How to colour an Easter Egg

By Kelly Roper, AIT English Language School

Easter is round the corner and one of our favourite activities is dyeing Easter eggs. Do you want to learn how to do it? Read the following poem by Kelly Roper and find out!

 

First, you take a nice white egg
And put it in a wire holder.
Then dip it in the cup of dye
And soak it until the colour is bolder.

Then lay it on a paper towel
And let it dry awhile.
And then you have an Easter egg
So pretty it will make you smile.

You can also use a crayon
to draw on fancy designs,
Like polka dots and a lot of stripes
Or even zigzag lines.

Then dip the egg into the dye
And let the colour sink in.
It’ll look so neat when you lift it out,
It will surely make you grin.

Painting easter eggs

 

What do you need?

  • Cool hard-boiled white eggs
  • A paper towel or newspaper sheet
  • Deep bowls/cups/glasses
  • A spoon
  • Liquid food colouring
  • White vinegar
  • Water

 

How do you do it?

  1. Cover the table with a sheet of paper towel or newspaper.
  2. Fill a bowl (or a glass or a cup) with enough water to cover the egg. Then add one teaspoon of white vinegar and about 20 drops of food coloring. The more food coloring you add, the darker the color of the egg will be!
  3. Place your egg in a spoon and keep it in the liquid for about 5 minutes. The longer you leave your egg in the dye bath, the brighter the color will be!
  4. Remove the egg and put it on some paper towel to dry. Once the eggs are dry, you can apply stickers, tape or other decorative elements to make them look even more beautiful!

You can watch a video of the process here.

 

Easter eggs painted

Die Adventszeit

„Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt, erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier, dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür.“

Alicia Martínez – German and English Teacher at AIT Language School

Vier Sonntage vor Heiligabend beginnt die lang erwartete Adventszeit. Für viele Menschen ist sie die schönste Zeit des Jahres. Sie lieben das Plätzchenessen, die Weihnachtsmärkte und die festliche Stimmung.

Ein Adventskranz besteht aus Tannengrün und vier Kerzen und besitzt eine runde Form. Die Farbe der Kerzen kann sehr vielfältig sein,

Wann zündet man die erste Kerze an? Am ersten Sonntag nach dem 26. November oder vier Sontage vor Heiligabend.

Also dieses Jahr zünden wir am 2. Dezember die erste Kerze an. Und so weiter bis alle vier Kerzen brennen..

Was bedeutet Advent? Diese Bezeichnung kommt aus dem Lateinischen und bedeutet die Ankuft Jesu Christi.

Obwohl dies ein deutsche Tradition ist, kann man es in jedem Haus als eine neue weihnachtliche Tradition einführen.

*****

Cuatro domingos antes de noche buena empieza la esperada época de adviento. Para muchos es la mejor época del año. Les encanta comer galletas de navidad, ir a mercados de navidad y disfrutar del ambiente navideño.

El “Adventskranz” está hecho de ramas de abeto y lleva cuatro velas. Su forma es redonda. El color de las velas es indiferente.

¿Cuándo se enciende la primera vela? El primer domingo después del 26 de noviembre o 4 domingos antes de noche buena.

Así que este año empezamos el día 2 de diciembre encendiendo la primera vela. Y así sucesivamente hasta tener encendidas las cuatro velas.

¿Qué significa adviento? La palabra viene del latín y significa la llegada de Jesucristo.

Y aunque sea una tradición alemana se puede introducir en cada hogar como algo tradicional navideño. 

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

En el artículo de esta semana os dejamos algunas recetas interesantes típicas de St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is always on 17th March.

St. Patrick was patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with successfully bringing Christianity to Ireland.

March 17th is widely accepted as the date of St. Patrick’s death in A.D.461.

St. Patrick was born in Britain as Maewyn Succat. At age 16, he was kidnapped from his home on the west coast and carried off to Ireland to become a slave who worked as a shepherd. After six years, he escaped; upon returning home, he received his call in a dream to preach the Gospel. When he became a priest, his name was change to Patricius, and eventually, Patrick. He spread Christianity throughout the land.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in America was held in New York city in 1762.

