Thanksgiving

 

Here is a brief report explaining Thanksgiving day

Each year on the Thursday 4th November, Americans celebrate this day. While today´s Thanksgiving celebrations would likely be unrecognizable compared to the original 1621 harvest meal, it continues to be a day for Americans to come together around the table. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared and autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. It wasn’t until 1863, during the Civil War, that the President at the moment, who was Abraham Lincoln, declared Thanksgiving Day a national day.

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost all its original religious significance; instead, nowadays people concentrate on cooking and sharing a meal with family and friends. The Pilgrims' days of thanksgiving were always spent in church, singing psalms, listening to sermons and praying. Work and playful pastimes done nowadays were forbidden. When God provided good things, the Pilgrims were serious about gratitude.

Turkey is eaten nowadays in Thanksgiving, actually around 280 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving in the United States, moreover, nearly 90% of Americans eat this bird roasted, baked or deep fried on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering in ONG or any other kind of organization is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities and families often offer free food for the less fortunate. Nevertheless, it is believed that at that time, they ate deer ducks, geese, oysters, lobster, eel and fish. They probably also ate pumpkins but they also didn't eat mashed potatoes like people do today.

The football game edition in Thanksgiving Classic games started in 1920 and since then the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have played games on Turkey Day. However, in 2006, a third dame wins added with different teams playing. Moreover, historians believe that no turkey was served or eaten at the first Thanksgiving.

Other countries that celebrate Thanksgiving are: Germany, they celebrate the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival in early October; Korea in late September; Japan they celebrate it on November 23rd ; Liberia on November among many others.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was baptized on the 26^th April 1564 in Stratford. Known throughout the world, his works have been performed in countless countries and occasions. Shakespeare wrote plays that caught a complete variety of emotions and conflicts and perhaps that is why nowadays so many adaptations of his plays are being turned into films like for example the very well-known film Romeo and Juliet. Although William was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress, some records say that William had a non-existent education, as there are no records of it anywhere. Being the son of a public official had free tuition, but as there is uncertainty about his education, the question of the authenticity of his work was raised. However, the great majority of Shakespearean researchers believe that William Shakespeare wrote all his own plays as the lack of evidence about his life didn’t mean his plays weren’t his.  William Shakespeare's early plays were written in a conventional style with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that sometimes didn’t relate well enough with the story's plot.

With the exception of the play “Romeo and Juliet”, William’s first plays were generally histories and comedies although he also wrote romance as the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Nevertheless, although William Shakespeare was a respected man of the dramatic arts who wrote his plays in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, his reputation as a play writer wasn't acknowledge until the 19th century.

 It is said that William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616, however many intellectuals assure that this is a myth as church records show he was buried at Trinity Church on April 25, 1616.

Do you want to know a bit more about Halloween?

Halloween is a feast celebrated on the night of October 31st. It has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). This festival of Samhain was a celebration of the ending of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.

Samhain was a day used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and get ready for winter. They believed that on October 31st , the borderline between the world of the living and the world of the dead would somehow overlap and the dead would come back to life and cause chaos; making people sick or damaging their needed crops. Therefore, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to scare away roaming ghosts.

Over time, Halloween developed into a community-based event which is child-friendly. Activities such as trick-or-treating bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses” and carving jack-o-lanterns take place during that day. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to get guided into the winter season with gatherings, costumes, sweet treats and masks which were worn trying to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.

The name Halloween (originally spelled Hallowe'en) is a contraction of All Hallows Even, meaning the day before All Hallows Day (known nowadays as All Saints Day), a Catholic holiday commemorating Christian saints done since the early Middle Ages on November 1st.

A jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin, associated with the holiday of Halloween. In a jack-o'-lantern, the top is cut off to form a lid and the inside flesh is then taken out; a monstrous or comical face, is carved out of the pumpkin's rind to expose the hollow interior. Then a light source (such as a normal candle or an electric one) is placed in before the lid is put back; creating various colors and flickering effects. It is common to see jack-o'-lanterns on doorsteps and as decorations prior to and during Halloween.

Trick-or-treating means going from house to house searching candy and other goodies. It has been a popular Halloween tradition in the United States and other countries for more than a 100 years. Possible ancestors to the modern-day trick-or-treating have been identified in ancient Celtic festivals, early Roman Catholic holidays and even medieval practices.

