Yolanda's blog

The Pilgrims were English Separatists . In the first years of the 17th century, small numbers of English Puritans broke away from the Church of England because they felt that it had not completed the work of the Reformation. They committed themselves to a life based on the Bible. Most of these Separatists were farmers, poorly educated and without social or political standing. One of the Separatist congregations was led by William Brewster and the Rev. Richard Clifton in the village of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire. The Scrooby group emigrated to Amsterdam in 1608 to escape harassment and religious persecution. The next year they moved to Leiden, in Holland where, enjoying full religious freedom, they remained for almost 12 years. In 1617, discouraged by economic difficulties, the pervasive Dutch influence on their children, and their inability to secure civil autonomy, the congregation voted to emigrate to America. Through the Brewster family's friendship with Sir Edwin Sandys, tr...

What is Armistice Day, what time are we silent and why is it for two minutes?  READ MORE...

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. St Patrick's Day is March 17 . How much do you know about this celebration?. Have a look at some of these websites and find out more... http://edition.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/st_patrick/history/index.html http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/saint-patrick.htm http://www.infoplease.com/spot/irishflag1.html http://www.irishabroad.com/stpatrick/life/factfantasy.asp http://www.irishabroad.com/StPatrick/IrishQuiz/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5X5IrA0zEs&feature=related (Danny Boy by The Pogues) COMPLETE THESE STATEMENTS:  1.   St. Patrick’s Day is a ___________________ of spring. 2.   It’s a celebration of the ____________________ patron saint. 3.   In the 5th. century, a boy, Marwin Sagat was ________. 4.   He worked as a ________________ for 6 years. 5.   Years later, he had a visión and became _______________ and adopted the name Patrick. 6.   He con...

Watch the video and explain: 1-What do people do on Pancake Day? 2-What is the origin of this celebration? Learn more about pancake day . CLICK HERE

Watch the video and answer these questions: 1-When did Mardi Gras celebrations start in New Orleans? What's the most popular type of entertainment? 2-What is the origin of the term 'carnival'? Can you explain the origin of the celebration? 3-Why do people in Venice cover their faces with masks? 4-Apart from the European, what other cultures have influenced Carnival in Brazil? 5- What does Mardi Gras mean?

Pamela Gail Johnson discusses Valentine's Day by the numbers on television in Fargo, North Dakota.

A little history lesson Hogmanay is Scottish New Year, a celebration providing a unique combination of both traditional and modern customs. The exact origins of Hogmanay are unknown, but it is thought that it was introduced in the 8 th  or 9 th  century by invading Vikings. The Vikings originated from further north, so it is possible that they paid more attention to celebrating the winter solstice than to Christmas. The shortest day was a good reason for them to have a party. For nearly 400 years, from the 17 th  Century until the 1950’s, Christmas wasn’t celebrated at all in Scotland. Christmas day therefore was just a normal working day and the big celebrations were saved for winter solstice holiday, which became Hogmanay. There is a lot of debate over the origins of the word “Hogmanay”. Some linguists say it comes from the Scandinavian word “Hoggo-nott”, which was the name of the feast before the mid-winter Yule festival. Other people believe it might origin...

From explosives at the dinner table to burning letters to Santa, Siobhan Thompson looks at 10 ways Christmas differs in Britain. (Notably, they don't call them the holidays.) 1.     What do British and American people do with their letters to Father Christmas? 2. Where do British and American people put their stockings? 3. What do they leave for Father Christmas? 4. What’s a Christmas cracker? 5. What does a typical Christmas dinner in the UK include? 6. Typical desserts for Christmas in America and the UK. 7. When is Boxing Day? 8. Nowadays Boxing Day is similar to_____________. 9. What are pantomimes? 10. When is the Christmas tree taken down in the UK? Why?