 The Shamrock

We wear a shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day because, legend says, St. Patrick used its three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity.

 There are a few dishes that are traditional on this day.

Here you can find some of them. Enjoy!

St. Patrick’s Day dinner recipes

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds corned beef
  • Cold water
  • 1 spring thyme, several springs parsley bound together
  • 1 onion stuck with 6 cloves
  • Pepper
  • 2 onions
  • 1 whole carrot
  • 1 2 pound cabbage

Instructions:

Tie the beef neatly, put it into a large pot and cover it with cold water. No salt is needed. Add the other ingredients except the cabbage and bring very slowly to a boil with the lid off the pot so that you can see what is happening. Simmer very gently for 3 hours skimming as necessary. Remove the thyme, parsley, and cloved onion. Now add the cabbage which has been cut in 8 pieces and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Remove the meat and cut the string. Place on a hot platter and surroung with the drained cabbage. Dot with butter and sprinkle with finley cut parsley. Serve with horseradish or mustard sauce.

Luck of the Irish Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sifted flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease a 9×9 inch baking dish.

In a double boiler over not-quite-simmering water, melt chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Stir in sugar. add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly. Stir in vanilla, then add flour. Spread in prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes. Cool in the pan.

 

TOPPING

Ingredients: 

  • 1 container (16 ounces) cream cheese frosting
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, or more to taste
  • 3 to 4 drops green food coloring
  • 5 ounces semisweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream or milk

Instructions

Put cream cheese frosting into a bowl and add peppermint extract and food coloring. Spread evenly over cooled brownies.

In a pan over low heat, melt chocolate with heavy cream. Let cool slightly and drizzle or spread evenly over the frosting.

Let chocolate set up, at room temperature, and then cut brownies into squares.

Thanks Giving Day

What is the history of Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Day is a celebration that took place back in the year 1621, was celebrated at the Plymouth Plantation, where the religious refugees from England known popularly as the Pilgrims invited the local Native Americans to a harvest feast after a successful growing season.

In the year 1620 half of the pilgrims had starved to death because the harvest had failed.

Members of the local Wampanoag tribe taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and squash; catch fish, and collect seafood.

There are only two accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving, but turkey was not on the menu in any of them, the three day feast included goose, lobster, cod and deer.

When is Thanksgiving?

This year Thanksgiving falls on November 22nd.

Thanksgiving traditionally kicks off the “holiday season” in the United States. The day was set in stone by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939; Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November.

Clasic Thanksgiving Dishes

Nowadays turkey is a must in this festivity, but ham, goose , duck or turduken ( a spatchcocked combo of this three birds)  is very common to have in any household on this special day.

Stuffing (also known as dressing): A mix of bread cubes, chopped celery, carrots , onions and sage stuffed inside the turkey for roasting. Chestnuts, chopped bacon or sausages and raisings and apples are sometimes add to the stuffing.

Pies: Pumpkin pies are most common but pecan, apple, sweet potato and mince meat pies are also very popular.

Thanksgiving

 The Presidential reprieve

Over 50 million turkeys are served up every year in the US. Eating turkey is actually more associated with Thanksgiving than it is Christmas in the States.

Every year, though, the POTUS “pardons” at least one turkey, sparing them from the oven.

Easter Holidays

by J. O’Fee, teacher at AIT Language School.

Con las vacaciones de Semana Santa a la vista, te explicamos cómo se celebran tradicionalmente estas fiestas en UK.

Everyone looks forward to holidays… Who doesn’t! Holidays are designed for us to enjoy ourselves, to forget about the daily routine, relax and do things we normally don’t have time to do.

How do we celebrate Easter in the UK?

Easter in UK is short (and usually rainy) holiday. We eat chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies.

The normal thing to do is to go to the park with a picnic and “roll your egg”. This consists of rolling a chocolate or hard-boiled egg (previously painted by the owner) down a hill. It represents the  stone in Christ’s tomb being removed before his resurrection.

