Nelson Mandela day

By Joel Suñé

This year Mandela Day was celebrated for the first time, on July 18th. It is an international day established by the United Nations. Individuals, communities and organizations were asked to devote 67 minutes to doing something for other people. Nelson Mandela served his community for more than 67 years.

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th, 1918. In 1962 he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. He was imprisoned in Robben Island, where he spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison; after that he was moved to Pollsmoor Prison. He was released on February 11th 1990. He was the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the oldest elected President of South Africa (at the age of 75), as well as the first to be elected in a completely democratic election. Before becoming president, Mandela had been an anti-apartheid activist. In July 2001 Mandela was diagnosed with, and treated for, prostate cancer.

Mandela has been married three times. The first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase, the second to Winnie Mdikizela-Mandela, and the third to Graça Machel. He has six children, twenty grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren too.

Nelson Mandela has received over 250 honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Award.

The year of Miguel Hernández

By Xènia Nogué

2010 was the year of Miguel Hernández year as we celebrated the hundredth anniversary of his birth. To mark the occasion, on September 23rd Joan Manel Serrat launched a new CD with 13 songs, all of them based on the poems of Hernández. The CD is called “Hijo de la luz y de la sombra”, after one of his best poems.

Miguel Hernández was a poet born in 1910 in a little village called Orihuela. He studied in a Jesuit school. He published his first book of poetry at the age of 23 and by the time of his death he had written 500 pages of poems. After his death he became more and more famous. When he was young, he admired the Spanish Baroque lyric poet Luis de Góngora. On March 9th 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, he married Josefina Manresa Marhuenda. They met when he was in Orihuela in 1933 and they had two children: Miguel Ramón and Manuel Miguel, although his first son died a year after his birth. Hernández was put in jail many times because he was an anti-fascist. While in prison he wrote a lot of poems, which were kept by the jailers. Before his death he wrote on the wall of the prison sickbay: "Goodbye, brothers, comrades, friends: let me take my leave of the sun and the fields". He died of tuberculosis in 1942.

The poet's works include: Perito en lunas (1934), El rayo que no cesa (1936), Vientos del pueblo me llevan (1937), El hombre acecha (1938-1939), Cancionero y Romancero de Ausencias (incomplete, 1938-1942).

International Day of Peace

By Marson Mesa

Every year The World Peace Day takes place on September 21st. It's dedicated to peace and the absence of war. Many nations, political groups, military groups, and people celebrate it.

The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981 for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace”.

On Tuesday, September 21, 1982, took place the first International Day of Peace.

In September 1998, the General Secretary of the United Nations asked to all the leaders of the nations in war to resist the temptation to conquer and recognize the capacity to govern peacefully.

If we want our future generations keep the fruits of this day, we must act now. We must:

●Promote education for peace, human rights and democracy, tolerance and the international understanding.

●Protect and respect all the human rights and fight all forms of discrimination.

●Promote democratic principles in all the society.

●Live tolerance and solidarity.

●Fight poverty and able to give each person a part of life on keeping with the notion of human dignity.

●Protect and respect our environment.

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day

By Anastasia Macovei, Rosa Lina Aragón

Mother’s day is a festivity which commemorates the mothers. In each country it’s celebrated in different dates. This festivity was created by Julia Ward Howe in 1870, and at first it was the day of the mothers for the peace, and then it became a festivity for every mother in every country, in a lot of countries in the world.

The first celebrations of Mother’s day were in the ancient Rome, in Rea’s honor, the mother of the gods Zeus, Poseidón and Hades.

Mother’s day in Perú

In Perú, this special day is on 2^nd of May, and it is a very special day for all the mothers who live in this country. In this the mothers meet with all the family.

Nowadays In the villages, people contract bands or orchestras to celebrate this day.

Furthermore, students make presents for their mothers in the schools. They devote poems, songs and dances to them. They also prepare a basket with products for their mothers.

Teachers and students decorate the classrooms, and the last they invite their mothers to dance.

Mother’s day in Romania

After the first World War the ONU decided that at 8^th of March will be celebrated the mother’s day.

In this date the boys give a special gift to the girls, they give them a species of flowers that only exist in Romania: ‘’Martisor’’.

In Romania, when we celebrate mother’s day we celebrate also women’s day, mother’s day, girl’s day, this is the reason because the boys give presents to the girls.

