Vol:3 December
ITALY
The Neapolitan Nativity Scene
The word’s origin. The word comes from Latin praesepe or praesepium and means “manger”. The nativity scene takes its precise configuration : the figures are made with mannequins in metallic wire covered in tow, the heads and limbs are made of painted wood, which then will be gradually replaced by polychrome terracotta. The tradition extends in the centuries beginning from 1200 with monumental crib made of marble and wood. The structure of classic nativity scene presents the cave in the foreground flanked by shepherds in adoration and angels, the sacred mountain with other pastors accompanied by flocks and flying angels who announce the Good News and in the distance the procession of the Magi. There were two types of pastors, some made of wood and some made of ‘terracotta’ both became smaller with the passing years. The scenes of the
nativity scene are changed in the years and have kept intact the three main .There were figured in every way the three evangelical narrative episodes, “the Birth” in the stable-cave with the Madonna seated on a stone and Saint Giuseppe standing in a stable-cave, subsequently, the scene will becomes a ruin of a pagan temple.
With “the Announcement” they left a few interpretations to architects which in their scenes they has angels in a halo of light carry the News to the shepherds asleep. “The Tavern”, instead, had many variations. This episode you should revere the missed hospitality to the Holy Family. Here you go to support a series of episodes often of folk inspiration: the procession of the Magi, with its horses , camels, elephants, lions in the cage, the dwarfs who bring a leash monkeys and dogs bigger than themselves, the bandwidth of the Eastern with gleaming instruments and imaginative, the Fountain with scenes from everyday life, sellers and suffering humanity.
Often in these episodes was the predominant trend towards the “ fantastic� inspired by the court of the ambassadors of the East who come to pay homage to the King of Naples.
The nativity scene has different meanings, from the fantastic to the traditional one. The most important symbols of the nativity scene are: - The cave, site of the miraculous birth.
- The well that is the connection between surface and groundwater.
- The fountain is linked to the figure of the Virgin Mary that appears have received the Annunciation while drawing water at the source.
- The bridge is the symbol of passage and is connected to the magic.
- The mill represents the death.
- The inn has several meanings, primarily the risk of travelling.
The most important characters of the nativity scene. The Magi are the nobles of the nativity scene and they are represented on three respective horses colored in white, red and black. In the fairytales these colors symbolize the sun: white for the aurora, red for the noon, black for the evening and the night.
The laundress as a witness to the virgin childbirth of Mary.
The gipsy, the prophetic character. The tradition attributed to the Cumaean Sibyl a legend, she had foretold the birth of the Redeemer, with the illusion of being the designated Virgin.
The fisherman and the hunter represent the oldest activities with which the man assured means of subsistence.
Benino the little shepherd pictured asleep on the highest point of the nativity scene.
He symbolizes the path to the cave, the travel of a young boy, by a guide initiatory, by a child.
San Gregorio Armeno
It is difficult to write in words the multitude of colorful shops and stalls that crowd San Gregorio Armeno street.
Here you can find everything for the nativity scene: from the cottages of cork or cardboard in various sizes, to “mechanical� objects such as windmills or waterfalls powered by electricity, from the figurines of shepherds made of terracotta painted by hand to those high 30 cm with fabric clothes made to measure
Next to true works of art, of artisan families that are handed down the craft from generations, you can find objects that denote the imagination and the irony of the Neapolitans: the statue of the politician or VIP of the moment is now become one of the classics on the stalls in San Gregorio Armeno street that capture the attention of young and old.
By Simona Marigliano,Simona Castiglione,Giovanna Amoroso e Linda Cipriano.
POLAND Dear Żaneta Dyląg
Kevin Home Alone?
It was a cold Christmas evening and Macaulay Culkin was driving his CocaCola truck. Listening to the radio on which, as always at this time of year, Christmas songs and carols were being played, he didn't notice he had got lost. Even though it was Christmas Eve—a time which should be spent with the nearest and the dearest Never before had Macaulay felt so lonely and miserable. He had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. It had been so long since he last saw his family. Suddenly, he heard a loud thunderclap, saw a huge lighting on the sky and instantly braked because something fatty and vividly red fell from the sky. As soon as he stopped he realized that it was Santa Claus himself. Macaulay stayed in his truck, totally flabbergasted, not knowing whether it was a dream or reality. Santa looked at him with a joyful smile and muttered something under his breath. Having seen that Santa wanted to tell him something, Culkin decided to step out of his truck. The moment he did it, the freezing air went through his head—he felt sober again. 'I know how lonely you are, my friend.' - he said 'But fear not. I can change this. HOHOHO!' Before Macaulay managed to utter a word, he felt the real magic of Christmas. Within the blink of an eye he found himself in Santa Claus’ sack. A few moments later he was falling from the sky, skydiving towards one of the myriads of chimneys on the Earth. Too surprised to feel dread soon he found himself in front of a fireplace. He looked back on the fire, swept the room with a glance and noticed he's in his own family living room. His family members were smiling at him gently. Culkin smiled back at them as his father gave him a hand to help him stand up. It was one of the happiest moments in his life. The worst Christmas Eve in his life turned into the best one. The whole family were singing carols and watched Home Alone. Macaulay felt like he got back to the place where he belonged. He was home. Written by: Zuzanna Wużyk and Karol Skóra
http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/54853-macaulay-culkinresurfaces-attends-natalie-portmans-wedding/1344201348_macaulayculkin_1.jpg
What is Christmas about?