Would you like to know more about the British Easter and practice your listening skills? Watch this video by English Like A Native!

We wish you all a Happy Easter… Eat lots of chocolate, and enjoy yourselves!

Christmas Markets – Los mejores mercadillos de UK

Aunque la Navidad sea una época para pasarla en casa con la familia, también vale la pena salir a pasear un poco (a pesar del frío). Visitar las ciudades británicas en esta época nos permite conocer los Christmas Markets, los mejores mercadillos de UK, mercados callejeros con motivos navideños.

Hoy hablaremos de algunos de los mejores mercadillos de Navidad en Gran Bretaña… ¡Coge el abrigo que nos vamos de paseo!

Mercadillos navideños en Londres

Noviembre – Enero 

christmas market london

Aquellos que visiten Londres pueden escoger entre varios mercadillos: desde el mercadillo tradicional y de inspiración nórdica de Southbank Centre Winter Market al extravagante y festivo Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, con su noria gigante, pista de patinaje, circo i bar de hielo a lo largo del mercadillo. La ciudad de Winterville se despliega en el barrio de Clapham con un mercado cubierto y atracciones, cómo el área de restauración Street Feast, la Big Wheel, el Crazy Golf y una Roller Disco.


Mercadillos en Edimburgo

19 de noviembre – 7 de enero

christmas market edimburg

 

Edimburgo tiene una gran cantidad de mercados festivos y ferias que tienen lugar en Año Nuevo. Los visitantes pueden escoger entre el mercadillo de Navidad de East Princess Street Gardens (con su noria gigante y sus atracciones como la Star Flyer) y el mercadillo de George Street, con la Gruta de Santa y una nueva Ice Adventure.


Mercadillo navideño de Birmingham

16 de noviembre – 24 de diciembre

christmas market birmingham

El Frankfurt Christmas Market de Birmingham es el mercado alemán más grande que se celebra fuera de Alemania y Austria. Los visitantes pueden empaparse de la atmósfera de pueblo en Victoria Square mientras disfrutan de una variedad de platos alemanes, desde vino caliente y cervezas hasta carnes y pasteles.

La feria de artesanía de Navidad de al lado se extiende hasta Chamberlain Square, con distintos tipos de objetos hechos a mano por artistas locales.


Christmas Markets en Manchester 

10 de noviembre – 21 de diciembre

christmas market manchester

Manchester alberga varios mercados en toda la ciudad, desde un mercado europeo en Albert Square, un mercado de estilo alemán en St Ann’s Square y puestos de temática francesa en King Street. Encontrarás boutiques y excelentes locales de comida en Exchange Square, y artesanías en Brazennose Street con una selección mundial de joyas, artículos de cuero y comidas especiales. Hay atracciones de feria en Cathedral Gardens y más puestos en New Cathedral Street y Market Street.


Mercado de Navidad en Glasgow

9 de noviembre – 22 de diciembre

christmas market glasgow

El Mercado de Navidad de Glasgow se sitúa en St Enoch Square, con una variedad internacional de productos en oferta. Los visitantes pueden degustar cervezas bávaras y vino caliente, asados ​​de cerdo y crepes franceses. En el mercado navideño adicional en George Square (del 25 de noviembre al 29 de diciembre) se pueden encontrar productos artesanales, entretenimiento en vivo y atracciones de feria.


Fuente: Telegraph.co.uk
Traducción e imágenes: AprendeInglesToday Language School

A British Christmas Dinner

¿Cómo imaginas una comida de Navidad en el Reino Unido? ¿Cuáles crees que son las diferencias entre los platos que se comen allí y los que se comen en nuestro país?

El artículo que compartimos hoy (especialmente recomendado para estudiantes avanzados) explica con detalle y fina ironía inglesa los platos tradicionales navideños y las tradiciones que los acompañan.

Pero antes de empezar, ¿por qué no ponernos en situación con un listening? Aquí tienes este vídeo de Anglophenia sobre los platos que se cocinan por Navidad en distintas partes del mundo.

