BRITISH FESTIVITY : Halloween

 

Special thanks to Diane and Noémie for their oral presentation on Halloween !!

 

 

 

Thanks to Diane and  and Noémie for their great  presentation !!

                                                  HISTORY  
 

Halloween is a special holiday for English and American children. They celebrate it on October 31st. It is on the day before All Saints' Day.

The origins of Halloween are very ancient.

One of the symbols of this festival are large orange pumpkin lanterns called Jack o' Lanterns.         

The lanterns are made from pumpkins carved in the appearance of a scary face.

They have got a candle inside and they are hung on trees or put by windows, so you can see them in the dark.              
Children make the lanterns to frighten witches and ghosts.
In the evening children put on scary costumes and masks and they go out. In the street you can see ghosts, witches, skeletons, pirates, wizards and other different costumes.

They go from house to house, they knock on the door and when people open, children say:

Trick or treat! Smell my feet!       

      Give me something good to eat!

People usually give them money, sweets, candies, apples and nuts. But sometimes children get nothing, so they play a trick!

                                                     TRADITIONS
 

Halloween means "All Hallows Eve", the evening before All Saints. Halloween is a popular event in America , Great Britain and Ireland. Both adults and children alike celebrate All Saints Eve. The children dress up in funny clothes and masks .They go round the houses, ring the door- bells and say: "Trick or treat". People give them some candy, fruit, money, or they play a trick , like writing on windows with soap, ringing door-bell, spray shaving cream on cars, dumping garbage can.

 

People make faces out of large pumpkins and put candles inside: this is called Jack O'Lantern. They cut out ghosts and spectres and even skeletons and put them in their windows. Teenagers in middle school and high school have a Halloween party and dance. The party is in the evening in the school gymnasium. After the school party, everyone helps to clean up.

 

At home and at school children play games such as "dunking for apples", "apples on a string", and others. Typical Halloween food is nuts, popcorn, pumpkin pie, liquorice, sweets and candied apples. The Halloween drink is apple cider.

                                             Vocabulary and games

Revise your vocabulary and play these two games!
http://www.marks-english-school.com/games/halloween.html
  
                                                          QUIZ
 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/halloween-quiz-questions-and-answers.html

 

The BRITISH ISLES

The BRITISH ISLES

THE BRITISH FLAG : the Union Jack

Flag of England, also known as the St George's Cross

Flag of Scotland, also known as the St Andrew's Cross, or the Saltire

 

  Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross represents the Island of Ireland








Flag of Wales, also known as the Red Dragon or Y Ddraig Goch





 

 To revise for your test :

http://michel.barbot.pagesperso-orange.fr/hotpot/geography/uk_brief/test.htm

http://michel.barbot.pagesperso-orange.fr/hotpot/geography/gb_uk/cities.htm

 
Un questionnaire en français pour réviser vos connaissances sur la Grande-Bretagne!

/http://www.100questions.net/

The English speaking world

 How well do you know the English speaking world ?
Click on the following links !  Enjoy!!
 http://michel.barbot.pagesperso-orange.fr/hotpot/geography/gb_uk/match.htm

 
                                                        THE COMMONWEALTH:


The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth , is an intergovernmental organisation of 54 independent member states. Most are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies.
All members except Mozambique and Rwanda were part of the British Empire, out of which the Commonwealth developed.

The Commonwealth of Nations flag

 
 THE QUEEN AND THE COMONWEALTH:

She is the Head of the Commonwealth itself, a voluntary association of 54 independent countries.
The Queen is Head of State of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK. 

                                         THE QUEEN AND THE COMMONWEALTH

The Queen is Sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK. She is also Head of the Commonwealth itself.


Find out more about the Commonwealth. 
Click here :http://www.royal.gov.uk/monarchandcommonwealth/overview.aspx

(6 June 2012) The Queen is attending a lunch to mark Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee given by His Excellency the Rt. Hon. Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, at Marlborough House in London.

  Special thanks to Marie and Agathe for their oral presentation on the Royal Family!!

Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926 in London. Her birthday is officially celebrated in Britain on the 3rd Saturday of June each year.

Queen Elizabeth Il is a 'constitutional monarch'. This means that although she is officially the head of the state, the country is actually run by the government, led by the Prime Minister.

The Queen lives at Buckingham Palace. 

Royal Homes

Among the official royal residences are Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, St. James Palace, Balmoral Castle, Frogmore House, The Palace of Holyroodhouse, Sandringham House and Kensington Palace. 

Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI. Her Coronation, at Westminster Abbey, followed on June 2, 1953.

The queen celebrated her Golden jubilee (50 years since her accession) in 2002, the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. 

What does she do ?

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom's Head of State. She is queen of 15 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and head of the Commonwealth, a multinational body created after the dissolution of the British empire.
 What jobs does the Queen do? 

Head of the Armed Forces

 The Queen is also the Head of the Armed Forces. She is the only person who can declare when the country is at war and when war is over, although she must take advice from her government first.

Head of the Church of England

The Queen is Head of the Church of England - a position that all British monarchs have held since it was founded by Henry VIII in the 1530s.

The Queen appoints archbishops and bishops on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The spiritual leader of the Church of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury
 

Government Duties

Every day 'red boxes' are delivered to the Queen's desk full of documents and reports from the government ministers and Commonwealth officials. They must all be read and, if necessary, signed by the Queen.

Represents the Nation

The Queen represents the nation at times of great celebration or sorrow. One example of this is Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph monument in Whitehall. The Queen lays a wreath there each year to honour the members of the armed forces who have died fighting for their country.

Get ready for your test ! (Thursday 3rd October): 

QUIZ:    1 - How much do you know about the Commonwealth ? 
 http://www.youngcommonwealth.org/game-1/
    
              2- How much do you know about  Queen Elizabeth II?
http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/people/house_of_windsor/elizabeth_ii.html
http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/people/house_of_windsor/elizabeth_ii.html
‎

Why is English important??

Why is English important??

It can save lives!!

 

 Vocabulary help !:
Sink = couler   think =penser 
"Mayday" is a distress call. Equivalent to a morse code S.O.S

Back to school!!

          On facebook you mean! :)))  Have a nice school year 2013 /14 !!           Mrs Morel

WALES

                                                                       WALES

Wales is located on the western shores of Great Britain.

It is bounded on the north by the Irish Sea; on the east by England; on the south by the Bristol Channel; and on the west by the St George’s Channel and Cardigan Bay.

The flag of Wales

This is the flag of St David. It is not the flag of Wales

St. David

1 March - The national day of Wales is St David's Day.

St David is Wales's patron saint.

Who was St David?

St David (Dewi Sant was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales.

The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

-Wales has not been politically independent since 1282, when it was conquered by King Edward I of England.

-Until 1999, Wales was ruled directly from London; that year saw the first elections to the National Assembly of Wales, which has limited domestic powers and cannot make law. 

Wales does not issue its own currency and is not in control of any armed forces. These are the powers of the national government of the UK.

 The leek and the daffodil - both emblems of Wales.
They share the Welsh name Ceninen.

 
 
The leek is known to have been displayed as a Welsh emblem in 1536 and in Henry V, Shakespeare acknowledged this as an ancient custom. One legend tells of a battle between the Welsh and the Saxons fought in a field of leeks. At some time in the past, the leek was an important part of the diet but it is not commonly eaten today. It is delicious when part of the traditional leek and potato soup.  

The daffodil has no such claim to literary and historical distinction. It has become the more favoured emblem of late, however, since some people find that it makes a more attractive buttonhole on St. David's day . Daffodils and new-born lambs herald the summer in Wales.
 

 

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The national game of Wales is Rugby

                                                        Famous people:

Wales is known for its great actors - Richard Burton, and today Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones. 

It is also known for its Celtic traditions and the Red Dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) on its flag.

• Laura Ashley - famous fashion creator.
• David Lloyd George - past British Prime Minister,
• Sir George Everest - famous traveler and explorer, The highest peak in the world is named after him.

Writers and poets

• Roald Dahl (1916–1990), author
• Dick Francis (born 1920), jockey and author
• Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), poet
• Ronald Stuart Thomas (1913–2000), poet
• David Jones (1895–1974), artist and poet

Musicians

• Tom Jones
• Shirley Bassey.

Musical groups:

• Catatonia,
• Super Furry Animals,
• The Stereophonics,
• Manic Street Preachers.

Traditional Welsh Food

• Welsh food is usually made from local ingredients.
• Some traditional dishes include laverbread (made from seaweed), bara brith (fruit cake), cawl cennin (leek stew), Welsh cakes, Welsh Rarebit, and Welsh lamb.
• A type of shellfish, cockles, is often served with breakfast

Laverbread

Welsh cakes

                                                          
                                                                                  QUIZ

1 - http://www.visitwales.co.uk/upload/pdf/quiz.PDF

2 - http://quiztimeuk.blogsome.com/2009/02/28/wales-quiz/