Happy Halloween !!!

Un año más los alumnos y alumnas de primero y segundo de la ESO han participado en un concurso organizado por el Departamento de Inglés en el que han creado su propio Jack-o'- Lantern y una historia de miedo. Aquí os dejamos las fotos con los ganadores:

1st Prize: Andrea Guerra y Sandra Burillo (2º C)

2nd Prize: Cristina Tomirat (1º A)

3rd Prize: Jesús Alconchel, Raúl Jordán, Noah Ramón (1ºE/F)

 CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!!!

HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS

Cupid is here!

Our students in the Bilingual Program have sent and received some loving messages !

Happy Saint Valentine's Day !

The history of Saint Valentine's Day:

Halloween competition!!

The English Department  organized a competition in which the students in 1st and 2nd ESO had to carve their own Jack-o'- lantern and write a scary story so as to celebrate halloween and have some fun at the same time!!!

The winners this year are:

1ST PRIZE

Alba Achón, Patricia Álvarez and Natalia García. (2nd ESO)

2ND PRIZE

Lucía Pina (1º E)

3RD PRIZE

Candela Sanz (1º E)

 CONGRATULATIONS!!!

REMEMBER REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER...

Our 2nd ESO students have prepared a project about GUY FAWKES NIGHT or BONFIRE NIGHT , a very popular celebration in UK on 5th November.

Halloween competition !

THE WINNERS ARE......

1st PRIZE: Blanca Cestero, Cristina Cestero, Paula Melendo 1ºA/C

2nd PRIZE: Carolina Baranyai, Ilena Lázaro, 1ºA

3rd PRIZE: Alba Achón, Natalia García, Patricia Álvarez 1ºD

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

History of Halloween

Follow this link to watch a  brilliant video about the history of Halloween!

HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN


Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

Let's celebrate HALLOWEEN!

Here you have a really scary video to watch in halloween!!!

Saint George's Day in England

Saint George's Day is the patron saint of England and as such is celebrated annually on 23 April, the day of his death in 303 AD.

Feast of St George 2016

This year’s event takes place on St George’s Day itself, 23 April, between 12pm and 6pm.
See Trafalgar Square decorated in red and white for England’s national day, and join in the free themed activities with live music, family games, dance and storytelling. Plus, watch celebrity chefs give live cookery demonstrations and sample traditional English fare from the food stalls, inspired by St George’s Day’s 13th-century origins as a national day of feasting.
To mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, which also falls on 23 April, this year’s event will also celebrate the bard’s life and work with themed activities. Find out more about Shakespeare400 events in London.

History of St George and the Dragon

St George is the patron saint of England. His name is most commonly associated with the legend of St George and the Dragon.
In the mythical tale, George obtains glory by slaying a dragon that is terrorising the countryside and is about to eat a beautiful princess. George survives the ordeal by invoking the sign of the cross.
As a mark of their gratitude, the local citizens all convert to Christianity and seek to copy George's chivalrous, princess-saving behaviour.
The story is loosely based on a real-life George who was born around 280AD and grew up to become a Christian soldier of the Roman Empire.
The myth of St George and the Dragon in England was known prior to the Norman conquest in 1066,
but the idea of George as the nation's patron saint probably caught on around William Shakespeare's time. 

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day (sometimes called All Fools' Day) is celebrated every year on 1 April by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. People playing April Fool jokes expose their prank by shouting April Fool. Some newspapers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters. Although popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country.

Easter in the UK

In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. However, Easter in Britain has its beginnings long before the arrival of Christianity. Many theologians believe Easter itself is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring - Eostre.

In Britain Easter occurs at a different time each year. It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the festival can occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Not only is Easter the end of the winter it is also the end of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting in the Christian calendar. It is therefore often a time of fun and celebration.

On the Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is a day of mourning in church and special Good Friday services are held where Christians meditate on Jesus's suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith. 

Easter eggs are a very old tradition going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all are a symbol of spring and new life.

Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom in many countries. In the UK before they were replaced by chocolate Easter eggs real eggs were used, in most cases, chicken eggs. The eggs were hard-boiled and dyed in various colors and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light.

An older more traditional game is one in which real eggs are rolled against one another or down a hill. The owner of the egg that stayed uncracked the longest won.

Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. And Britain children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

Strangely the bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 16th Century. The first edible Easter bunnies appeared in Germany during the early 1800s, they were made of pastry and sugar.

In the UK children believe that if they are good the "Easter Bunny " will leave (chocolate) eggs for them.

Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served on Good Friday. These small, lightly sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is slashed in the top of the bun. After baking, a confectioners' sugar icing is used to fill the cross.

An old rhyme was often sung by children awaiting their sugary treat:

"Hot cross buns, 
hot cross buns, 
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns.

Saint Patrick's Day

St Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland. True, he was not a born Irish. But he has become an integral part of the Irish heritage, mostly through his service across Ireland of the 5th century.

Patrick was born in the later half of the 4th century AD. There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth. According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D., while the other school says it is about 373 AD. Again, his birth place is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England. His real name was probably Maewyn Succat. Though Patricius was his Romanicized name, he was later came to be familiar as Patrick.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer. He was growing up as naturally as other kids in Britain. However, one day a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped this boy along with many others. Then they sold him into slavery in Ireland. He was there for 6 years, mostly imprisoned. This was when changes came to him. He dreamed of having seen God. Legend says, he was then dictated by God to escape with a getaway ship.

Finally, he did escape and went to Britain. And then to France. There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in training. And when he became a bishop he dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. Through active preaching, he made important converts even among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time. For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion. He developed a native clergy, fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses, and held church councils.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian. Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning, a few of his writings remain extant: his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters. The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick, may date to a later period. By the end of the 7th century Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow since then. There are many legends associated with St Patrick. It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock to 

explain the concept of the Trinity; which refers to the combination of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hence its strong association with his day and name Legend also has that, Saint Patrick had put the curse of God on venomous snakes in Ireland. And he drove all the snakes into the sea where they drowned.
True, these are mostly legends. But, after some 1500 years, these legends have been inseparably combined with the facts. And together they have helped us know much about the Saint and the spirit behind celebration of the day. Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for over 20 years. He died on March 17, AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. The day's spirit is to celebrate the universal baptization of Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. Or, rather, 'be an Irish Day '. And the Irish has borne it as part of their national tradition in everywhere they populated and prospered. The Catholic feast day for this most loved of Irish saints has become a holiday in celebration of the Irish and Irish culture. The leprechaun, a Celtic fairy, has become entrenched as a chief symbol for this holiday, as is the shamrock, an ancient symbol for the triple goddess Brigit. It is fitting that this holiday should fall at the time of the year when the return of spring begins to seem at hand. But why the icons like the green color, the tri-leafed shamrock, the leprechaun, or the pot of gold and Blarney's stone- all came to be associated with the celebration of this Day? And what do they all mean?