Xmas in Spain

In mid-November you can start seeing Christmas trees where you walk, lights on the balconies and ornaments in the stores. Christmas carols are heard in supermarkets, toy stores and even at school. Is night very early and Christmas is near.

When we celebrate Christmas in Spain, families gather to share and enjoy the joy of this celebration. At this time emphasize a lot of ornaments and lights in many streets and houses. A symbol of Christmas, important in this country, is the Nativity scene is a representation of the birth of Jesus that you can see in shop windows and at the entrance of many houses. Also during these days you can hear the voices of children singing Christmas carols.

The most important days are:

• 24th DECEMBER, CHRISTMAS EVE: on this day we celebrate two traditions that are: making a special dinner in family with typical foods (turkey, a huge variety of seafood ...) and go to midnight Mass at 12 at night.

• 25th DECEMBER, CHRISTMAS: it is also often to have lunch in family and in some cases; Santa Claus visits the homes of some children to give them some presents.

• 31st DECEMBER, NEW YEAR: in all the squares of Spanish cities, you can see millions of people waiting for the clock to rings 12 hour, then for each chime they eat a grape.

• 6th JANUARY, THREE KINGS: is the favourite day of all children, the day that they are waiting impatient for their gifts. The previous day in the afternoon, you can see the Procession of the Three Kings and greet them. Then, before going to bed, children leave three glasses of champagne and a bit of nougat and they go to bed. Next day morning they discover the gifts. For lunch you buy a twisted roll of kings, a sweet pastry with a shaped ring, which contains a little surprise inside. It is said that the person who gets it will have lucky year.

Paula Estévez

4 ESO A Col·legi Madre Alberta

Xmas in my family II

Before the night of the twenty-fourth of December we usually decorate the house with a Christmas tree and with a Christmas crib and more decorations that we put in the house.

The night of twenty-fourth all the families meet in a house and they go to the midnight mass, where there are people that sing Xmas songs. In our school, for example, we celebrate the midnight mass, and a lot of people go there every year with their families and you can saw a short interpretation of the birth of the child Jesus.Then we go to our houses where we have dinner all together,is tipical eat Christmas soup like starter and suckling pig like a main course. When we finish to have dinner we open the presents that Santa Claus put near the Christmas tree,but Santa Claus is not very typical here. A lot of people celebrate Santa Claus day but is bigger the celebration of the sixth of January, when the three Wise Men come with a lot of presents,and is tipical eat the twisted roll of kings, these is a dessert that is a donut-shaped cake inside it you can find in your piece of food a bean and if you find it you have to pay the twisted roll of kings next year, but at the same time you can find a figure of a king and if you find you have to put a crown.

The next day we celebrate the Christmas day, we normally meet again with our family and we have lunch and we stay with our family all the day.

The twenty-sixth we make the same that the day of Christmas because we celebrate the second fest.

Another party is the last day of the year, all the people celebrate New’s Year Eve.

This is a funny day, the last twelve seconds in Spain we eat a grape for each second.

You always finish with all the grapes in your mouth, is so funny see all the people that can’t eat the grapes so quickly.

The last fest is in sixth of January,the Wise Men put the present at night on fith of December. But now the Santa Claus day is more similar because if you open the present on twenty-fourth of December you have more days to play with them.

Marina Daviu

4 ESO A Col·legi Madre Alberta

Xmas in my family

First note that currently there have been some changes in the way of celebrating Christmas. Years ago we celebrated Christmas and Eve together with my mother's family, leaving the second Christmas party and the Magi to the paternal family. Eve is reserved for the four that are in my family.

Now we celebrate all festivals together, both the paternal and maternal family.

On Christmas Eve we all meeting in a house (each year we are changing), we make a lunch-dinner nibble (“pa amb oli” and stiff). Arriving about 11 in the night, we get in a circle and pick up a piece of paper which is written the title of the song that we sing. This is a typical night where grandparents tell their war stories again and embarrassing anecdotes from parents. It's a family night of enjoy and many, many laughs.

The next day is Christmas dinner at my grandmother’s, my grandmother, like every year, delights us with its delicious seafood soup with stuffed squid and, as second course, rabbit with baked potatoes and their secret sauce, which only I know my family do. After dinner we sat in the lounge and handed out gifts, my uncle wore Santa Claus and distributed them.

In Eve, as I said earlier we celebrate only the four in my house, cook dinner with my mother, a good stiff and smoked salmon that brings us some friends from Galicia, every year. Arriving eat twelve grapes and then by videoconferencing congratulate the whole family at once.

