPT

 On Christmas morning people in Egypt visit friends and neighbors. They take with them kaik which is a type of shortbread, which they take with them to give to the people they visit and eaten with a drink known as shortbat.

GREAT BRITAIN

At Christmas dinner, a plum pudding is served with little treasures hidden inside that bring their finders good luck. Britain was the first country to hang up mistletoe.

On Christmas morning the family traditionally opens their presents and prepares for a big feast which typically is served just after midday. The table gleams with the best china and glassware, and at every place on the table there is a cracker. The meal begins with a toast, followed by the popping of the crackers. After the meal they sit down in front of the Television for the traditional Christmas speech of the British Monarch.

USA

American homes are decorated with holly, mistletoe and branches of trees, most have a Christmas tree hung with electric lights, tinsel, baubles, and strings of popcorn and candy canes.

In Boston, carol singing festivities are famous. The singers are accompanied by hand bells.

In Washington D.C., a huge, spectacular tree is lit ceremoniously when the President presses a button and turns on the tree's lights.

In Colorado, an enormous star is placed on the mountain, it can be seen for many kilometers around, while in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a star is lit in early December.

In Philadelphia, a procession called a mummers parade runs for a whole day with bands, dancers and people in fancy dress.

RUSSIA

In the traditional Russian Christmas, special prayers are said and people fast, sometimes for 39 days, until January 6th Christmas Eve, when the first evening star in appears in the sky. Then begins a twelve course supper in honor of each of the twelve apostles - fish, beet soup or Borsch, cabbage stuffed with millet, cooked dried fruit and much more.

AUSTRALIA

Christmas in Australia is often very hot. Whereas the northern hemisphere is in the middle of winter, Australians are baking in summer heat. It is not unusual to have Christmas Day well into the mid 30 degrees Celsius, or near 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

A traditional meal includes a turkey dinner, with ham, and pork. A flaming Christmas plum pudding is added for dessert. In the Australian gold rushes, Christmas puddings often contained a gold nugget. Today a small favor is baked inside. Whoever finds this knows s/he will enjoy good luck. Another treat is Mince Pies.

Carols by Candlelight is held every year on Christmas Eve, where tens of thousands of people gather in the city of Melbourne to sing their favorite Christmas songs. The evening is lit by as many candles singing under a clean cut night sky. The sky with its Southern Cross stars is like a mirror. Sydney and the other capital cities also enjoy Carols in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Christmas is celebrated in much the same way as in Australia. However, for many villagers in the more remote areas, Christmas passes as just another day.

Do you know any interesting facts about Christmas around the world?

More photos from Valdelasierra

This Tuesday we bring you pictures that were taken during the Kids’ Show at Valdelasierra. You can see Bryan doing funny things and Chris watching him with a worried smile on her face.

You can even spot Gloria proudly watching her kids sing. And who is that cute girl looking so much like an artist?

Do you have any singing moments of your own? Let us know.

Laughing out loud

Christmas time is perfect for a good laugh.Today we start a new section on our Specials: JOKeS.

And, obviously, they’re about Christmas ;o)

Ready? Here we go!

How do cats greet each other at Christmas ?
"A furry merry Christmas & Happy Mew Year" !

What does Father Christmas write on his Christmascards ?
ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ (No-L !!) !

How do snowmen travel around?
By icicle!

What is the popular name of the snowman in summer?
A puddle.

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? 
It's Christmas, Eve!

What monkeys sing on Christmas Eve in concert? 
Jungle Bells, Jungle bells!

Do you know any bird that can write? 
Pen-guin.

Who is very rude? 
"Rude"-olph

What do elves sing to Santa? 
Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow!

Do you know any jokes about elves or penguins or the Three Wise Men? Be free to post them in a comment or send it to lctidiomas@hotmail.com. We will be more than happy to publish them here.

 

Mmm, Christmas time, yummy!

