ALL ABOUT PILGRIMS, TURKEYS AND AMERICANS!

Once upon a time, a great many of the people in England were very unhappy because their king, King James, would not let them pray to God as they liked. So they decided to go away from their country … to Holland, but they were not happy there, so they decided to go to the New World. This new world was called America.
The real story is as follows:
The people who left England and went to Holland were Separatists, because they split away from the Church of England, being this one the reason why they were persecuted by King James I. For 12 years they lived there but life in a foreign country was not without problems. A group of English investors financed their voyage so they formed a company with them in which the merchants agreed to “adventure” their money and the pilgrims to invest their personal labour for a period of seven years. To ensure the colony´s success, the merchants recruited some other emigrants to go to the New World. The colonists from Holland bought a small ship, the Speedwell, for the voyage. They sailed back to England in July 1620, where they met the other colonists and hired a larger boat, the Mayflower, at Southampton. After they sailed, several problems with the Speedwell, forced them to leave it behind at Plymouth but the Mayflower went on alone. They headed for the mouth of the Hudson River, near the northern boundary of the Virginia colony. There were 102 people on the ship.

After a voyage of 66 days and a terrible trip, Mayflower arrived safely off Cape Cod on November 9th 1620 (another date is 19th 1620). Winter was close, so the colonists decided to settle in New England, what it is nowadays called Massachusetts and they started to build their own colony. They explored the area and chose a site which the explorer Captain John Smith had named “Plimouth Rock” some years before. Half the colonist and crew died of sickness due to malnutrition and exposure during the harsh winter season in the area. This area had been abandoned by the Patuxet Indians, ..who had nearly all died several years earlier of European diseases. Only 56 pilgrims lived. Spring came and the snow melted. They began construction of their homes and storehouses and during their work, they were surprised to be greeted in English by Samoset, a Native American from Maine. He introduced the colonists to a survivor of the Patuxet named Squanto, who became their guide and taught them how to fish, hunt and use animal skins. Seeds were planted and they made a treaty of friendship with the leaders of the Wampanoag Indian tribes. When Mayflower went back to England on April 5, 1621, none of the colonists were back. More Pilgrims came from England and more Indians came to help work.
The summer was over. Warm cabins had been built and the plants were full of food. The governor of the settlement, Governor Bradford, said “The Lord has been good to us. We will have a day of THANKSGIVING”. They invited the Indians to a feast. Pilgrims and Indians ate and ate and ate for three days. They gave thanks for good food. That was the first Thanksgiving in the New World. It was celebrated in October 1621, and it lasted three days. In 1863 President Lincoln made it a national holiday.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is the time of pumpkins, candies, ghosts, witches and much more. No one knows exactly when it was first celebrated, but it is believed that it was the Celtic people the first to celebrate this special day as the end of summer, but also the season of darkness as well as the beginning of the New Year on 1st November. Today, HALLOWEEN is celebrated in the United States more than in Europe, but long before American children started trick-or-treating, people in Scotland, England, and France looked upon October 31 as a day of ghosts and goblins.

That's the night before All Saints Day.

IN SCOTLAND, farmers paraded through fields and villages with burning torches because they thought the fire would protect them from witches and ghosts and they also carried them in hopes of a good crop for the next year.

THE ENGLISH marched through streets carrying lighted candles to drive away witches. They thought that if the candles burned until midnight, people felt they were safe.

THE IRISH hollowed out and carved turnips and potatoes which were lit from inside by candles to scare away spirits and a stingy man named Jack who was ordered to wander the earth after he died. With a lantern in his hand he began to search for a resting place on the Earth. This is the beginning of JACK-O-LANTERN.

When the Irish people came to settle the New World (America), they brought their Halloween beliefs with them. Children started playing pranks on October 31, blaming the pranks on evil goblins. Ever since, Halloween in the United States has been a night filled with creepy sounds and spooky creatures.

Throughout the centuries the cultures have added their own elements to the way Halloween is celebrated. Children love the custom of dressing-up in fancy costumes and going from door-to-door yelling "Trick-or-Treat".

HALLOWEEN VOCABULARY
BAT, VAMPIRE, GOBLINS, GHOST, CANDY, WITCH, SPIDER, PUMPKIN, SKELETON, COSTUME, BLACK CAT, CANDLE, JACK-O-LANTERN, MASK, OCTOBER, CARVE

HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN, the time of pumkins, candies, ghosts, witches and much more, ia usually celebrated on 31st October.

ACTIVITY: TREASURE HUNT

THANKSGIVING

1. Watch, at home, the following video about thanksgiving.
2.  Then ... try to answer the BIG QUESTION

              Why is THANKSGIVING the most important holiday for the Americans?

 (Watch the video as many times you think you need to anwer the question. If you can't answer it ... use choose a video from youtube and watch it. Cpy the URL and include it in your drive portfolio: THANKSGIVING)

Introduction
Do you know why we celebrate “El día de la Constitución” and why it is important?
All societies have different celebrations and ... so the Americans! They celebrate their most important festivity of the year the last Thursday of November. It’s even more important than Christmas or the summer holidays.
Many of the tales or legends begin with “Once upon a time …”. In our story, we start by saying: “Once upon a time, a great many of the people in England were very unhappy because their king would not let them pray to God as they liked. So they decided to go away from their country …”

This is just the beginning. What comes next? Who were they? What´s the Mayflower? Does Pocahontas have anything to do with this story? Lots of questions could be asked, so we are going to get to know a little bit more about the most important holiday in the United States.

Questions to be solved1. Who were the pilgrims and where did they come from?
2. When did they arrive at Plymouth? Where is it?
3. What problem did they have when they arrived there?
4. How did they solve it?
5. Who helped them to solve it and how?

Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets or money. It is celebrated in countries such as United States, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Irish, Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century. Most other Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American culture in the late 20th century. It has mostly being introduce in these countries at schools where English is taught as a second language.

The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows Day". In Ireland, the name was All Hallows Eve and this name is still used by some older people. Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve.. In Mexico November 1st and 2nd are celebrated as the Day of the Dead.
Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit.

What this blog is about

I have created this blog because I love ENGLISH and I like sharing information about news and events happenning in the English speaking countries. I would like to start by posting some information about some of the most famous holidays.

Your participation is welcome!