"AULD LANG SYNE" .....THREE, TWO!, ONE...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Auld Lang syne", a Scots poem written byRobert Burns in 1788, is sung to bid farewell to the old year when the clock strikes twelve at midnight. It means long, long ago!....Thee, two, one...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
https://youtu.be/WTCryF1J54Y

🎁Boxing Day

 Boxing Day, December 26th, is a national holiday in the UK and Ireland. It is also the feast day of Saint Stephen, a Saint who was stoned to death for believing in Jesus, the patron Saint of horses, which is why Boxing Day has been associated with horse racing and fox hunting, but the 2004 ban
on fox hunting put an end to all that.
In the Victorian era churches often displayed a box 🎁into which their parishioners put donations, that may be one of the reasons for the name of this celebration. On the other hand, it is known that one day after Christmas Day, servants of the wealthy were given time off to visit their families, and each of them were handed a box 🎁 to take home, containing gifts.
Nowadays, a day of relaxation and family has become a day of consumerism, when shoppers hunt for bargains, and a day for sports. A full programme of football, horse racing or rugby can be watched on TV.

Halloween is coming!

Halloween is coming.....why not sing it along ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vVjVTCVXdE

keep calm and .........

Keep calm and.....".This sentence and its different endings have become fashionable.This catchphrase can be used totally personalised, but ...when did this sentence become popular?
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
 This is the original sentence, which became popular in 1939, when it appeared in a motivational poster produced by the British government when they were preparing the Second World War.It was made to raise the moral of the soldiers, threatened with all the dangers of air attacks, but the poster  was hardly ever displayed. How has it become so well-known, then? Well, a copy of it was rediscovered in 2000 at a second-hand bookshop, Barter Books, located in the market town of Alnwick.
Since then you must have seen it everywhere and in every occasion! So,....
KEEP CALM AND READ MY BLOG !

The Divergent Trilogy

Are you a divergent? Can you think independently? As Tris Prior, every young at 16 must choose a faction to belong to. Are you for "abnegation ", "amity" or "candor"?, or do you prefer"dauntless" or "erudite"? She will have to find out. Meanwhile, as she is leaving childhood behind, she will have to fight against adult authority  and social structure and she will also find love in the character of Four.

Divergent, its sequel Insurgent and Allegiant have succeeded among young adults. No doubt, the dystopian genre is back into the spotlight. Other titles as The Hunger Games by S.Collins, The maze runner by J.Dashner or The fifth wave by R.Yancey are also recommended. However, this is not a new genre, authors have been creating these worlds for years! 1984 by G.Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by R.Bradbury or Brave new world by A. Huxley are a MUST.

Gringo??? Yankee???

Is it a "gringo" the same as a "Yankee"? What do you think?

Well, if you look up the word "gringo" in the dictionary, you will find out that it is a term mainly used in Spanish speaking countries to refer to foreigners who don't speak Spanish or who speak it poorly.In most Latin American countries the word refers especially to someone from the United States, and it is sometimes used derogatorily.

There are different theories that deal with the etymology of this word, but the most widespread are the ones within folk etymology, which say that the term derives from word coincidences; for example during the Mexican-American war some marching songs , sung by US soldiers, became popular in Mexico, as "Green Grow the Lilacs".Native Spanish speakers had difficulties in pronunciation and they said "green-gos".

Another theory said that the US soldiers wore green uniforms and the locals shouted at them "green go", as they wanted them to leave.

The word "Yankee", spelt "yanqui" in Spanish,refers to people from the USA.However, if you use this word within the States, you mean people from the north, especially the ones from New England.

During and after the American Civil war (1861-65) confederates used the term "Yankee " to refer to their northern enemies.

Nowadays major league  baseball 's New York Yankees has contributed to make the term even more popular!

Wicked, the musical

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical based on the 1995 Gregory novel Wicked : The life and times of the wicked witch of the west. The plot tells the story of two friends, Elphaba and Glinda , who live in the land of Oz before Dorothy's arrival. Ephaba is an emeral-green  skinned girl who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the blonde popular girl who becomes the Good  Witch of the South...I can't tell you any more! But when it comes to Spain, you can't miss it!

Until now it has been the 10th longest running show in the West End in London and it has been seen in Broadway since 2003! In Spain ? We will have to wait!

The Union Jack

The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northen Ireland. Its design dates from the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. It consists of the Red Cross of the patron saint of England (Saint George), superimposed on the cross of the patron saint of Ireland (Saint Patrick), which are superimposed on the saltire of the patron saint of Scotland (Saint Andrew).Wales's patron saint, Saint David,is not represented in the Union Jack, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the kingdom of England.

April fools' day

Did you know why the 1st of April is called like this?

The day began, most believe, in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII decreed the adoption of the “Gregorian calendar” — named after himself — which moved New Year’s Day from the end of March to Jan. 1.

The change was published widely,  but those who didn’t get the message               and continued to celebrate on April 1 were ridiculed and called                           April Fools.Nowadays people play April fools jokes that day. Some.             newspapers or magazines report fake stories, which are usually                  explained the next day!

The fairly oddparents-April fools' day

Are you curious?

Curiosity killed the cat....but satisfaction brought it back! Being inquisitive can lead you into dangerous situations even if you are supposed to have nine lives as a cat!!But the proverb originated as "Care killed the cat", as a synonym of "worry", then curiosity can't be fatal. We all know how satisfying it is to find out something you don't know. This is the meaning of this idiom, the name of my blog! You are invited to participate.....be curious!