Finally the day of wise men make a meal in my house, first a cream of zucchini with pepper and after rack of lamb. Then my little cousins are the lane (ridden by my mother) of the Magi to find gifts.

So in short is how we celebrate Christmas every year.

Carmen Bestard

4 ESO A Col·legi Madre Alberta

THE THREE WISE MEN

It is a Christmas custom of catholic tradition that the three Wise Men brought gold, incense or myrrh for the baby Jesus on 6^th January. The tradition still continues and the Three Wise Men bring presents for all the family in every house. Children always write a letter to them telling them which presents they want, but if they have been bad during the year, they bring them coal, (sweet coal). On January 6^th it is a tradition to eat a ring shaped pastry which is called “roscón de reyes”.

Sandra Porcel

4 ESO E Col·legi Madre Alberta

New year’s Eve in Spain II

December 31st is a very special day because it is the last day of the year. I spend the day with my friends and my family on the New Year’s Eve. The most important moment is dinner time.

All my family go to my aunt’s and we have dinner. After dinner we play bingo until the end of the year. We eat twelve grapes and we listen to the twelve strokes of the clock of ‘’La puerta del Sol’’ square in Madrid. That is typical in Spain. Then I stay with my family an hour, and finally I go to a party to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with my friends.

Tania Oliver

4 ESO E Col·legi Madre Alberta

New year’s Eve in Spain

New year´s Eve is the last evening of the year. In Spain it's a very important event. Everybody celebrates a big party and people usually wear beautiful clothes. First, I have dinner with my friends, then at quarter to twelve, we get ready for the twelve grapes, because at twelve o’clock we eat twelve grapes when we listen to the twelve strokes of the clock of ¨la puerta del sol¨ square in Madrid. Later, I go to a discotheque with my friends. It is a custom to drink hot chocolate and ¨churros¨( tipycal Spanish pastry ) in this disco at 6:00 am. Finally, we go home because everybody is very tired.

Elena Giménez

4 ESO E Col·legi Madre Alberta

CHRISTMAS:

In many cities and towns, preparations for Christmas start at the beginning of December, as they start to decorate the streets and big stores with colourful lights with Christmas motifs, such as snow flakes, bells, bows…
The chronological order of the Christmas events in Spain is as follows:
December 8th

- This is the public holiday of Immaculate (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) which marks the beginning of the religious Christmas celebrations.
December 22nd
- All over Spain people never stray far from a TV or radio as the Christmas lottery is drawn over a period of many hours. Everyone buys tickets for this lottery in the hope of winning the biggest prize and the winning number usually means that a lot of people from the same village. Besides the big three prizes there are thousands of smaller prizes shared by many people all over Spain.

December 24th
- Christmas Eve is called Nochebuena in Spanish (Goodnight) and it is the most important family gathering of the year. In the evening people often meet early for a few drinks with friends then, they come back home to enjoy a meal with the family. Most bars and restaurants close in the evening. Prawn starters followed by roast lamb would be a typical meal rounded off with a typically Christmas sweet called ‘turrón’ which is a nougat made of toasted sweet almonds. Another typical festive sweet is called ‘Polvorones’ which is made from almonds, flour and sugar. Cava, which is a catalan champagne, would be the chosen drink for the Christmas toast though plenty fine Spanish wines will also be consumed with the meal.
December 25th
- Children may receive a small gift this morning becaus the day for presents is 6th of January, when the Three Kings bring many gifts for the children. Christmas Day is a national holiday in Spain so shops are closed yet it is not a day of great celebration but rather a calm day when people go out for a walk, drops into a bar, etc. Another large family meal at lunchtime is common though it's becoming more common to see families eating out on the afternoon of Christmas day.
December 28th
- This is the day of ‘Santos Inocentes’ (Holy Innocents) and is the equivalent of April Fools' Day when people play practical jokes on one another. Often the national media will include a nonsense story in their broadcasts. In some villages youngsters of a village light bonfires and one of them acts as the major who orders townspeople to carry out civic tasks such as sweeping the streets.
December 31st
- New Year's Eve is known as ‘NocheVieja’. It is a big celebration all over the country with street parties and special nights in hotels and clubs everywhere. Until midnight people tend to stay at home and on the stroke of midnight it is traditional to eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of the clock to bring good luck for the New Year. In Madrid and other main cities revellers congregate in the main square (Puerta del Sol in Madrid) and eat the grapes along with a celebratory bottle of cava then head out into the night until after sunrise.
January 1st
- A low key public holiday with plenty people sleeping off due to their excesses.
January 6th
- King's Day creates a frenzy in families, little children, and stores all over Spain. This is the traditional holiday, and the "last--minute--waiters" rush through stores and commercials to find the needed gifts they kept on putting off. Children go to bed early; some even search the skies for the Kings and their party as they cross the night from home to home placing gifts and pastries in each house. This is the time to wrap gifts, and open the closets to prepare them for the morning, and seeing in the outstanding expressions of the children their cheer and merriment. Also, bakeries prepare coal, blackened/greyish sugar lumps that look very much like coal, which is given to children, more as a joke than anything else.
January 7th
-The day after receiving their gifts children return to school, their parents go back to work and Christmas in Spain is all over for another year.

