PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN SINGAPORE

As we’ve seen before in a previous entry, Singapore is home to a great multiculturalism. This has led to the recognition of several official festivities, 11, to be more specific. It happened in 1968, when Singapore’s Employment Act was signed. Each year, the Ministry of Manpower declares a schedule that contains all the days on which public holidays fall, by consulting different religious and community leaders. Let’s have a look at a list of some of those holidays:

• Chinese New Year: Also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, it is the most important event in the Chinese calendar. The date varies, since it follows the Chinese lunisolar calendar, but usually, it falls somewhere between 21 January and 20 February. It is a very special day to be celebrated with the family and to attract good luck, usually by wearing something red.

• Vesak day: It is a buddhist celebration that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and nirvana of Siddharta Gautama Shakyamuni Buddha. It also follows the Chinese lunisolar calendar, so the day of celebration varies. It is a very spiritual celebration. Some customs include praying, making offerings of candles and flowers, releasing captive animals…

• Hari Raya Puasa: It marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal. It is a festivity that symbolizes renewal and purification of oneself. It is celebrated by making special prayers, putting on new traditional clothes, visiting relatives and friends and eating traditional food.

• Hari Raya Aidil Adha: Celebrated on the 10th day of the last month of the Islamic calendar, it commemorates the sacrifice of Ishmael by Abraham. It is a major Muslim festival around the world. People use to wear new traditional clothes and exchange gifts.

• Deepavali: A Hindu holiday celebrated on the 15th day of Kartika in the Hindu calendar that marks the triumph of good (light) over evil (dark). A symbolic act is lighting an oil lamp, and exchanging gifts.

• National Day: The most important celebration. As its name indicates, it commemorates the independence of Singapore in 1965. It is celebrated on 9 August and the whole country becomes of a particular joy and shade of red and white.

Other festivities which are also very common in the western world include Good Friday, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Labour Day. Finally, but not less important, the days of general or presidential elections (Polling Day) are also considered a holiday.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Singapore
• http://www.yoursingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/chinese-new-year.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
• http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/vesak-day-5-things-you-should-know-about-this-buddhist-celebration
• http://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/singapore/hari-raya-puasa.php
• http://www.yoursingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/hari-raya-aidilfitri.html
• http://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/singapore/hari-raya-haji.php
• http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/singapore/diwali
• http://www.yoursingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/deepavali.html
• http://www.yoursingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/national-day.html

UGANDA WILDLIFE AND CULTURAL SAFARIS

The Republic of Uganda is a country situated in East Africa and it is the second most populous landlocked country in the continent. Uganda is divided in 4 kingdoms, and the country takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which occupies a large portion of the South territory, which includes the country’s capital (Kampala). The official languages are Swahili and English, although many other unofficial languages are spoken across the whole country. Due to its cultural and natural richness, Uganda is one of the most visited countries in Africa, and tourists can find a great variety of alternatives for their trips.

 Let's start by talking about the wildlife safaris. These type of safaris give you the great opportunity of observing animals such as rhinos, elephants, big primates, etc. in their natural habitats. All these animals used to be of great interest for the hunters some time ago,  but fortunately, nowadays they are protected. In Uganda, you can find more than 10 National parks and reserves that can be visited during all the year. The largest and one of the most visited is Murchison Falls Park, one of Uganda's ancient conservation areas. It also comprises the Bugungu and Karuma Falls Wildlife Reserves, where the river Nile and some of it's cascades are situated. The flora and the fauna of this zone are incredibly rich. If you're more of a water person, you may go on tour on Lake Victoria (Africa's largest lake), on Lake Bunyonyi (Africa's second deepest Lake) or even on the Nile! 

 As for the cultural safaris, here we may find many alternatives too. You may visit the urban part of Uganda by going on a tour through the city of Kampala, which has many tourist attractions, such as buildings, monuments... But Uganda's cultural richness goes beyond that. As I've said before, Uganda is divided in 4 kingdoms. Each kingdom is home for many tribes who live in harmony. A great way of approaching their culture is by visiting spiritual sites, such as Kabaka's lake, or some royal tombs. Another way of approaching the culture is by music and dance, which have been crucial in every tribe's lifestyle. Their gastronomy is very rich as well and the diverse climate of the country offers great conditions to fruits and vegetables. Finally, their arts and crafts reflect their culture to perfection, with paintings and handmade utensils, music instruments and so on.