There are many things in the media which represents Halloween and one of the is film Trick or treat an 1986 American horror film  done by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. Another one could be the famous 1993 series named Addams family written by Paul Rudnick. They are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abilities. However, Halloween has not just gone into films, it has also arrived to many game applications like Hay Day or Clah of Clans where new updates are made every time the date gets near, they change the music and some of the images that appear. Moreover, when talking about television programs, when the 31st of October arrives, each channel makes a special Halloween TV programming; showing series and films such as The Blair Witch Project, Haunted Houses, Fear the Walking Dead or American Horror Story. On the other hand, on radio programs, songs such as Thriller (Michael Jackson) or, Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield) are heard in order to create a creepy atmosphere.

What should I visit?

Last summer, I went to Scotland on a family trip and I saw many beautiful cities, towns and landscapes, like for example Inverness, Fort William and Fort George among many others. However, there was one specific place which I personally fell in love with and that was Loch Ness. There is a very small town next to it called Fort Augustus which makes a living thanks to the tourists. There was one café in special that I liked, as it had benches which were just in front of Loch Ness, so you could sit there and watch the sun set with a perfect view. Loch Ness is an incredible place as it is full of open spaces which are perfect for going hiking and mountaineering. Everything is very green due to the fact that pretty much all the time it is raining. There are lots of very high trees and often you can see foxes, birds and all kinds of animals running around the edge of the lake.

There was a cruise ship which with a previous reservation took you from the port to the centre of Loch Ness which was amazing to see, as you could clearly see all parts of the lake and how deep and dark coloured the water is which for me was particularly striking. Then we hired a speedboat with a guide and we moved across Loch Ness. The guide explained that whenever scientists and people in general came to see if they found the monster, they were not able to see anything under water because the water had a brownish colour and also the lake was too deep in order to be able to see anything. He explained that actually it was so deep that you could fit three and a half times the population of the world and that the water was so cloudy that if you put your hand only a few centimetres from your face, you would not be able to see it at all.

 We did not organize anything with a travel agent as I personally love organizing trips and I booked all the hotels, the flights and the places we wanted to be in, in advanced and by myself. This way whenever we felt like changing the route, we could do it without hesitation. Most of the time we stayed in Bed and Breakfast as we had heard that the owners were always really nice and I need to say that all the people we meet were very friendly most of the time. It was quite cold during our holidays there so we wore warm clothes all the time, so we had to take pretty large suitcases in order to be able to fit everything inside.

We travelled by public transport all the time, not just because it was cheaper, but because my parents did not want to drive as they are not used to driving on the left. Moreover, when you travel this way, you get to meet many interesting people. Actually I remember a woman I meet who said she had worked for the queen as a cook. At first I did not believe her, but then she took out of her bag a photo of all the service who worked in the palace and the queen by her side. She also showed me a paper in which she had signed the contract to work in the royal palace, and it even had the royal stamp on it. I will never know if that was a true story or not, but one thing I know for sure is that I will never forget her. 

Exercise on Punctuation

·         The men in question: Harold Keene, Jim Peterson and Gerald Greene, deserve awards.

·         Several countries participated in the airlift: Italy, Belgium, France and Luxemburg.

·         Only once course was open to us: “surrender”, said the ex-major, and we did.

·         Judge Carswell, later to be nominated for the Supreme Court, had ruled against civil rights.

·         In last week´s New York, (one of my favorite magazines), I enjoyed reading Leland ´s article “How Not to Go Camping”.

·         “Yes”, Jim said, “I´ll be home by ten”.

·         There was only one thing to do; study till dawn.

·         Montaigne wrote the following: “A wise man never loses anything, if he has himself”.

·         The following are the primary colors: red, blue and yellow.

·         Arriving on the 8:10 plane were Liz Brooks, my old roommate, her husband and Tim, their son.

·         When the teacher commented that her spelling was poor, Lynn replied: “All the members of my family are poor spellers. Why not me?”

·         He used the phrase you know, so often that I finally said: “No, I don’t know”.

·         The automobile dealer handled three makes of cars: Volkswagens, Porches and Mercedes Benz.

·         Though Phil said he would arrive on the 9:19 flight, he came instead on the 10:36 flight.

·         “Whoever thought”, said Helen, “that Jack would be elected class president?”

·         In baseball, a show boat is a man who shows off.

·         The minister quoted Isaiah 5:21 in last Sunday´s sermon.

·         The4re was an interesting article entitled “The New Rage for Folk Singing” in last Sunday´s New York Times newspaper.

·         “Whoever is elected secretary of the club: Ashley, Chandras or Aisha, must be prepared to do a great deal of work”, said Jumita, the previous secretary.

·         Darwin´s “On the Origin of Species” 1859, caused a great controversy when it appeared.

·         We had a great time in France; the kids really enjoyed it.

·         Some people work best in the mornings; others do better in the evenings.

·         What are you doing next weekend?

·         Mother had to go into hospital; she had heart problems.