It was the day before Christmas Eve. In the North Pole, all the elves were snowed under loads of work: some of them were involved in packing presents, others were brushing reindeers or doing technical review of Santa's sleigh. Amidst all that confusion and fuss there was one elf who had absolutely nothing to do. He was sitting under the Christmas tree, separated from others Santa's helpers... no one let him do anything because of his defect. Bobby- that was his name, was an unusually slouchy person, anything he ever tried to do ended up with a disaster. In the afternoon Santa summoned all the elves and other residents of North Pole. It was the most exciting moment, he was about to read out the list of this year’s lucky guys who will hit the road to give out the gifts. Bobby decided to capture the moment in his memory and went closer to Santa's sleigh. He was wondering what would happen if he was on the list and.... he fell asleep.
The moment Bobby woke up, he felt a breath of freezing air, he opened his eyes and saw Santa and a few elves who were screaming something, seemingly preoccupied. All of sudden, Bobby realized where he was. In Santa's sleigh! “Maybe it's my chance to show them I am not as hopeless as they must think of me”- he thought... and started helping with the work. Bobby was then the happiest little creature in the world, his dreams came true and, what is more, he managed not to have broken anything. Unfortunately his happiness didn't last too long... “Where is the pink box!?” someone shouted and at this moment Bobby realized he had just thrown it out. He got into panic, grabbed a piece of pink paper and giftwrap another box in it. No sooner had he thrown the box than he realized that he had swapped the gifts and the children would get wrong things. Bobby didn't think too much and just jumped out of the sleigh straight into the chimney of the house. Walking in the living room he made such a terrible noise... which of course woke up the child. Bobby heard the steps on the stairs, so he hid behind the sofa. It was too late. The child saw his present and Bobby couldn't take it back. When the boy was raising the lid of the box, the elf was dying of fear. He expected to see a strong disappointment on the boy’s face, but instead a beautiful smile crawled upon the boy’s countenance. Bobby was glad to see it even though he did not really understand what had happened.
Bobby was frightened that Santa would soon be informed about his mistake and that he would be punished for it. To his surprise, none of these happened. “But, wasn’t the other child unhappy about the mistaken gift? “—he thought. And then, it dawned on him that it does not really matter what present you get. What is important is that somebody made an effort to endow you with a gift to show you they care. Written by: Zuzanna Czyżewicz and Julia Strumińska
Rudolph the Reindeer It was a frosty winter evening but the heat of the fireplace warmed the small house. On the previous day children with their parents decorated it in beautiful lights and Christmas ornaments. In the living room, the whole family were sitting on the sofa, admiring all the season knickknacks and the colorful Christmas tree. They were waiting for the first star to appear on the black sky in order to sit down at the table for the evening meal, as they always did.
Picture: https://olav.net/node/3490
But there was something unusual on that evening. There were no gifts wrapped beautifully under the tree. Children felt that something must be wrong. What had happened? No holidays looked like this until now. When the time came for dinner the whole family sat down at the table. The dinner took place in a calm and quiet atmosphere. Everybody felt ill at ease. After dinner the children waited for hours thinking the present would appear but nothing happened and, in the end, their parents ordered all the kids to go to beds. They made a promise that for sure until tomorrow morning all gifts would be waiting for them under the Christmas tree. A minute after midnight something came to the children's room. Hurriedly, all the children jumped on their feet and stared at the mysterious stranger. "You shouldn't be afraid. I am Santa's helper, Rudolph. I must apologize to you because you have not found gifts under the tree. It was all my fault. This year Santa Clause gave me more work than usual. I thought that I had enough time to distribute all the presents, unfortunately I didn't. That's why I came to you to tell you what had happened with all your gifts. I have only one request, do not tell anyone about what happened here today. " Children nodded. The reindeer vanished into the air and in his place appeared numerous presents. Written by: Kasia Zacharias and Justyna Zyss
DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS?