¿Qué parecidos y diferencias ves entre las tradiciones de otros países y las del tuyo?

 

Ahora sí, te dejamos con el artículo de F. McAlpine, Anatomy of a British Christmas Dinner.

Christmas is coming!

En el post de hoy te traemos una canción tradicional inglesa acompañada de algunas actividades para hacer con los niños de la casa. Para que aprovechéis la Navidad para aprender algunos conceptos nuevos en inglés.


¡Ya estamos en diciembre!

La Navidad está a la vuelta de la esquina y pronto empezarán a oírse villancicos por todas partes. Este año ¿por qué no sorprender a tu familia cantando en inglés?


Christmas Is Coming is a nursery rhyme and Christmas song with lyrics as follows:

Christmas Goose / Will Bullas

Christmas is coming,

And the goose is getting fat.

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat!

If you haven’t got a penny,

A farthing will do.

If you haven’t got a farthing

A shilling will do.

If you haven’t got a shilling…

GOD BLESSES YOU!

 

 

 


Now it’s your turn

  • There are different versions of this Christmas carol, so the lyrics may change depending on the version. Can you spot the differences between the written poem and the song these young musicians sing?

  • Do you know what a shilling, a farthing and a penny means? Look on Google (English currency) and you’ll find out!
  • Do you celebrate Christmas the same way as they do in Great Britain?
  • Can you name any differences between your country and Great Britain? And, of course similarities?
  • Do you hang your stocking next to the chimney on Christmas Eve?
  • Do you leave food for Rudolph and a glass of milk for Santa?

Autumn celebrations – Guy Fawkes & Bonfires

¿Quién fue Guy Fawkes? 

Halloween no es la única fiesta que se celebra en otoño. El día 5 de noviembre es el día de Guy Fawkes o Bonfire Night en el Reino Unido, un día muy especial con una noche mágica.

Aunque en nuestro país no se celebre la Bonfire Night, puede ser que ya conozcas a Guy Fawkes. Fíjate en estas imágenes:

Te suena, ¿verdad? Este personaje se popularizó en nuestro país gracias a la película norteamericana «V de Vendetta» (V for Vendetta2005), una adaptación del cómic homónimo de Alan Moore y David Lloyd publicado en los años ochenta. 

Sin embargo, actualmente mucha gente conoce este rostro porque el grupo de activistas y hackers conocido como Anonymous utiliza una máscara de Guy Fawkes para ocultar la identidad de sus miembros. 

¿Pero quién fue realmente este personaje y qué hizo? J. O’fee, profesora en nuestros centros de L’Ametlla del Vallès y La Garriga nos lo cuenta a continuación.

 

«Remember, remember the 5th of November»

By J. O’fee – Teacher at AIT Language School 

Remember, remember the 5th of November”. This is a typical British saying. It’s used when Guy Fawkes comes up every year. This is very popular celebration all over UK. It is to commemorate the death of Guy Fawkes. He tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but failed. His plot was discovered by the king’s men, so he was executed.

Several traditional rhymes have accompanied the Guy Fawkes Night festivities. Here you are one of them:

Remember, remember! The fifth of November,

The Gunpowder treason and plot; I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes it was his intent

To blow the King and Parliament for old England to overthrow.

By God’s providence he was catch, with a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa, boys! Holloa, boys! Make the bells ring!

Holloa, boys! Solemn boys! God save the King!

Hip, hip, hooray!

In the UK we celebrate this night by visiting local parks, burning rag dolls on bonfires and enjoying the beautiful firework display. It’s always very cold, so people wear warm clothes, stay around the bonfire to keep warm, and of course have a nice hot cup of tea!

You can find many videos on YouTube, but we have selected two of them for you. Enjoy yourself!

 

 

Today it’s 16th June! Happy Bloomsday!

Portrait of James Joyce

Hoy es 16 de junio, día en el que se celebra el Bloomsday. ¿No sabes qué es? Lee el siguiente artículo del James Joyce Centre y practica un poco de inglés 😉

WHAT IS BLOOMSDAY?