Ana Juan

Mireia Pardo

Nuria Ferragut

3ºESO C

Col·legi Madre Alberta

Our Christmas

We are going to explain the celebration of Christmas in Spain: traditions, details, meals...

First we’re going to start with:

-Important dates (when everybody has got holidays):

·24th Decemberà Christmas Eve, we celebrate a dinner and we go to the

midnight mass.

·25th Decemberà This day Jesus Christ was born. We have a special lunch.


·28th Decemberàthe day of the Holy Innocents. We spend tricks on people.

·31st Decemberàis the last night of the year. We have dinner with our family and we dance and sing all night. Young people usually have fun parties. When the clock sounds at 00:00 everybody eats twelve grapes to the rhythm of bells. This event is called New Year’s Eve.

5th Januaryàat night, children wait for the magic kings to come
6th Januaryà children who have been good get presents from the magic kings but those who not, receive sweet coal. These presents are put under the tree. With the family we can eat a special cake which has a little dummy and a bean. Who finds the dummy is the winner and who finds the bean pays the cake.
MEALS:
-Main meals: stuffed soup, prawns, stiff with spinning egg.
-Desserts: ‘polvorones, turrón’
-Condiments: toasted chestnuts (we toast it in the fireplace at the end of the dinner with our family)

Marta Riutort

Isabel Dameto

3ºESO C

Col·legi Madre Alberta

CHRISTMAS IN SPAIN

Christmas in Spain starts at the begining of December, when all towns and cities are decorated with Christmas lights illuminating the streets. At home we put Christmas trees, wreaths and ornaments.

On December 22nd, two important events take place. Students are released from school for their winter vacations, and perhaps more importantly, it is announced the winning number of the famous Christmas Lottery in Spain. This lottery, by far the biggest in Spain, is a tradition practised by many people who wish to win the grand prize as it would make them instantly rich.
The night of 24th December is Christmas Eve, and all the families come together and share a dinner. Children receive gifts from Santa Claus.
Christmas Eve is celebrated with two very important traditions: eating and going to Christmas mass (known as ‘Misa del Gallo’).

Eve is 31st of December and families celebrate this event by eating twelve grapes at midnight as a symbol of good luck in the New Year. Each one is taken at every last twelve seconds of the year.
New Year is also celebrated in Spain. Families often eat together and send many postcards and Christmas cards to wish family and friends a happy new year.

Spanish children receive gifts from the "wise men" (‘reyes magos’) the night of the 6th of January. It is common that children leave milk and cookies to the wise men before going to bed that night.

Nuria Solivellas

Nuria Páramo

Diana Patiño

3ºESO C

Col·legi Madre Alberta

SPANISH CHRISTMAS

HOW DO WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN SPAIN?
Christmas is a fantastic time for spanish community.

It starts on the night of the 24th of december with what we call in spanish "Noche Buena". It's a dinner. Around nine o'clock the family meet for the celebration. The typical meal is seafood soup, shrimps and turkey or fish. As dessert we have nougats. Some are made of chocolate, almonds, folk egg and sometimes coconut. During that night Santa Claus brings presents for everyone and leaves it under the tree.

The next day is the most important one. Family meet for lunch.
On the Balearic Islands we celebrate also a meal on the 26th.

All the city is illuminated with colorful lights, trees and the representation of the birth of Jesus. Also the houses are decorated.

Then comes the last day of the year. Many people go to the most important square of the city and waits until the bell sounds, others watch it in their houses. We dress up very smart and we have a great dinner. At twelve o'clock while the bell sounds we eat every second one grape until twelve. Many people go to bed that night around eight o'clock in the morning because they go out to celebrate it!!!