Written by Ferdynand Makłowicz and Ola Stawicka
Long long time ago, in a small town on the suburbs lived a little boy called Tommy. What he always dreamt about was to see Santa Claus. He was very upset because he had never got a single present from St. Nick. The first time he heard about Santa was when his older brother told him when he had beheld the bearded man. Since that time on, Tommy had hoped he would have a chance for such an unusual encounter. A few years later Charlie ( Tommy’s elder brother) died. His parents wanted to spare Tommy suffering and they withheld the information about his brother’s demise from him. They invented a story about Charlie having gone on a long journey. Tommy grew up to be a very obstinate and misbehaving 8 year-old. He heard stories from his classmates about Santa Claus not existing, but he never believed them. When Christmas time came, Tommy’s thoughts circled around Santa. He finally made a plan of catching Santa Claus. Perhaps he wanted to show others Santa was real. He made some preparations, found a huge bag and a very strong rope. On Christmas Eve, Tommy was ready. He put some cookies and a glass of milk near the fireplace. Out of a sudden came the evening. Tommy’s hideaway was located near the fireplace. Around midnight came Santa. Tommy took his bag and a rope, jumped on poor Santa and tied him with the rope. Tommy tried to drag St.Nick into the basement. Suddenly, in the furthest corner of the room, Tommy saw a shimmering light. The light was getting bigger and bigger. No sooner had Tommy become overawed than the ghost Tom whispered: "Stop...don't do it. I'm your brother’s ghost...Santa loves you as he does every child in the world. If you capture him, he will not be able to visit anyone anymore. Remember that if you show Santa to anybody he will cease to exist.”—the apparition warned the boy. When the ghost vanished, Tommy let Santa go.
Early in the morning, Tommy’s dad found his boy lying near the Christmas tree, fast asleep. Around him were scattered marvellous presents. Santa had done his duty.
LITHUANIA
Hello, I‘m Karolina from Lithuania. I live in Zemaiciu Naumiestis, I love it because it‘s a quiet and peaceful town with friendly people. I am 15 years old. I really love hang out with my friends, especially on Fridays. I can play the guitar and I love listening to music. My biggest hobby is photography; I like to see objects from different angles. Maybe one day, who knows, I will work as a photographer.
Recipe of cake „Tinginys“ You will need:
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Cookies – 2 packs
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Cocoa – 4 spoons
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Butter – 300 g
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Condensed milk – 1 can
How to cook:
1. Cookies finely crush. 2. Pour cocoa and condensed milk in the melted butter. 3. The mass heat on fire and mix well. 4. The warm mass mix with crushed cookies. 5. Put the mass into the bag and form the desired shape. 6. Then you have to put it in the fridge and keep it overnight.
Week of Tolerance in Zemaiciu Naumiestis Gymnasium The word tolerance describes friendly and polite people who respect others and their opinions, tolerance towards other people, when they are different skin color, religion or belief. Friendliness and tolerance we tried to boost in Zemaiciu Naumiestis gymnasium on November 11 – 15 during the week of toleration. This campaign was organized by gymnasium social pedagogue and student’s council. The week’s symbol was flower. Each day of the week had color code and different activities. On Monday we celebrated Friend’s day and dressed in red. Tuesday reflected green color in outfit and celebrated Laughter day. On each classroom’s door were sealed funny anecdotes. On Wednesday we prinked ourselves with blue clothes and with joy we spent Dance’s day. During the breaks we gathered to dance and had fun when was playing great music at the gymnasium hall. On Thursday we celebrated Hugs day. Before the lessons school students were handing out flyers, which were explaining what tolerance is and its real meaning. On Friday dominated a purple color. With joy we spent a Tolerance week. The end of the week was crowned by the Youth Day event and disco. Written by Laimonas
Hello! My name is Vidmante. I’m fifteen years old girl from Lithuania. I live in small town there is shop, church and primary school. I go to the ninth gymnasium class. My school is lovely and everybody in my school is really friendly and nice. There are twenty-six people in my class. I like playing the guitar, dancing, listening to music or just going with friends outside for a walk. I really enjoy my time with friends I have fun with them.
Hi, my name is Gabrielė. I love to communicate and I'm very friendly. In my free time I listen to music and draw. My favorite lessons are Music and Physical Education. I have one brother. He is a little bit younger than me.
