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Happy Halloween!

Halloween was originally called Samhain and marked the end of the harvest season for Celtic farmers.
Watch video:
Haunted History of Halloween — History.com Video

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A traditional song: Five Little Pumpkins

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Friends: Halloween moments

Burns Night

Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in the village of Alloway, two miles south of Ayr. His parents, Willian Burnes[s] and Agnes Broun, were tenant farmers but they ensured their son received a relatively good education and he began to read avidly. The works of Alexander Pope, Henry Mackenzie and Laurence Sterne fired Burns's poetic impulse and relationships with the opposite sex provided his inspiration. Handsome Nell, for Nellie Kilpatrick, was his first song.

Hard physical labour on the family farm took its toll on the young Burns, who increasingly turned his attentions towards the passions of poetry, nature, drink and women which would characterise the rest of his life. He fathered twins with eventual wife Jean Armour, but a rift in their relationship nearly led to Burns emigrating to the West Indies with lover Mary Campbell (his Highland Mary). Mary's sudden death and the sensational success of his first published collection of verse kept him in Scotland. At just 27, Burns had already become famous across the country with poems such as To a Louse, To a Mouse and The Cotter's Saturday Night.

Burns Night

The Burns Supper is an institution of Scottish life: a night to celebrate the life and works of the national Bard on 25 January. Suppers can range from an informal gathering of friends to a huge, formal dinner full of pomp and circumstance. This running order covers all the key elements you need to plan and structure a Burns Supper that suits your intentions.

Piping in the guests

A big-time Burns Night calls for a piper to welcome guests. If you don't want all that baggage, some traditional music will do nicely. For more formal events, the audience should stand to welcome arriving guests: the piper plays until the high table is ready to be seated, at which point a round of applause is due. At a more egalitarian gathering - with no high table - the chair can simply bang on the table to draw attention to the start of the evening's proceedings.

Source & more info

ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN

Many of the ancient peoples of Europe marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter by celebrating a holiday in late autumn. The most important of these holidays to influence later Halloween customs was Samhain, a holiday observed by the ancient Celts. Among the Celts, Samhain marked the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It was one of four Celtic holidays linked to important transitions in the annual cycle of seasons.

Samhain began at sundown on October 31 and extended into the following day. According to the Celtic pagan religion, known as Druidism, the spirits of those who had died in the preceding year roamed the earth on Samhain evening. The Celts sought to ward off these spirits with offerings of food and drink. The Celts also built bonfires at sacred hilltop sites and performed rituals, often involving human and animal sacrifices, to honor Druid deities.

By the end of the 1st century AD, the Roman Empire had conquered most of the Celtic lands. In the process of incorporating the Celts into their empire, the Romans adapted and absorbed some Celtic traditions as part of their own pagan and Catholic religious observances. In Britain, Romans blended local Samhain customs with their own pagan harvest festival honoring Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. Some scholars have suggested that the game of bobbing for apples derives from this Roman association of the holiday with fruit.

Pure Celtic influences lingered longer on the western fringes of Europe, especially in areas that were never brought firmly under Roman control, such as Ireland, Scotland, and the Bretagne region of northwestern France. In these areas, Samhain was abandoned only when the local people converted to Christianity during the early Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic Church often incorporated modified versions of older religious traditions in order to win converts. For example, Pope Gregory IV sought to replace Samhain with All Saints' Day in 835. All Souls' Day, closer in spirit to Samhain and modern Halloween, was first instituted at a French monastery in 998 and quickly spread throughout Europe. Folk observances linked to these Christian holidays, including Halloween, thus preserved many of the ancient Celtic customs associated with Samhain.

