Happy April Fools' Day!

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.
Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.
The soul of April Fool's Day lies in the funny pranks that are played on that day. The real good prank is the one that makes the victim laugh and enjoy as much as the other people who witness it. It's not nice to harm someone while pranking people and keep it safe.

In Spain we celebrate the Day of the Innocents on December 28th. It observes the day when, according to the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible, King Herod ordered the baby boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem to be killed because he was afraid that the baby Jesus born there would become a rival. As it turned out, though, the baby Jesus had been taken away to Egypt by Mary and Joseph. So the "joke" was on Herod, and thus followed the tradition of tricking friends on that day.

It is Easter in Spain today, and it makes it even odder to think of pulling someone's leg, but just take April Fools' Day into account in case you receive an incredible e-mail from an English friend...

March 17th: Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish and Irish at Heart in big cities and small towns alike with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Its a time for fun.

Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Why is the Shamrock the National Flower of Ireland ? Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish.

So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass.

In American cities with a large Irish population, St. Patrick's Day is a very big deal. Big cities and small towns alike celebrate with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green!

This year the Dublin Parade will be on Wednesday 17th March, at the City Centre, starting at Parnell Square, at 12 noon.

Will you go?

8 de marzo, día de la mujer trabajadora

El 8 de marzo celebramos el día de la mujer trabajadora. Si quieres saber un poco más sobre el por qué de esta fecha para dicha celebración dedícale 5 minutos al documental.

International Women's Day 2010 Theme: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all

Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Organisations, governments and women's groups around the world choose different themes each year that reflect global and local gender issues.

Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations.

IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Make a difference, think globally and act locally !

Make everyday International Women's Day.

Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

VIRTUAL VALENTINE

Although the origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery, the feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I. There was a Valentine holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270.

However, many authors have suggested that Valentine's Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia. It was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility in the spring.

Whatever historical reasons we can find to explain this celebration, the fact is that nowadays it is used as an worldwide excuse to go romantic for a day.

People get mad trying to buy love: Valentine cards, chocolates, flowers, supper, parties...

It would be interesting to find out how people from other countries celebrate or feel Saint Valentine. You could start by asking the foreign students in your class the way they say love words in their mother tongue, and their opinion about this celebration. Here are some opinions from people of your age:

Romance can happen on any day of the year. Why do two people need to manufacture it on a holiday invented by other people?
Peter Smith, UK

Mankind is becoming increasingly practical. What's the point of wasting time on courting and purchasing chocolate, when you're going to end up having sex anyhow?
Andrej, Russia

Romance and courtship is the nice name humans put on Mating, and why not? We do need to take time out and appreciate the ones we hold dear. You certainly don't need over priced roses to do that! Long Live Love!

Ian, Scotland

You'll be surprised to learn that people show love in very different ways around the world. That there are kisses, French kisses and rubbing of noses as Eskimos and Polynesians do. By the way, I don't want to make you paranoid, but just to tell you there's no such thing as "safe kissing" so keep that in mind. You can catch anything from just a cold to a pretty serious sexually transmitted disease by kissing, especially if you have any cuts in your mouth.

The latest trend is virtual love. It's not only finding a boyfriend by e-mail, but finding your ideal virtual man or woman. After the robot dogs and fish, Tamagotchi, the portable cyber pet, and virtual popstars. Now it's the girlfriends and boyfriends who are virtual. Games such as Falling in Love by Mail, My Prince and First Love Game are just a few of the dozens of online games developed for the i-mode internet-capable phones.

Bandai Network's Mail de Koi Shite (or Falling in Love by Mail) is targeted towards men who are given the choice of seven virtual women, including a school teacher and a nurse.

During a three-month email courtship, the user must seduce his cyber-love by scoring as many points as possible by finding out as much as he can about his "girlfriend" - apparently not always an easy task.

She might get irritated because she doesn't receive as many emails as she wishes and give the player a hard time. But that doesn't seem to stop many of them from wanting to continue their affairs.

After a certain amount of emails has been sent, the girlfriend delivers her verdict: "I really like you" and the more disappointing "we can still be friends" are on the cards.

As you see, there are many ways of feeling love, what about you?

Damos la cara por Haití

El próximo viernes, 5 de febrero, iniciaremos la recogida de imágenes en nuestro centro con el fin de colaborar en este proyecto solidario a nivel educativo. Para más información visita nuestra web

"Candelaria" in Spanish", “Lichtmess" in German, "La Fête de la Chandeleur" in French, or “Candlemas” in English

In many cultures, including in some Latin countries today, Candlemas marks the end of the Christmas season. It is celebrated on February 2^nd, the 40^th day after Christmas, and is technically known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the Presentation in the Temple.

The basis of the Feast of the Purification was the Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child and were not permitted to enter the Temple to worship. This was 40 days after the birth of a son and 60 days after the birth of a daughter. At the end of the 40 or 60 days, the mother was brought to the Temple or synagogue and ritually purified. Now she can go to religious services again, and generally go out in public.

It is customary to bring candles from home to be blessed so they can be lit after dusk on All Saints' Day (1 November), during the Sacrament of Unction, and during storms and times of trouble.

Candlemas began as a Roman festival to celebrate the return of spring. The Romans had a custom of lighting candles to scare away evil spirits in the winter.

Candlemas was also believed to be a good day for weather forecasting (it falls halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox). People believe that Candlemas Day predicted the weather for the rest of the winter. The weather proverbs express the idea that a fine bright sunny Candlemas day means that there is more winter to come, whereas a cloudy wet stormy Candlemas day means that the worst of winter is over.

Candlemas Day is also known as "Groundhog's Day" in America, the day when, if the groundhog sees his shadow, there'll be 6 more weeks of Winter. All Europeans have a similar belief about how Candlemas weather portends the length of winter. The English have a saying, "If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." The Germans also have a saying :

Ist's zu Lichtmess mild und rein If Candlemas is mild and pure,
wirds ein langer Winter sein. Winter will be long for sure.

In Scotland it is now a Scottish legal "quarter day" when rents and other payments fall due. There is an old traditional poem which said:

"If Candlemas Day be bright and fair
Half the winter is to come and mair (more)
If Candlemas Day be dark and foul
Half the winter was over at Yowl (Christmas)

Will spring arrive soon this year?