Hi, I’m Laimonas Žvirblis, I’m 15 years old and I study in Zemaiciu Naumiestis gymnasium. This year is lucky for me. I’m a school council’s member, responsible for information, so I’m a journalist in my school. We write reports to our gymnasium website or in Silutes district newspapers. I live in a small village Syliai. There are six members in my family: me, my mom, dad, and three brothers. In total we’re four brothers in the family. Also I have a pet degu, it is very funny. I’m very happy!
GREECE
SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE
As we have Christmas, I’d like to talk about a unique destination for Christmas holidays and also a special village with great history. It’s the best way to discover the magic of Christmas. About a hundred years ago, a passer-by started spreading the word about Ear Mountain and the existence of its inhabitants. Santa wanted to safeguard the tranquillity of his secret hiding place and came up with a superb idea that also allowed him to meet people who love Christmas and his many friends who come to greet him. It was around half a century ago that Santa Claus started to frequently visit the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi. From the turn of the millennium, the Lappish centre for Christmas, the Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle became the most spectacular Santa Claus destination in Scandinavia. The popularity of the destination saw the number of visitors double. The numbers of international visitors in particular increased up to fourfold in a few years to exceed half a million. Visitors who travel to see Santa in Finland can not only enjoy some shopping at the post office, but also at the other shops that are found here. There are also restaurants in the village where you can enjoy a good meal, cabin apartments to sleep and if you want to really buy something spectacular when here, you’ll want to make it a point to pass by the Swarovski shop. Santa Claus has lived in Finnish Lapland longer than even he can remember. His original home is on Korvatunturi Fell, where many of Christmas’ greatest secrets still lie hidden.
Anna Saliverou!
Hi!! I'm Karmelita and I would to tell you about my favorite anime which is One Piece. One Piece is a Japanese manga series written by Eiichiro Oda. There once was a man named Gold Rodger, a pirate, and he was given the glorious title: 'King of the Pirates' for possessing the legendary treasure, One Piece. He had fame, fortune, and power, until one day, he caught and brought to the execution tower to be executed. These were his last words, “My fortune is yours for the taking, but you have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece”. From that day on, pirates from all around the world sailed to the Grand Line in search of One Piece the treasure that would make their dreams of fame and fortune come true. But no one has ever found the location of Gold Roger's treasure, and the Grand Line is too dangerous of a place to overcome as they were just pirates without any special skills. Twenty two years after Gold Rodger’s death, a boy named Monkey D. Luffy wanted to give a shot at finding the legendary treasure as he had the vision of becoming the King of Pirates ever since he was a little boy. The reason I love One Piece is that is that is seems to have everything. No matter who you are, there is at least one thing that appeals to you. The main crew consists of: A man who can stretch and who eats like a freaking hippopotamus ''Luffy'', a green haired swordsman who sleeps a lot and has no sense of direction ''Zoro'', a female thief who loves money so much and she puts her crewmates in danger just to find treasure ''Nami'', a sniper who always tells lies ''Usopp'', a perverted cook who can kick your ass and love ladies ''Sanji'', a reindeer who can change into the freaking Hulk, oh yeah he's a doctor too ''Chopper'', An archaeologist who can spawn parts of her body into anything she can see ''Robin'', A cyborg who can shoot bullets from his wrists ''Franky'' and last but not least a skeleton musician ''Brook''. The Mugiwara crew has been just about everywhere, the sea, tropical islands, deserts, the snow, a city above the water, and they've even explored the sky!!! If you haven't seen or read One Piece yet, I can almost guarantee there is something you will like.
As Xmas coming I wish you all, to fill up your life with love, compassion, peace and happiness... Merry
Christmas!!!!!!!!!
The Best Holiday People have many opinions and reasons about their favorite holidays, but out of all the holidays I would think that Christmas is the best above all. There are many reasons why I like Christmas, but only three matter the most to me. One of the reasons is because people get to exchange gifts with friends and family. The other reason is because of the foods, but the best part of Christmas is spending time with the family.
Exchanging gifts with friends and family is one great part to Christmas because everyone has fun receiving new things. Another reason is because people get to give other people that warm joyful feeling inside. The best part of giving gifts is watching the people open the gifts that have been given to them. This always puts a smile on plenty of people's face.
. The next reason why I like Christmas the most is because of the foods. In all families there are lots of traditional meals on Christmas Eve. The best things I like about the foods are the desserts like cake, brownies, and other types of sweets. Family foods are also another way to have lots of joy on Christmas day. These are the main reasons why I like Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
FLORIDA ILAZAJ .
Christmas From the words Christ + birth
. indicates the annual Christian celebration of the birth of Christ,
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by billions of people around the world.A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night.Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated by an increasing number of nonChristians, and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.