Sources:

• http://www.aboutuganda.com/uganda/arts_and_culture/culture
• http://www.travelhemispheres.com/cultural-safaris.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda
• http://www.aboutuganda.com/travel
• http://www.wildwhispersafrica.com/uganda/uganda-safari-wildlife-the-big-5-plus-two/
• www.murchisonfallsnationalpark.com

IRISH MYTHOLOGY

During its long history, Ireland has been filled with myths and folklore due to the fact that many ancient societies have lived in this country. Though the pre-Christian mythology didn't survive in its entirety, much of it was preserved in medieval Irish literature. We can distinguish 4 periods in Irish mythology: the Mythological Cycle, the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle and the Historical Cycle. However, there are also mythological texts and folk tales that don't belong to any of these periods.

A CONVERSATION ABOUT ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

PRACTICE EXERCISES

file:///C:/Users/Nora/Desktop/jquiz.htm

JAMAICAN EMANCIPATION AND INDEPENDENCE DAY

 The island country of Jamaica is situated in the Caribbean Sea, constituting the fifth largest island country from its zone. It is the third country in America with most Anglophone population, right after the United States and Canada.  We can find a large number of different nationalities and mixed-race citizens living in Jamaica, although most of them have African roots. This country's history has provided a very rich culture and tradition. At first, it was occupied by the Taíno indigenous people, up to 1494 when Christopher Columbus claimed the territory for Spain. It continued being under Spanish rule up to 1655, when the English took the control of the island, and it stayed under their domain until 1962, when their independence was finally declared. The two festivities we are going to talk about are a great proof for its cultural richness.

 First, we have the Emancipation Day. This holiday is hold each year on August 1^st since 1893 when it was officially introduced as a public holiday. It celebrates the abolition of 

EXERCISE WITH JCLOZE

Can you complete the blanks withouth reading our blog entries again?

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

Nigeria:
Nigeria is the most crowded country of as well as one of the most crowded of the world. More than 500 languages are in Nigeria because of those sorts of people who belong to tribes. There are four regional languages recognized as official: Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Fula. How do they with each other? This is why is the official language.

Nigerian have a society full of sexism. is considered superior to to the point that a man can a woman providing the injury isn't permanent. Men are farmers and they also go to the to sell their products. Women, on the other hand, should work and provide money to their , although they cannot have a well-paid or work in a job considered “superior”.


Ireland:
Every year on the of March, St. Patrick’s Day is in many parts of the but, especially, by communities. This is a cultural and religious that honors the death date of St. Patrick, the saint of Ireland.

This celebration usually consists of people wearing a piece of clothing, dancing, parades and typical food and dyed in green. Many restaurants offer Irish food and drinks to this date. Some of them are: Irish bread, Beef and Guinness pie, Irish coffee, Irish potato , Irish stew and corned beef and cabbage.


South Africa:
The Republic of South Africa is a country situated in the very of the African continent. It is formed by a multi-ethnic with plenty of , religions and a great variety of , among which 11 are official (with English ranked as the most used, especially in public commercial life).

One of the important South African figures, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 1918 in Mvezo. Member of a royal , but only he received formal education. He attended Fort Hare University, the only university in South Africa at the time, but he was expelled after a due to his political activism. In 1952, he started the first black legal firm with his Oliver Tambo. On August 5th in 1962, he was , becoming the most famous political prisoner. He got out of prison in 1990, became president of South Africa in 1994 and started creating the non-racial he'd always dreamed of.


Canada:
Canada is a very , diverse and country. By "multicultural" we mean that there is an celebration of different racial, religious and backgrounds. This is possible thanks to the importance of in Canada.

One of the most multicultural cities of (and probably of the world) is , capital of Ontario. It has a population of more than 2 people and it is ranked as the safest large metropolitan area in America. Over 140 languages and dialects are in this city and over 30% of its speak at home a language other than the official languages. The top 5 in 2006 were: , Italian, Punjabi, Filipino and Portuguese.