The next morning we celebrate the first day of the year. In some houses we eat lentils because they think it gives luck for the following year.

The last important day of christmas is coming. It is the day when the three Magic Kings come. The night before, on the 5th january they leave under the tree all the presents.
We go early to bed , around ten o'clock, very nervious. We put under the tree food and drinks for them and for the camels.
On the morning, we go to our parents bedroom and all together we go to see what the Kings had left us. If our behaviour has been good during the year, presents would be left, if not they leave us only sweet carbon.
Thanks Kings, as the last possibility had never happen to us!!!

Alejandra Fiol

Nieves Garcia

3ºESO C

Col·legi Madre Alberta

How do we celebrate Christmas?

An approach to our regional Christmas traditions.

A new academic year, many things to share!!

Hi Comenius Friends!!

Next October your teachers will attend the first Comenius meeting of the season.

Madre Alberta School (Mallorca) will host them and they'll prepare the activities for the rest of the academic year.

Let them know your proposals of activities before October 14th.

Hugs!

Ötzi's Group

by Maex Böhm, class 8d, KRS

Pitbull

Hi I`m Maex from Postbauer-Heng that’s in Bavaria (Germany) and I want to tell you something about my favourite rapper.

He is called Pitbull.

At first I want to tell you about his life.

Pitbull was born in Miami, Florida on 15. January 1981.

His real name is Armando Christian Pérez and he`s a Cuban -American rapper and he sings often in English but he also sings Spanish.With his song „culo“ he became famous.He brought out five Albums:2004: M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is a Major Issue) 2005: Welcome to the 305 2005: M.I. Still A.M.I (Money Is Still a Major Issue) 2006: El Mariel 2007: The Boatlift My favourite song from him is Te Querio. Here is the link if you want to listen to it. Pitbull - Te Quiero

Hey!
My name is Fabian, I’m 16 years old and I attend the 10th class of the secondary modern school in Neumarkt, Germany. I wrote this article already during the Easter Holidays in Bavaria and because of that I was able to relax, to meet friends and to listen to music … the whole day.
In the following sentences I’m going to introduce my favourite singer and songwriter to you. His name is Paolo Nutini, born in Paisley on the 9th January of 1987. The 23-year old lives in Scotland with his family. The boy with Italian origin (because of his father), wanted to become a popular musician all over the world, since he was a child.



The style of music … you can describe it as Indie Rock but there’re still influences of other artists, like Oasis, the Beatles and David Bowie, for example.
The first album he produces with Atlantic Records is named “These Streets” with ten top songs. The songs, I like the most are “Jenny don’t be hasty” and “Rewind”. They are all about love and the everyday live.
The last two years he has worked on a new album called “Sunny Side Up”, which will be released in June.
I play the guitar strings too, so I hope, that there’re many summer and sun hits on the CD to play them at the beach and the sea in summer time.
But not every country knows him as a big artist. So he isn’t very famous in countries such as Spain and even Germany. That’s a pity, I think!
Ad because of his less success he hasn’t got a lot of concerts in Germany the next time L I hope that it will be changed soon.

But in my eyes, he’s one of the greatest singers and songwriters all over the world and I will never stop listening to his marvellous music.

If you want to get further information about Paolo Nutini or to buy the new album in June, please visit his homepage:
http://www.paolonutini.com/

I hope you like my short report about Paolo and I’m looking forward to reading reports about you and your favourite bands or singers.

Nightwish

Hello my name is Christoph Altmann. I am 15 years old and I would like to tell you something about my favourite band called Nightwish.
At first something about the band members:
The keyboarder Tuomas Holopainen, the front man.
The new singer Anette Olzon (2007) before Tarja Turunen
The guitarist Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen
The bassist Marco Hietala

Now something about the history of this band and the success:

The band a Finnish Symphonic Metal band from Kitee.
The keyboarder Tuomas Holopainen, Tarja Turunen and Vuorinen have created this band in 1996. The international breakthrough came in 1999 because their album Oceanborn was a big success. Between 2001 and 2005 the band had no commercial success although her singer Tarja Turunen had a beautiful voice.The commercial success came in 2007 with their new singer Anette Olzon. The band released the Dark Passion Play album with her. In my opinion it is the best record of Nightwish.