While the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7 and 2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are unknown.His birth is mentioned in two of the four canonical gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25,A date later adopted in the East. The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians believed Jesus
to have been conceived,or with one or more ancient polytheistic festivals that occurred near southern solstice ; a further solar connection has been suggested because of a biblical verse identifying Jesus as the "Sun of righteousness".
and by extension all the feasts of the Nativity to Epiphany ("Festival of Christmas"). Christmas is celebrated on December 25. The period includes the holidays of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, also called twelve
NEKTARIOS DEDEGKIKAS
A1
‘My Christmas’ Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I have always enjoyed Christmas together with my family, relatives and friends. I live in Aegina but we spend the Christmas holidays away from home. On the 21 st of December we travel to Pireaus and from there to the village Agia which is near Larisa. The village is very picturesque and everyone knows each other very well, so the people are warm and friendly. Personally, I have a couple of friends in Agia and when we meet we catch up on out latest news and we have great time together. There are cafes, bars, restaurants where both older and younger people can go and have fun. What I like most in Agia is the fact that I can go for longs walks in nature and enjoy the peace and quiet as well as the birds singing and the fresh air. Being a pet lover, I would like to refer to the numerous dogs which live as stray animals in Agia. I really love them.
Each day in Agia is full of family moments. In the mornings, we have tasty Christmas cookies and milk for breakfast.
They, we watch TV for a while and we prepare the daily meal. We sit together around the table and talk about all the happy things and moments of our lives. Of course, our parents always tease the youngers and this brings more laughter to the table. The nights in Agia are quite too. We usually go out and stay out late enjoying ourselves.
What I love about my Christmas holidays in Agia is the feeling of being loved and giving love and this is what Christmas is all about.
ď Š **Christmas** ď Š
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 2 by millions of people around the world. The Christmas season is celebrated in different ways around the world, varying by country and region. The traditions are different from country to country,
Christmas Symbols : 1)the Christmas tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles. While coming home one dark winter's night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.
2) Christmas Toys: the original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor.
3) Christmas stocking A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that children hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. Tradition says that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece of coal.
Maria Dedegkika ď Š
Hello! My name is Vera Kalantzi and I will inform you about the Christmas holiday in Greece.
However, that custom has changed since then. Nowadays, we all are decorating a tall tree. In addition, important traditions in the Christmas Carols are considered Christmas carols New Year and Epiphany carols chanting usually small children. Also very popular are the Christmas songs (international and national). Main traditions in decorating is the decoration of the Christmas tree , the depiction of the Nativity or Manger of horses , the poinsettia or Star of Bethlehem, Christmas boat ( Greek habit that has to do with the involvement of Greeks with the sea , and ecclesiastical reference - the Church often symbolized by ship ) , the decoration of the Christmas lights and advent calendars . In Greece the first Christmas tree was decorated in the royal palace when he was King Otto .
I am very happy that Christmas is coming and I hope that my family and I will have a great time. Usually those days my entire family gathers at one house and we have dinner together, we danse and sing. For me Christmas is the time of year where I try to relax. However, that doesn’t mean that I stop sailing. My dream is the new year to find me in water (although it seems impossible).
Christmas It is more beautiful celebration because most homes by decorating with nightlights and many delicacies. The children waiting at New Year Santa Claus. Several houses and a boat adorned with nightlights
In Greece we have enough Customs as we Shortbread and Melomakarona and several children waiting for the day that Santa Claus put several such sweet under the tree so that the cherries
Melomakarona
Shortbread
Several houses who are open experimenting and making various mysterious things because of Christmas
TURKEY
MY EXPECTATIONS FROM 2014 I wannt to develop my english I want to a little more peace in my life (but I'm satisfied in spite of everything) at the same time I want more books -I love booksI want to be congratulated and I want to be succesful I want snow all the year and more clouds in the sky finally,I want my parents to increase my allowance What about you? PETEK
I want love, health and happiness from new year. I want to be successful in the lessons. I haven’t got a phone. I want to have a phone. I want peace. I am a bit shy. I want to be talkative. And some money too... :) DUYGU
2014 expectations; More fun, social environment, progress and I want all the people to spend a healthy year, well, is there anything I can do myself instead of waiting for a lot of things in life, but I wish new year pass well fo everybody.. :) AYŞENUR
Hello , I’m Berfin .I want to write about my expectations from 2014 Actually , I want lots of things from 2014. First , of course , I want health. Then , I want to win a lottery ticket, yes it’s impossible but I want it :D I want much money to buy all shoes I want to go to Holland because my cousins are there. I want new dresses and bags I want to be happy , EVERY TIME … BERFİN
Thanks for your contribution… Uğur ÖMÜR ELT Teacher November 2013