All the boys give present to the girls, it doesn’t matter if they are dating or they are only friends, this is a tradition.

Also they can pay homage to his mothers, or prepare the dinner, or go out with all the family. In this day all the family is very united.

The small students do performances, or recitate poems, songs etc.

For all the mothers it’s a very special day, in this day we can show our love, because a mother is a very important person in our lives, she gave us the life that we have and their love for us is enormous!

New Year in Ecuador

New Year in Ecuador

By Genesis Mendoza and Dayana Calderón

New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year. Nowadays, New Year’s celebration is one of the main celebrations in the world.

In New Year's Eve there is a firework display in Ecuador.

In Ecuador the old year is represented by a doll that symbolizes the past year, made from old clothes, cardboard or paper, stuffed with straw or sawdust and often with fireworks. The dolls are made by the family or by the neighbors for parades and local competitions. They usually represent people who belongs to the world of politics, entertainment, sport and celebrities in general. The night of 31 people put their dolls outside their houses and then in the middle of the street they are burnt with gasoline.

The burning of old at midnight on December 31 is a ritual to ward off bad luck or the negative energies of the past year.

After that, people make a big dinner and a party with the family until dawn and they eat the typical meals of the country.

People usually wear yellow as a sign of good luck and all families buy new clothes for their children because they consider this day the most important celebration in the country.

New Year in Spain

New Year in Spain is celebrated with the ringing of the bells at the midnight when the clock strikes 12.

People gather at the restaurants and privates parties, and wait the bell to ring what marks the entry of the New Year. They eat the grapes and cava. Then they go out until sunrise. A lot of people choose to receive the first sun of the year at dawn on the beach eating chocolate with churros.

Those who can't go to the square watch TV, because this event is broadcasted over all the country.

New Year in Spain is one of the best times to explore Spain's nightlife and to visit this country.

People often wear red underwear as a sign of good luck.

New year in London

A lot of people go to Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus, others prefer to go to the Big Ben to begin the New Year. At midnight, people sing an old song called "Auld Lang Syne." This is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 that became a traditional folk song. It is well known in many English-speaking (and other) countries and it is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year.

The next day, a lot of children get up early and sing songs to the neighbors in exchange of coins or candy.

London is one of the best places to be on New Year’s Eve, because its pubs, restaurants, bars and clubs open all the night. Most pubs and clubs offer music and food. Theatres and night clubs often feature special guests to welcome the New Year.

There are also house parties and a lot of people choose to bring in the New Year at home, with family and friends.

In New Year Evening Welsh people give to their friends and family an apple with three twig legs stuck with dried fruit.

This tradition is called Calennig.

Wnen there are few seconds for the New Year people say in Yorkshire:''Black rabbits, Black rabbits, Black rabbits,'' And then they say: ``White rabbits, White rabbits, White rabbits'' as their fist words of the new year because they think they bring good luck to them.

Chinese New year
By Chen Qiang

The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important festival for Chinese people. All people living away from home go back. It originated in the Shang Dynasty from the people’s sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.
When Chinese New Year comes my family is very busy. It’s because it is very special and important. We have to prepare many special things to get ready for this festival.
First, we make a big New Year meal. Then, we make “Good-luck wishes” and finally we sett off firecrackers.
The New Year’s meal is delicious and we think that eating it brings us good luck. A long time ago, Chinese people believed red color could bring us good luck too. We also set off firecrackers to frighten ghosts away. A popular tale explains the story of a monster that at the end of the year came down from the mountains and devoured the farmers, until a boy frightened it with a few explosions of gunpowder and he created the custom of saying goodbye to the year with firecrackers.
On the New Year’s Eve everyone sits around the table and has a big family dinner. There are some vegetables, some fish, some meat, some fruits and some drink like juice, Coke, Pepsi and some rice wine. Overall, this is a good and delicious dinner. After dinner, we always watch New Year’s programmes on TV. We have a wonderful evening on New Year’s Eve.
On the first day of Spring Festival, most of people get up early and say “happy new year” to each other. For breakfast, people often eat dumplings and baozi. After breakfast, people often make many delicious foods and children often play cards, computer games and fireworks. On the second and third day, we visit friends and relatives.
Everyone is busy on Chinese New Year, and everyone is happy too.
Chinese New Year is very popular amongst students, because we can have a long and happy holiday.