Halloween traditions thought to be incompatible with Christianity often became linked with Christian folk beliefs about evil spirits. Although such superstitions varied a great deal from place to place, many of the supernatural beings now associated with Halloween became fixed in the popular imagination during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In British folklore, small magical beings known as fairies became associated with Halloween mischief. The jack-o'-lantern, originally carved from a large turnip rather than a pumpkin, originated in medieval Scotland. Various methods of predicting the future, especially concerning matters of romance and marriage, were also prominent features of Halloween throughout the British Isles.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Europe was seized by a hysterical fear of witches, leading to the persecution of thousands of innocent women. Witches were thought to ride flying brooms and to assume the form of black cats. These images of witches soon joined other European superstitions as symbols of Halloween.

1st July: Canada Day

To be Canadian, by Leah Kimura

When I travel or have visitors stay with me in Vancouver, they always ask me about Canada. Physically, Canada is easy to describe. Canada is the second largest country in the world but our population is just over 32 million- similar to the population of California or Mexico City. Canada boasts beautiful mountains, dry deserts, rugged taiga, lush temperate rainforests, gorgeous lakes and endless grasslands. We also have the longest coastline in the world at 202,000 kilometres.

Politically, the country is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories. The most populated province is Ontario followed by Quebec. Canada follows a parliamentary system adopted from England. We have a Prime Minister not a President. We are part of the British Commonwealth like Australia and India etc.

Culturally, Canada is difficult to describe because it is a mosaic of cultures. Typically, people see Canada as French and English. French and English are our two official languages but if you visit Canada you will experience many other cultures. In our last census, Canadians represented more than 200 ethnic backgrounds and more than 20% of those surveyed weren’t even born in Canada! Since 1901, Canada has invited over 13 million immigrants into the country. For the first 60 years, most of the immigrants came from Europe but today most of them come from Asia. After English and French, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, and other Chinese languages) is the next most commonly spoken language, followed by Italian, German and Punjabi. These cultures help make Canada an interesting place to live in. I can listen to Spanish, Mandarin or French on the radio. I can shop at Japanese, Indian or Chinese markets. Unlike so many other countries, Canadians don’t really share a common culture but despite our differences, most of us share a belief in equality and diversity, and respect for all individuals in society.

People who have never been to Canada often think that it’s cold all year round. While it is true it can get cold, VERY cold in the winter, the weather varies from province to province. Most of the country has four distinct seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall). Canadians talk about the weather a lot and like to tease each other about having better weather than other provinces.

Historically, Canada’s economy has been resource-based including forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy. These industries have played an important part in the country’s history and development. Recently, our economy has shifted focus to the service sector. This sector provides thousands of different jobs in areas like transportation, construction, banking, communications, retail services and education. More than 70 % of working Canadians now have jobs in service industries. In Canada we also have a small manufacturing industry. Manufactured products include paper, technological equipment, automobiles, food, and clothing. Our largest international trading partner is the United States and so our economy is very dependent on theirs. We share the world's largest and most comprehensive trading relationship with the USA.

Here are some interesting facts about Canada:

1) Lacrosse is our national sport but mostly we prefer to watch hockey.
2) We call our dollar the “Loonie” because of the picture of a loon on the back.
3) We live in cities. Almost 80% of Canadians live in urban centres most of which are located along the US border.
4) We say ‘eh’ a lot and pronounce ‘z’ as zed no zee!
5) Basketball, zippers, insulin and the telephone were invented by Canadians.
6) Canada is hosting the next winter Olympics in 2010. A Canadian has never won a gold medal on Canadian soil.
7) Canada's capital, Ottawa, has the coldest average temperature of any capital city in the world.
8) Canada has six time zones. British Columbia is 4.5 hours behind Newfoundland.
9) All Canadians have free access to health care.
10) Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Nelly Furtado, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan are Canadian.

Music from Scotland: Capercaillie

Their seductively contemporary sound and production, their mastery of traditional instruments (along with a willingness to look beyond them) and the voice of Karen Matheson have helped Capercaillie re-model the Celtic landscape...

Saint Patrick's Day, March 17

Learn a few expressions...