Food is a wonderful focus at Christmas. Roast Turkey, succulent stuffing and all the trimmings. Mince pies, Christmas Pudding and brandy butter... all mouth watering indeed.

Get into the spirit of Christmas by trying out new recipes that we will be offering you in the next few days.

Let’s start with the legendary EGG NOG recipe:

Ingredients

• 1140ml/2 pints whole milk

• 6 free-range eggs

• 50g/2oz caster sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, split

• 20 fresh cherries, stones removed and halved

• 200ml/7fl oz brandy

• cocoa powder, for dusting

Preparation method

1. Place the milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla pod in a medium pan and heat gently, without boiling, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

2. The egg nog can be chilled at this stage or served hot.

3. To serve, scatter the cherries in the bottom of each serving glass. Divide the brandy between the glasses and pour the egg nog over. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

Recipe found on the BBC webpage.

Of course, you may skip the brandy altogether, but to some it may scare away the cold from their noses ;o)

If you try it out, please send us a photo of the result! See you tomorrow.

Watch me: videos from LCTValdelasierra

The Kid’s Show is still riddled with life and surprises. Wanna see some great videos from groups at the Valdelasierra academy?

LCTIDIOMAS video from the Kids’ Show at Valdelasierra.

 

LCTIDIOMAS second video from the Kids’ Show at Valdelasierra.

Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Remember, remember, with the end of November, comes Christmas with mulled wine and more! This month I bring you a bunch of special posts about our favourite time of the year:

CHRISTMAS

Today we start with…

Browsing the net, I’ve been able to find some information on how Christmas in Spain is viewed from the perspective of other countries.

Believe or not, I was struck by the original things I encountered. Wanna know how they perceive us?

Most homes have a manger, like cathedrals and churches. These are complete with carved figures.  Children think of the Three Wise Man as the gift bearers. Tradition has it that they arrive on January 6th, the date the Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus. The Spanish especially honor the cow at Christmas because it is thought that when Mary gave birth to Jesus the cow in the stable breathed on the Baby Jesus to keep him warm.

Holy cow! I mean, really?

The children of Spain receive gifts on the feast of the Epiphany. The Magi are particularly revered in Spain. It is believed that they travel through the countryside reenacting their journey to Bethlehem every year at this time. Children leave their shoes on the windowsills and fill them with straw, carrots, and barley or the horses of the Wise Men. Their favorite is Balthazar who rides a donkey and is the one believed to leave the gifts.

Mmm, barley, yummy!

I think all this info is badly in need of updating, don’t you think? What else can we find on the internet?

According to the BBC webpage, there is a quirky custom that is held in Catalunya and it goes like this:

In Catalunya there's a surprising addition to the crib: el caganer, which means, for want of a more offensive translation, the defecating shepherd. What's more, this scatological streak extends to a peculiarly-shaped local cake, la tifa, with sugar flies to top it all off!

Then you can also find this about the 6th of January:

The typical dessert of the day is called "Rosca de los Reyes" and is a home baked ring style bread decorated with coloured jellies to symbolise the jewels worn by the three Kings. Inside is hidden a small surprise similar to what we find in Christmas crackers. Anyone lucky enough to find the hidden surprise may be crowned King or Queen for the day!

All those years thinking that I was eating Roscón…

This is all we have time for, folks. Don’t miss out on our next issues of Christmas Specials.

New Kids’ Show Videos

Here we are again starting a new week. Lots of exams are taking place and the stress from our hectic lifestyle is wrecking our nerves with hardly two weeks from reaching our final destination: CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

In order to ease our burden till then, let me entertain you with a couple of  new videos straight from our treasure trove of memories.

TUESDAY

SHELLEY’S GROUP

TUESDAY

LISA’S GROUP

We have more videos coming soon. Stay tuned for more of:

• Kids’ Show Videos
• Christmas specials

And don’t forget to leave a comment (impulse) ;o)

A video from the Kids’ Show

Dancing and singing is just part of the fun ;o)

And more to come next week!