Galician Literature Day

Today, we are celebrating Galician Literature Day. It's a public holiday in Galicia aldo known as the Day of Galician Literature Day or the Day of Galician Letters. It marks the anniversary of the publication of the literary work Cantares Gallegos by Rosalía de Castro on May 17, 1863.

The first Galician Literature Day was held on May 17, 1963. The Royal Galician Academy annually honours a Galician language writer. This year's honoured writer is Xosé Filgueira Valverde.

Now that you've learnt or rememebered something about the bank holiday in Galicia, we'd like to invite you to listen to Alex (2º ESO) reading two poems written by Rosalía de Castro and translated itno English by John howard Reid. the poems are Why do you despise me? and Daydreaming.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MOTHER'S DAY?

While we are celebrating Mother's Day today, people in the UK celebrated it on March 15th and in the USA they will celebrate next Sunday!

Where does this celebration come from?

During the Middle Ages the custom developed of allowing people who had moved away from where they grew up to come back and visit their home churches, and their mothers, on the fourth Sunday of the Christian festival of Lent. This became Mothering Sunday in Britain. As the dates of Lent vary each year, so does the date of Mothering Sunday.

Although it's often called Mother's Day in the UK, it has no connection with the American Mother's Day.

Mother's Day in the US

In the United States, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year.

The idea started in America when a woman called Anna Jarvis held a small memorial service for her own mother on May 12, 1907. Soon most places in America were observing the day and in 1914 the US president made it a national holiday, celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

What's the traditional food on Mother's Day?

The food item traditionally associated with Mothering Sunday is Simnel cake - a type of fruit cake. Although, nowadays it's also associated with Easter.

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Yes, May's just come!

This weekend is a bank holiday weekend in the UK too. May Day celebrations have their origins in the Roman festival of Flora, goddess of fruit and flowers, which marked the beginning of summer. It was held annually from April 28th to May 3rd.

A traditional May day dance is known as Maypole Dancing. On May day, people used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer. People danced around them in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the fine weather that would allow planting to begin.

If you want to learn more about this special celebration, here you a have link to slideshow entitled 10 Fun Facts About May Day.

We hope you like it!

10 FUN FACTS ABOUT MAY DAY

SHAKESPEARE ON OUR IPAD OR IPHONE?

Yes! Although Shakespeare died in 1616, he's into the lastest techonology too.
There were a few apps on his life and works but now a new app has been released to mark William Shakespeare's birthday. It lets users take a virtual reality tour of the Globe theatre he made famous.
It's called Shakespeare's Globe 360 App and it's awesome!

In the video below you can see how it works.

If you want to see how it was released and the opinion of boys and girls about it, click here you watch the video on the BBC Newsround Channel.

WORLD BOOK DAY AND ST. GEORGE'S DAY

Hello everyone,

Today we are celebrating World Book Day and St. George's day too. If you want to find out more about these two celebrations, how about listening to the podcast that Alba and Sabela have recorded?

If you do it, you will find out the importance of the flower below and why the colour red is in the English flag.