Bloomsday is a celebration that takes place both in Dublin and around the world. It celebrates Thursday 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.

Celebrations often include dressing up like characters from the book and in clothes that would have been the style of the era. One of the hallmark fancy dress items of Bloomsday is the straw boater hat. Celebrations come in many different forms like readings, performances and visiting the places and establishments that are referenced in the book. The Bloomsday Breakfast is another common celebration, which involves eating the same breakfast as Leopold Bloom consumes on the morning of 16 June. This includes liver and kidneys alongside the typical ingredients of an Irish fried breakfast.

 

HISTORY OF BLOOMSDAY

Joyce started writing Ulysses in March 1914, but put it aside again to finish his play Exiles. On 16 June 1915 he wrote to his brother Stanislaus to say he had finished the first episode of Ulysses. After Ulysses was published in 1922, Joyce’s friends began to mark 16 June as Bloomsday.

In 1924, Joyce was in hospital, his eyes bandaged having had one of many operations on them. Friends sent him a bunch of white and blue flowers (white and blue being the colours of the cover of Ulysses) but Joyce despondently scrawled in his notebook ‘Today 16 June 1924 twenty years after. Will anybody remember this date.’ The first major celebration of Bloomsday came in 1929. Adrienne Monnier, partner of the publisher of Ulysses, Sylvia Beach, published Ulysse, the French translation of Ulysses in February. Then, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first Bloomsday, she organised a Déjeuner Ulysse which was held at the Hotel Leopold near Versailles. Unfortunately, the event took place a little late, on 29 June not 16 June.

The first Bloomsday celebrated in Ireland was in 1954, the fiftieth anniversary of the first Bloomsday, when the writers Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O’Brien visited the Martello Tower at Sandycove, Davy Byrne’s pub, and 7 Eccles Street, reading parts of Ulysses and drinking a great deal as they went! Today, Bloomsday is celebrated by Joyceans across the globe with readings, performances, re-enactments, and a host of other events. In Dublin, enthusiasts dress in Edwardian costume and gather during the day at many of the locations where episodes of Ulysses take place. The James Joyce Centre hosts Bloomsday Breakfasts and other events in the run up to June 16 as well as on the day.

WHY DID JOYCE CHOOSE 1904?

We believe that on that day Joyce went out with Nora Barnacle, his future wife, for the first time. Joyce and Nora met for the first time on Friday 10 June 1904 on Nassau Street, near Finn’s Hotel where Nora worked. They arranged to meet again on Tuesday 14 June, outside Sir William Wilde’s house on Merrion Square. Joyce turned up for the meeting but Nora didn’t. Joyce wrote to her at the hotel on 15 June asking if she would like to make another arrangement.

According to Joyce’s biographer, they went walking together in Ringsend on 16 June and Joyce later told Nora ‘You made me a man.’ The summer of 1904 was very significant for Joyce. Not only did he meet Nora but he started writing the stories for Dubliners and, after spending six days living with Oliver Gogarty at the Martello Tower in Sandycove in September, Joyce made the decision to leave Ireland. (Though Joyce lived at the Tower in September 1904, he was not living there in June. His letter to Nora on 15 June was written from 60 Shelbourne Road where he was renting a room at the time.)

Some incidents in Joyce’s life during the summer of 1904 became material for Ulysses. On 20 June, a drunken Joyce was thrown out of a National Theatre Society rehearsal in a hall on Camden Street: at the end of episode 9 (of Ulysses) this incident is ascribed to Stephen. On 22 June, Joyce was involved in a drunken altercation which left him with a black eye and other injuries. In Ulysses, Stephen becomes involved in a similar altercation with an English soldier at the end of episode 15.

Surce: The James Joyce Centre

 

¿Quieres saber más? Pues aquí tienes otros links: 

Take a journey through Dublin and the events of Bloomsday

James Joyce, Ulises y Bloomsday: lo que NECESITAS saber

Bloomsday en Barcelona (artículo de El Periódico)

Bloomsday a Barcelona (en català)

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