Saturday, December 13, 2008

Santa Claus


Santa's 25 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar 2008 Edition from Santa Claus on Vimeo.

Now, the Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
(MUSIC)
Our expression today is Santa Claus. Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever. He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas.
To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of goodwill and selfless giving. Santa Claus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel.
Two of his names -- Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas -- both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago. The Dutch believed Saint Nikolas gave gifts to children. They honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December sixth.
The English-speaking people who lived nearby greatly enjoyed Dutch festivals. And they brought the saint and the custom of giving gifts into their own celebration at Christmas time. The Dutch spoke the name "Saint Nikolaas" very fast. It sounded like "sinterklaas." And so, when the English said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.
West of New York, in Pennsylvania, many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolas. But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur, and "nickel" for Nicholas. And so, to the Germans of Pennsylvania, Saint Nicholas or Pelznickel was a man dressed in fur who came once a year with gifts for good children.
Soon, people began to feel that the love and kindness Pelznickel brought should be part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl, as the Germans called the Christ child. After a time, this became Kris Kringle. Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself.
Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat, jolly old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur.
The picture of Santa Claus as we see him came from Thomas Nast. He was an American painter born in Bavaria. He painted pictures for Christmas poems. Someone asked him to paint a picture of Santa Claus. Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany. Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children. So, when Nast painted the picture, his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood.
And through the years, Nast's painting has remained as the most popular picture of Santa Claus.
Santa can be seen almost everywhere in large American cities during the Christmas season. Some stand on street corners asking for money to buy food and gifts for the needy. Others are found in stores and shopping centers. It is easy to find them by the long lines of children waiting to tell Santa what they want for Chirstmas. If one took a vote among children to learn who their favorite person was, there is no question who would win -- Santa Claus.
(MUSIC)


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Some useful Xmas links

Merry Christmas

Reading, songs & Carols
Christmas in Great Britain
List of Christmas Words
Christmas Project
Song: Jingle Bell Rock
Song: All I want for Christmas is you
Song: Christmas is all around Christmas Songs Lyrics
Christmas Carol Lyrics List (Spanish & English)
Christmas Song Christmas Stories by Type
Quizzes, Word Searchers, Puzzels, Crosswords, Printables, etc.
Online Christmas Questionnaire
Christmas Questionnaire (before X-mas)
Christmas Questionnaire (after X-mas)
Short Christmas Questionnaire
Christmas Story Quiz ChristmasTraditions Quiz
Quia - Quiz - Upgrade of Java Quiz: Advent
Christmas In Denmark (ESL Quiz)
ESL Christmas Crossword
Word Search - Christmas
Christmas Scavenger Hunts
ESL Christmas Dinner Crossword
Printable Christmas Puzzle
Jingle Bells Jingle Bells (English- Spanish)
Letter to Santa quiz
Christmas Time puzzle
Christmas Word Puzzle
Fun Things that you can do for Christmas
Christmas Printable Activities
Christmas activities
Coloring books ~ 12 days of Christmas
Stories & Traditions of Christmas
Religious Celebrations BBC Schools
All about Christmas
How did Christmas start? How does the West celebrate Christmas?
Holiday Stories and Traditions Christmas Around the World
Christmas celebrations around the world Customs and Traditions in England Woodlands Junior School Kent uk
Christmas In UK (By students at Hugo Meynell School)
Christmas Traditions (Reading) (Quiz)
Christmas (Reading & others)
Recipes, Cards, Link Sites and Other Christmas Stuff
e-mail Santa
Christmas Resources for Busy Teachers
CVC Christmas Page - Christmas History - International Christmas- Lots of interesting links
E. L. Easton - English - Christmas Links
ESL Cyberlinks- Christmas Links
Yahoo! Greetings:Holidays:Christmas
Christmas Stickers
BillyBear4Kids.com says Merry Christmas
Welcome to Santa's Workshop!

Chistmas is coming...A questionnaire


Try to answer these questions or tell us something about the way YOU celebrate Christmas ( a very short composition about your feelings about it)

What is the weather like in your native country at Christmas?
Are you a religious person? What religion do you have? Does your religion celebrate Christmas?
Do you celebrate Christmas in your native town? What does your town do for this holiday?
Do you like this celebration?
Is it a family celebration for you?
Do you celebrate Christmas Eve, lunch or dinner?
Do you attend any special religious ceremonies?
Which are the main Christmas dates in your Country?
Do you buy presents at Christmas?
Traditionally, who brings the presents in your country?
What kind of presents do you usually get at Christmas?
Does your town get decorated at Christmas?
Do you usually decorate your home?
Do you put up a Christmas tree or a Nativity?
Do you have any traditional meals for this celebration?
Do you have any special food and cakes?
Do you drink any special drinks at Christmas?
Do you celebrate New Year's Eve?
What do you usually do on New Year's Eve? Do you have any special customs in your country on this day?
Tell us about anything that you think is special or different in you country or region at Christmas time?
What special things are you doing this Christmas?
Make a wish for something you really want this Christmas
Do you think Christmas is still a traditional holiday?
Do you think Christmas has changed a lot since you were a child?
In what sense? Do you miss anything?

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Christmas Around the World: Treasure Hunt

Use the following websites to find out the answers to the questions below:

Websites:

Christmas Worldview:
http://www.christmas.com/worldview

Why Christmas? :
http://www.whychristmas.com/

Holiday Traditions:
http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/Home.htm


Questions:

In India, what type of tree is decorated for Christmas?

Russians celebrate Christmas eating kutya. What is it and what does it symbolize?

Mexicans celebrate Christmas with posadas. What is a posada?

In Rome, Italy, capitone is served on Christmas Eve. What is capitone?

In Venezuela people listen to aguinaldos. What are aguinaldos?

In Provence, France, people put santons in a crèche. What are santons and what is a crèche?

In Japan, people are visited by Hoteiosho. Who is he, and why is he special?

In Greece people have to protect themselves from Killantzaroi. What are Killantzaroi and how can you keep them away?

Germans call Christmas Eve Dickbauch. Why is Christmas Eve called Dickbauch?

In China, a very important person is named Dun Che Lao Ren. Who is it?