Watch out! Some people get goosebumps... This is the amazing Riverdance performing as the Interval Act at Eurovision 1994, most people agree that Irish music was reborn to the whole world that day.

Music from Canada: Loreena McKennitt

Reclaim noble values such as truth, honesty, honour, courage.

Tradition: pancakes

In the UK, there is a much-loved tradition of making and eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, which falls between February 2 and March 9 each year, depending on the date for Easter. In 2009, Shrove Tuesday falls on 24 February. Shrove Tuesday ('shrove' stems from old English word 'shrive', meaning 'confess all sins') is the day before Lent.

According to Christian beliefs, Lent commemorates Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, and observant Christians mark this period by fasting. So Shrove Tuesday was cleverly invented to use up the ingredients that were given up for Lent - milk, butter and, particularly, eggs - which may not be eaten again until Easter.

Learn more at...

Music from England: Kate Rusby

Kate Rusby was born on December 4, 1973 in Sheffield. She is an English folk singer and songwriter from Penistone, South Yorkshire. She has headlined various British national folk festivals, and is regarded as one of the most famous English folk singers of contemporary times. In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Her official website at http://www.katerusby.com/

St Valentine's Day

Romantic festival of St Valentine's Day is celebrated with enthusiasm and fond regard in several countries around the world. Most commonly observed Valentine's Day tradition and custom is expressing one's love with an exchange of cards, flowers and gifts. Pampering one's beloved and making a romantic proposal to one's sweetheart is the other popular tradition of the festival that celebrates love.

In the beginning, Valentine's Day was associated with romantic couples only but in recent times the festival is seen in much larger perspective. Now, people take opportunity of the day to wish ‘Happy Valentine's Day' to anyone they love be it father, mother, teachers, siblings, friends, co-workers or just anyone special to them. The idea behind this tradition is to celebrate love, get love and give love to everyone around us.

More info at http://www.stvalentinesday.org/traditions-and-customs.html

Music from Scotland: Amy MacDonald

Amy Macdonald was born on 25 August 1987 in Bishopbriggs, Scotland and she is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She is a self-taught musician and started to play her father's guitar after being inspired by Travis at the T in the Park Festival in 2000, where she heard Travis' song "Turn" and wanted to play it herself. Macdonald started her trade at various pubs and coffee houses in and around Glasgow at the age of 15.

Music from Canada: Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and fronted by the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. The band is known for their live performances and their use of a large number of musical instruments; in addition to the guitar, drums, and bass guitar, the band's members also play instruments such as the piano, violin, viola, accordion, glockenspiel, upright bass, trumpet, and French horn. When asked about the name of the band, lead vocalist Butler stated that it refers to a fire that supposedly occurred in Exeter Arcade.

Music from Canada: Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan was born on January 28, 1968, and adopted in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a child, she took voice lessons, along with studies in classical piano and guitar. When she was 17 years old, and still a student at Queen Elizabeth High School, she fronted a short-lived rock band called The October Game.

Happy New Year!!!

Merry Xmas to you!!!

It's a beautiful day for Dublin

Cockles and Mussels alive, alive-O!

One

Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Support Spain!!!

17th March... St. Patrick's Day!!!

St. Patrick's Festival Parade will be on Monday 17th March

St. Patrick's Festival is Ireland's official celebration for Ireland's national holiday - St. Patrick's Day. Around the globe on the 17th March, Ireland is celebrated with parties and parades but the BIG party is here in Ireland where we celebrate in style with five days and nights of fantastic celebratory events, most of which are free!

From March 13th to 17th 2008 there will be so much on offer - music, street theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt, night spectacles .... culminating on Monday March 17th with the world famous St. Patrick's Day Parade. Over five days, 4000 performers and 1 million people will be celebrating Ireland. So whether you are Irish or just wish you were, Ireland is the place to be next March to enjoy Ireland's biggest party.

Sharon Shannon on St Patrick's Day

Ireland