St.Andrew's Day

St Andrew is Scotland's patron saint and on November 30 we celebrate St Andrew's Day with the rest of the world.




St Andrew's philosophy was simple: share what you have with those less fortunate and be kind to each other. Each year we celebrate these principles with a host of parties and special events for everyone to enjoy!

Independence

Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful holiday, it’s a feast of Christ’s birth and it’s celebrated on the eve of 7th of January. The Christmas tree was adopted from Western Europe, but today it’s the element of the New Year celebration in Ukraine.The «holy supper» on Christmas Eve is a meal of 12 ritual meatless and milkless dishes. The order of the dishes and dishes themselves aren’t uniform everywhere. In the Hutsul region, for example, the dishes were served in the following order: beans, fish, boiled potato, dumplings, cabbage rolls, kutya, potatoes mashed with garlic, stewed fruit, plums with beans and some other dishes.Christmas is the holiday when all members of the family gather together. This is the holiday of joy. Comparatively with Great Britain and some other countries Ukrainian people don’t exchange presents on this holiday. For many years only religious people observed this holiday, but today it’s an official state holiday. Children like to have fun on this holiday, they go from door to door, sing carols and people give sweets to them. As it was already mentioned, «Kutya» is a traditional Ukrainian Christmas dish. It’s cooked by mothers and godchildren take it to their godparents. Although this holiday appeared long ago but nowadays many people still like to go church and listen to Christmas sermons.

Christmas by Slidely Slideshow

Saint Nicholas' Day

Saint Nicholas' Day, observed on December 6 in Western Christian countries, December 5 in the Netherlands and December 19 in Eastern Christian countries, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas.

 It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to his reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of Mass or worship services. In Europe, especially in "Germany and Poland, boys would dress as bishops begging alms for the poor."

 In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. 

Halloween по-українськи

Сьогодні, 01.11.2016 року в нашій школі відбувся позакласний захід "Halloween по-українськи".

Мета: розширення знань учнів про країну  мова, якої вивчається.

Завдання:

- прищеплювати інтерес до культури, традицій, пам'яток англомовних країн;
- виховувати вміння працювати в колективі.


Захід проводиться у вигляді конкурсів. Діти виконували різноманітні вправи-завдання та відповідали на запитання. Після закінчення свята відбувся конкурс make-up костюмів.

The 1-st of September

Knowledge Day is often simply called 1 of September, is the day when the school year traditionally starts in  many countries.

Happy cake day!!!

 20 July 2011 kicked off the first celebration of the International Cake Day established in the Kingdom of Love. 





This sweet summer holiday is dedicated to friendship and peace between people, countries and nations. 




The motto of the holiday is ... 

The day of family, love and fidelity

Date for the Day of family, love and fidelity  was chosen by chance: for more than 800 years, the believers revere the memory of Peter and Fevronia, the standard Slavic couples. They became the protectors of family well-being, mutual respect and sincere love. 
By the way, the symbol of the holiday the Day of family, love and fidelity became the Daisy, symbolizing the fragility of family happiness, which to keep, one is very careful. Usually on this day held meetings and seminars in which to discuss the most important issues concerning relations between parents and children, duties and rights of family members, family, old age, childhood, the problems of poor families and much more.

Happy mother's day!

 is observed the second Sunday in May. It is a time to honor mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers for their contribution to family and society. Since it is not a federal holiday, businesses may be open or closed as any other Sunday.
Mother's Day is celebrated with gifts, cards, flowers, a special meal out, jewelry, or chocolates and candy. Other special treats might include a spa or beauty treatment. It has become the most commercialized holiday for dining out and jewelry sales.
History.

Mother's Day originated from mainly two women, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis. Julia Ward sponsored Mother's Day each year in Boston around 1870 to promote pacifism and disarmament with women. It lasted about 10 years. Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother's Day in Grafton, West Virginia at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in 1908.

Happy Easter!

Palm Sunday

A Day of soup!

This dish comes to us from ancient times.
 The name itself comes from the word suppa
 (in latin was called the bread, soaked in broth).
Today, exist different types of the soup.
It can be beet, noodle, vegetables and others.

On the 5-th of April  we celebrate  a Day of soup!

DST - Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time – DST Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months, and back again in the fall, in order to make better use of natural daylight.

Clocks Back or Forward?
“Spring forward, fall back” is one of the little sayings to help remember which way to set your watch. You set your clock forward in the spring when DST starts (= lose one hour), and back one hour when DST ends in the fall (= regain one hour).

(ресурс http://www.timeanddate.com/)

        The sculpture "Six Public Clocks" in London.