For three decades, the  Butterball Turkey Talk-Line  has answered the desperate pleas of hundreds of thousands of holiday cooks. As you can imagine, in that time the staff of 50-plus experts has heard some pretty outlandish tales of Turkey Day mishaps and fielded some truly bewildering questions. Following are a few favorite conversations from the Butterball hotline operators. And if you need help this holiday season with your bird, don’t forget to call 1-800-BUTTERBALL. Double duty iStock/Jodi Jacobson A father in charge of thawing the turkey and bathing his toddler twins decided to hit two birds with one stone. “We could hear water splashing in the background, and turns out he has his kids and the turkey in the tub all at the same time,” says Nicole Johnson, Talk-Line co-director. The man was calling to find out if the bath water would be an acceptable method for thawing the turkey. READ MORE...

Everyone knows the story of the first Thanksgiving, when a small group of Massachusetts's settlers celebrated making it through the year by feasting with their Native-American neighbors. But the story of Thanksgiving goes back much further, to ancient harvest festivals, and the holiday has been transformed over time into today's celebration marked by family, food and football. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS is a warm look at this particularly American celebration. Discover how New York was the first state to officially declare a day of Thanksgiving, and how President Lincoln first made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Explore period accounts and art that bring Thanksgiving celebrations through the centuries to life, and find out the origins of traditions like the Macy's parade. And why do we serve turkey on Thanksgiving anyway? It's an intriguing look at the sometimes surprising tales behind one of America's most beloved holidays.

Sky's Mark Stone visits where the first and last British soldiers are buried in the First World War. Both Private John Parr and Private George Ellison's headstones can be seen at the same cemetery in Mons, Belgium. Theresa May will visit the same location to mark the start of a series of high-profile events reflecting the centenary of 1918. A Peace Forum in Paris has been organised by French President Emmanuel Macron and will be attended by world leaders including the US and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Guy Fawkes was born in April 1570 in York. Although his immediate family were all Protestants, in keeping with the accepted religious practice in England at the time, his maternal grandparents were 'recusant' Catholics, who refused to attend Protestant services. When Guy was eight, his father died and his widowed mother married a Catholic, Dionis Baynbrigge. It was these early influences that were to forge Fawkes' convictions as an adult. Fawkes and Spain By the time he was 21 he had sold the estate his father had left him and gone to Europe to fight for Catholic Spain against the Protestant Dutch republic in the Eighty Years War. His military career went well and by 1603 he had been recommended for a captaincy. He had also adopted the Italian variant of his name, becoming known as 'Guido'. In the same year, he travelled to Spain to petition the king, Philip III, for support in fomenting a rebellion in England against the "heretic" James I. Despi...

One of the great media hoaxes of all time was perpetrated on April 1, 1957 by the BBC, which reported on its news program Panorama that Switzerland was experiencing a bumper spaghetti harvest that year thanks to favorable weather and the elimination of the dread "spaghetti weevil." Staged video footage showing happy peasants plucking strands of pasta from tall trees was so convincing that many viewers actually called the network to ask how they  could grow their own. April Fool's Pranks - 10 Best Ever

On November, 30th Scotland celebrates its patron saint. How much do you know about this beautiful country? Try this quiz

Halloween isn't just costumes and candy; it's a cultural holiday rich in tradition. Watch the video and do the activity. To check your answers CLICK HERE Halloween is described as a patchwork holiday stitched together with   ________     ________ and ________ traditions.   It all began with the ________, a people whose culture had spread across Europe more than ________ _______ ________.     The end of the ________ _________ was celebrated in a festival called Samhain On Samhain   the villagers gathered and ________   ________   ________ to drive the dead back and keep them   away   from    the   _______.     All Saints’ Day honours ________ and   the _________ _______. ________ ________ was known as “All Hallows’ Eve”. The holiday came to America with the wave of Irish immigrants during the ________ ________ in the _______. The children _______ _______ so they _______ ________ ______...

It's a time of celebration, but Christmas day with the family can be nerve-wracking and depressing. We offer some tips on how to cope. Visiting the extended family for the holidays? Here’s how to keep your sanity in the face of all  that good cheer. How to avoid family arguments at Christmas. Watch this video: How to behave at the office Christmas party: And finally an article from THE GUARDIAN