The band brought out 7 albums:
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Over The Hills an Far Away (2001)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Dark Passion Play (2007)

I think Nightwish is one of the best bands ever, because they have really good live performances with many special effects and they make great song.
For example:
Amaranth, Nemo, Over The Hills an Far Away

by Maex Böhm, class 8d, KRS

Big Daddy My favourite film is called „Big Daddy“. In this film are popular actors for example “Adam Sandler”. It is a very funny movie. The movie is about Sunny who is played by Adam Sandler. One day a little boy called Julian stands in front of Sunny’s house with a letter in his hands. The letter says that Julian is the child of his roommate but his roommate is on a business trip.Sunny wants to put Julian in a house for homeless kids but on this day there was a holiday and Julian and Sunny spend the day together. On this day Sunny notices that he likes the little boy and he says to other people that he is the father of Julian but this is not the truth. Sunny makes no boarders for Julian. Because of this Julian gets in a vulgar manner. Later on he wants to visit the school but if he really wants this he has to change his bad language into good language.

Europe day

The Europe day is the 9th May, it has become in the European symbol with the European flag, slogan and the European anthem. On 9th May, 1950, Robert Schuman presented the Schuman’s declaration, it explains the organization of UE. Europe celebrates this day with the European anthem, a parade of flags of European countries, European songs and European dances. The European anthem is “ Oda a la alegria”. The European slogan is “Joined in the diversity”. And this is the European flag.

Marina Jaume

Nerea Caldés

Col·legi Madre Alberta

3ºESO A

EUROPE DAY

Do you know that... ?

THE FLAG:
There are twelve stars because the numer twelve is the number of the perfection, complete and unit.

THE ANTHEM:
This is not only the European Union anthem, it’s also the European anthem.The melody comes from the Ninth Symphony composed in 1823 by Ludwig Van Beethoven.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGHHk0B4BDs (clic here to hear the anthem)

THE MOTTO:
United in diversity” is the motto of the European Union.
The motto means that, Europeans are united in working together for peace and prosperity, and that the many different cultures, traditions and languages in Europe are a positive thing for the continent.

THE EURO:
The euro notes are identical in all countries but each country has its own coins with one common side and one side with a distinctive national emblem.

HAVE A GREAT EUROPE DAY,
ENJOY IT!

Mar Estarellas

Elisa Montes

Col·legi Madre Alberta

3ºESO A

What is Europe Day?

You may have come across a reference in a diary or elsewhere to the fact that 9 May is "Europe Day" and perhaps asked about its significance.Probably very few people in Europe know that on 9 May 1950 the first move was made towards the creation of what is now known as the European Union.In Paris that day, against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation". What he proposed was the creation of a supranational European Institution, charged with the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation.Everything, therefore, began that day. That is why during the Milan Summit of EU leaders in 1985 it was decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".Every country which democratically chooses to accede to the European Union endorses its fundamental values of peace and solidarity. These values find expression through economic and social development embracing environmental and regional dimensions which are the guarantees of a decent standard of living for all citizens.While Europe as such has existed for centuries, the elements which united it, in the absence of rules and institutions, have in the past been insufficient to prevent the most appalling tragedies.The integration of Europe will not come about in one day or even in a few decades. Deficiencies are still numerous and there are evident imperfections. The project which was begun just after the Second World War is still very new. In the past, efforts at European union were based on domination of one group over another. These attempts could not last, because those who had been conquered had only one aspiration: to regain their freedom.Today's ambition is completely different: to build a Europe which respects freedom and the identity of all of the people which compose it. Only by uniting its peoples can Europe control the mastery of its destiny and develop a positive role in the world.The European Union is at the service of its citizens. While keeping their own specific values, customs and language, European citizens should feel at ease in the "European home".

Rebeca Razquin

Col·legi Madre Alberta

3ºESO A

Happy day of Europe:

Why do we celebrate the day of Europe?

On May 9, 1950th, Robert Schuman presented his offer for the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable requirement for the maintenance of pacific relations.

This offer known as " Declaration Schuman ", is considered to be the germ of the creation of what nowadays is the European Union.

On May 9 there has turned into the European symbol (Day of Europa) that, together with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the unique currency (the Euro) they identify the political entity of the European Union.
In the Day of Europe there are celebrated activities and feasts that bring Europe over to his citizens and relate the different peoples(villages) of the Union.

Laura Giménez Álvarez

Cristina Carballeira

Col·legi Madre Alberta

3ºESO A