It is Good Friday today

Saint Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland.
History
The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. Until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. During his captivity he became a Christian and adopted the name Patrick.He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery for a period of twelve years. During his training he got the notion that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity.
He returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact rightfully upset the Celtic Druids, who had their own native religion. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his indoctrination of the Irish country into Christianity.

Happy Valentine's Day

Origin of this holiday

St. Valentine’s Day comes on February 14. It is widely celebrated among people of all ages. Valentine’s Day is a time when people in loveexpress their feelings to those whom they love oradore. Some people give greeting cards, flowers, chocolates, perfumes or jewelry to their admirersor partners while others take their loved ones for a romantic dinner at a restaurant or even propose toget married.

Valentine’s Day cards are the most popular gifts. They can be ready-made or hand-made. Also Valentine’s cards can be pink or red-coloured and some of them can be heart-shaped. Some valentines are very fancy; they are decorated with ribbons, paper lace and images of cupids. A card can be different; it can be sentimental with love poetry, friendly or satirical.

The origins of this day are not clear. Some sources believe that it stems from the story of St Valentine, a Roman priest who was executed on February 14, around 269 C.E. According to one legend, Valentine served as a priest during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he forbade marriage for young men. Valentine disobeyed the order of Emperor Claudius II and secretly married young couples anyway. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, he was sentenced to death. In prison he fell in love with his jailer’s daughter who visited him during his confinement. Just before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From Your Valentine”.

Today, St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of love, young people, happy marriages and the holiday was named after him. St. Valentine’s Day is a good day for parties. The restaurants and clubs are decorated with red and pink paper hearts. Chocolate, candies and cookies are often cut in the shape of hearts.

Happy New Year!

28-th of December

Today is boxing day! Happy boxing day to all! Now a few facts about it.
Англійське словосполучення «Boxing day» зазвичай перекладають на українську мову як «День подарунків», однак буквальне значення — «День коробок». Тут немає великого протиріччя, бо тут маються на увазі саме ті коробки, в які традиційно кладуть подарунки.

Існує кілька версій, з відк походить  назва свята:

Christmas day

It is Christmas today! Christmas is Britain's most popular holiday. Its traditions and early ceremonies were rooted in pagan beliefs and date back hundreds of years. They are still part of contemporary Christmas celebrations.

The Druids, for example, honoured the mistletoe in their religion and sacrificial rites. The red berry of the holly was believed to protect one against witchcraft. Ivy symbolised immortality. The Vikings introduced the Yule log which used to be burnt in honour of God Thor. The English adapted this practice for Christmas and today's (electric) Christmas candle is a holdover from baronial days.

The custom of sending Christmas cards to friends and family originated in Britain, too. In 1843 John Calcott Horsley designed the first one for Sir Henry Cole. Thus began a real spread of sending Christmas cards and this practice soon became an established traditon. Favoured designs were Christmas feasts, church bells, plum and turkey as well as religious themes. Every year more than a billion Christmas cards are now sent in the United Kingdom. Many of them are sold in aid for charities.

Since 1840 the decorated and illuminated Christmas tree has gained popularity in England. Prince Albert brought this rite over from Germany. In 1848 the Illustrated London News published a picture of the Royal Family around one. The English families followed the Royal example and it can truly be called a Victorian innovation. Each year a giant Christmas tree is set up and decorated near the statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square. It commemorates Anglo-Norwegian cooperation during World War II.

Mother's night

Сьогодні святкують ніч матері — це ніч перед днем зимового сонцестояння. Це кінець року. Вся річна робота закінчена, засіки повні. А значить настав час підбити підсумки і віддячити богів і домашніх духів за їх участь у всіх справах протягом усього року. Це час звільнитися від усіх турбот і тривог для зустрічі нового життєвого циклу. Через 12 ночей у свої права вступить новий рік. Господиня робить порядок в домі, прикрашає його і збирає сім'ю у вогнища. Все це час славлять Богинь, а мати відкриває врата Іншого Світу, щоб впустити в наш світ нове життя. Всі роботи повинні бути завершені до вечора цього дня, вінок Йоля повинен бути зроблений, весь будинок повинен бути прикрашений зеленню Йоля (ялиновими гілками). 
По можливості, вся родина повинна сходити в лазню або сауну (принаймні, просто помитися) у другій половині дня, щоб і душі, і тіла очистилися. Вінок з ялинових або соснових гілок з 8 свічками повинен бути виготовлений і встановлений на камінній дошці або в місці, що є «серцем» будинку. Свічки у вінку Йоля повинні горіти всю ніч, а по можливості — до 12-ї ночі.