·         Did you understand why I was upset?

·         It is a fine idea, let us hope that it is going to work.

·         We will be arriving on Monday morning; at least I think so.

·         A textbook can be a wall between teacher and class.

·         The girls gather sat in a corner.

·         In the words of Murphy: “Law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.

Statue of Liberty

Do you want to know more about the Statue of Liberty?

The story of the statue of Liberty and her island has changed over the past years. Lady Liberty´s significance has grown as an inspiration to immigrants who sailed passed on their way to the famous America in search of the American Dream. The Statue was placed upon a granite pedestal inside the star-shaped walls of Fort Wood. A Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Wood and therefore Statue of Liverty a National Monument on October 15, 1924.

The Statue of Liberty was a shared effort between France and the United States during the American Revolution, which intended to honour the friendship between the two nations. The French sculpture Frederic Auguste Bartholdi created the statue out of copper, although the inner part was done by Gustav Eiffel. The statue was then given to the United States and placed on a small island in New York. Today it remains a symbol of freedom, democracy and freedom, which is the American Dream.

The Statue of Liberty looks very small when viewed from Brooklyn Bridge; however, when you look at it closely, it is an impressive figure in the New York Harbour. From the pedestal to the tip the statue is 305 feet tall and there are 154 steps from the pedestal to the head. The Statue has a green colour due to the weather´s effect on cooper. I 1986, the cooper torch was replaced by a torch overlaid with 24 carat golf. The 25 windows in the crown represent gemstones or natural minerals of the Earth. Lady Liberty´s dress represents 4000 square yards of fabric, and her shoe size, according to measurements her shoe size is 879.

Top of base to torch	151'1"	46.05m
Ground to tip of torch	305'1"	92.99m
Heel to top of head	111'1"	33.86m
Length of hand	16'5"	5.00m
Index finger	8'0"	2.44m
Head - Chin to cranium	17'3"	5.26m
Width of head	10'0"	3.05m
Width of eye	2'6"	0.76m
Length of nose	4'6"	1.37m
Length of right arm	42'0"	12.80m
Width of right arm	12'0"	3.66m
Width of waist	35'0"	10.67m
Width of mouth .	3'0"	0.91m
Length of tablet	23'7"	7.19m
Width of tablet	13'7"	4.14m
Thickness of tablet	2'0"	0.61m
Ground to pedestal	154'0"	46.94m

The Purpose of Education

Nowadays, there are many ways of educating as society has evolved in many different branch​es. Each and every single person on the planet has different ways of both teaching and learning. Actually, according to the researcher Chomsky, education has two major styles, “the traditional” and the “indoctrination” styles and he even believes that the internet is not that useful in order to have a good education.

On the one hand, traditional education helps to achieve the highest goals in life, that of independence,​as it permits people to determine how they want to learn. It has a very constructive part, as people learn what they really like and what they are good at. However, on the other hand, the indoctrination philosophy, is a type of education which makes all students follow a strict framework. They only get trained for passing standard tests and therefore they get trapped into a pattern of conformity as they have no urge to find any challenge when it comes to their intellectual life. Actually it is believed that although passing exams can be of some use, as it helps compare​ the knowledge someone have acquired as standard testing ​does​ not let one’s​ mind be​ free​, and without mental challenges​, says Chomsky ​how would scientists find all those advances we desperately need?

Although there are many technological advances, nowadays they are not so dramatic when it comes to the reaction of society as we have become very used to them. Chomsky thinks that technology occupies a very neutral part in education as he believes that internet is only valuable when it comes to looking up something you already understand. As well, he is also aware that we should be very cautious when we have no idea about the issue.​We have to know what information to believe 

​in ​and  which pieces ​we should discard, as we should never forget that anyone can write on the internet and that there is no way of knowing if the person who has written that is more or less qualified.

Furthermore, when we are asked if education is an investment, often we do not know what to say as it is a very problematic issue. Here Chomsky believes that as long​ as we educate  people in the traditional method the whole country will have economic benefits. However, Chomsky adds that if we use​ this traditional​ method we must also promote team work​, and social needs ​not total ​independence or else, we will not have enough advances such as the cure of a disease. Therefore, if things such as curing​ some diseases are not found, they affect the population in two​ ways. The first one is that they will not have the very cure and secondly, they will not be able to sell it for profit in other countries which will make the country lose millions of​ euros.

Overall, although there are various ways of educating, the traditional way will helps ​ in the majority of cases ​, as it permits us to fully develop ourselves and it will also help the rest of the population in many ways in it will therefore be an investment for the country. Moreover, we should always be very careful with the internet when making any kind of project as after all anyone can write on it without any kind of control.