BIODIVERSITY OF NEW ZEALAND

The term biodiversity (contraction of "biological diversity") refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. The biodiversity of New Zealand is one of the most unique in the world because of the isolation from other continental landmasses, since this nation is a large island. Pre-human fauna included dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles such as mosasaurs, elasmosaurs and plesiosaurs. Ancient fauna is not as well known, but it is certain that at least one species of terrestrial mammal existed in the island around 19 million years ago. New Zealand has a Biodiversity Action Plan to protect threatened flora and fauna.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CARNIVAL

The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is celebrated every year on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island country bordering the Caribbean. It is famous for its parade full of music and extravagance and the use of colourful costumes. 

This carnival is the most important event for people living in these two islands and it is said that when they are not celebrating it, they are either preparing for it or remembering previous years' carnival. 

AMAZING PLACES IN BARBADOS

Barbados is a sovereign country in Lesser Antilles, in America, located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It was a British colony from 1627 until it gained its independence from Britain in 1966, and many relics from those times remain there. Although it seems a small island it has, however, a lot of amazing and historic places to visit.

Andromeda Botanic Gardens

   The Andromeda Botanic Garden is located in the parish of St. Joseph with a spectacular view to the Atlantic Ocean. This botanic garden with over 600 species of plants, where most of them are tropical, was once a private garden of Iris Bannochie (a Barbadian horticulturalist) in 1954.

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL OF ENGLAND

Notting Hill Carnival is celebrated in the west zone of London, England since 1964. It born because of the Notting Hill race riots during 1958. Several incidents against the Jamaican and Indian population of the place occurred in that year. Between 20 August and 5 September every night there was any quarrel. Until this 5, in which the police arrest over 100 people (between them there were also black people). Despite the fact that during all this time there were no deaths, a carnival was created keeping in mind that this sort of incident won’t occur again. At least it did not occur in Notting Hill any more.

The carnival is celebrated the last weekend of August. It begins the Saturday with a competition between bands of percussion, the Sunday it is made a competition of costumes and the children’s carnival and finally, the Monday there is a great parade of floats. The party is divided into six categories: masks and customs, Steelband, Calypso and Soca (I'll talk about them later), Static Sound Systems and Samba. All of them performed by the best artist of each discipline.

During all the weekend, streets are full of the Calypso (which is a politic and social critic and satire with music) and Soca (which is combination between Soul and Calypso) rhythms of the Caribbean. Besides all of these colorful events, there is a great sample of the gastronomy of places as Trinidad (an old colony of Great Britain in which this carnival was typical for mocking the customs of the Europeans). Some of them as jerk chicken, rice and peas and rum punch are the most known and delicious meal served.

After the official last day, people make parties around the city. If you go to visit it, probably you would have to pay for a ticket to enter. But it is a good form to continue the party.

2013 Carnival

Sources:

mardelossargazos.wordpress.com

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notting_Hill_Carnival
http://feedingkelly.com/index.php/2015/09/04/nottinghillcarnival/
http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/food.asp

INDEPENDENCE DAY OF THE UNITED STATES

Today I’m going to talk about the Independence Day of the United States. The fourth of July is known worldwide because it is one of the most important celebrations in America. It was a very important day since it was the day that the Declaration of Independence, which separated the thirteen colonies from Britain, was adopted in 1776. Celebrating this day does not come after the death of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams who also died on July, 4th (1826). These events made the date even more important and it became a celebration.

Fireworks, concerts, picnics, barbecues and carnival followed by political speeches and ceremonies are made in this day full of red, blue and white magic. Here I leave you an excerpt from Kennedy’s speech in 1962:

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/RrjaDhW5B0OYm2zaJbyPgg.aspx

Families expend their day outdoors making picnics and barbecues as I have already said. In the morning there are made parades. According to the official page of the parades (I’ll leave the link below): it “consists of invited bands, fife and drum corps, floats, military and specialty units, giant balloons, equestrian, drill teams, VIP's, national dignitaries, and celebrity participants.”

In Washington, for example, there are traditional parades of marching bands and floats.

After the parade, visitors have the option to call on the museums located along the National Mall which are free and many of them have prepared a special program for the Independence Day.

Polo Grounds, Green Port

But without a doubt the most magical moment is the fireworks time. It occurs normally in the evening and in places such as parks. The fireworks are accompanied by songs whose lyrics usually talks about the War of 1812.

NYC (2014)

Sources:

https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/fourth-of-july/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/RrjaDhW5B0OYm2zaJbyPgg.aspx

http://www.july4thparade.com/