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Έντυπη και Διαδικτυακή Έκδοση
Γυμνάσιο Πολυκάστρου, Δ/νση Β/θμιας Εκ/σης Κιλκίς
email: mail [at] gym-polyk . kil . sch . gr
Ιστοσελίδα: https://blogs.sch.gr/gympolka/
2^ο Έτος, 24^ο Φύλλο, 21 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Christmas Customs and Traditions in England

by Anastasia Sykoudi

Like other countries England still retains the magic, the traditions and the spirit of Christmas. English people enjoy beautiful Christmas music. They love to decorate Christmas trees and hung up evergreen branches. One of England’s customs is mumming. In the Middle Ages, people called mummers put on masks and acted out Christmas plays. These plays are still performed in towns and villages. The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red or green robe, and leaves presents in stockings on Christmas Eve. However, the gifts are not usually opened until the following afternoon. Father Christmas delivers them during the night before Christmas. The children leave an empty stocking or pillowcase hanging at the end of the bed. In the morning they hope it will be full of presents.

In England the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day because boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open. In England Christmas dinner was usually eaten at midday on December 25, during daylight. Τhe only thing that people ate on the day before the feast was frumenty, which  was a kind of porridge made from corn.

Over the years the recipe changed. Eggs, fruit, spice, lumps of meat and dried plums were added. The whole mixture was wrapped in a cloth and boiled. This is how plum pudding began. Today the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauces. For dessert it is rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. Mince pies, pastry cases filled with a mixture of chopped dried fruit. Everywhere the people believe that Christmas is the brighter Christian celebration and we have to celebrate it as it deserves!

Santa Claus: Myth or Fact?

by Stavroula Mystridou

Santa Claus lives in North Pole, in a big house with his wife and his assistances the famous elves with the big ears. He is, according to the tradition, a plump old man, who gives presents to little kinds. If the children want to take gifts, they have to follow one term, to be good for the whole year. The naughty kinds are not in his list, so they don’t receive anything nice, but a piece of charcoal. Santa’s elves help him to make and share the gifts. He wears a red uniform with white fur and he also wears black boots. He travels all over the world by a sleigh which is carried by reindeer. Each family, at Christmas, decorates a tree. On Christmas Eve they put some cookies, other candies and a glass of milk for Santa, on a table near the tree or the fireplace. When he arrives he places the presents under the tree, then he drinks the milk and eats the candies without being seen by anyone. He may be good but he is not really for sure. We’ll never figure this out because he knows when we are awake and then he doesn’t show up. We may also think that he will but he doesn’t exist.

Christmas in England: as the days are approaching people around the world are getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ. The country that celebrates more than any other country is England!!!

Βy Anastasia Sykoudi

According to the legend, in AD 521 King Arthur held a spectacular celebration in York, with the presence of clowns, dancers, musicians. Since then Christmas has been celebrated regularly in England, for more than 1,000 years! The Christmas tree has a central role in the celebration of Christmas. The tradition was especially popular during the reign of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in the mid-19th century.

Santa Claus is known as Father Christmas. The children, instead of sending letters to say what gift they want, they throw it in the fireplace and Father Christmas “reads” the smoke that comes out of the chimney. Another custom of England is known as Boxing Day and is celebrated on the second day of Christmas. Small lunch boxes, sweet, little presents or coins are offered to anyone who visits the House that day. The tradition of hanging the sock on chimneys also started in England. It started as, according to the tradition, Father Christmas accidentally dropped a few gold coins down the chimney inside a sock that had been laid out to dry!

Children do not open their gifts when they wake up, but wait until Christmas afternoon. One of the most popular Christmas trees in the country, is located in the heart of London, close to the statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square. This square is the “navel” of London, is the largest square of the city and a meeting point from the Middle Ages years until today.

The Legends of England

by George Bitsis

It is certain that you have listened about the King Arthur and his powerful magic sword, Excalibur. The English mythology has inspired a lot of screenwriters, writers and movie companies all these centuries. You might have seen the movies they have made, based on the British Myths, like the film Excalibur or Disney’s King Aurthur.In that little article there are some parts from the English mythology.

The Arthurian Circle

During the Middle Ages a king named Uther, with the wizard Merlin’s help, had a baby with the married queen Igraine. After that wizard Merlin, who had a prophesy about a British child who would help Britain win the Saxons, and with the help of Arthur, the child, a king now, and a lot of brave soldiers, won a lot of enemies, until the Avalon Battle. While Arthur was fighting with his nephew (others believe that he was his son or cousin) Mondred, Merlin was trapped in a cave made of glass. What if he died in this battle? King Arthur always stays alive, thanks to a lot of people who keep his memory alive.

Lady Gontiva

Lady Gontiva was a high born woman married with Leofric, a count. She was a very good person and she was worried about the huge amount of money the people had to pay the count. After his wife pleaded him a lot, he agreed with her something: there was a road in the region, where a lot of people were living. They argued that he would make the taxes smaller, if she crossed the road naked, riding a horse. She loved so much the people and she agreed, but she told the people not to look at the road and to be in their houses while she would cross. The people, understanding how much she was trying to help, locked themselves in their houses, while the lady rode the horse naked right outside their windows. After that, Leofric made the taxes smaller, and everyone thanked the good lady.

Robin Hood

Who doesn’t know him? The man who was stealing from the rich guys and gave the money to the poor. After king “Richard the Lionheart” went to the Holy Places during the crusades, the Sheriff of Nottingham, John became the king until Arthur’s return, but he finally decided to be the king for all time. All the people who were angry about that became a team and started helping the poor stealing the rich. When Lionheart came back, they made an army who beat John in London and Lionheart was the king again.

Χριστουγεννιάτικα Έθιμα από όλο τον Κόσμο

από την Καρακσίδου Κυριακή

ΙΤΑΛΙΑ

Ένα κανόνι σηματοδοτεί την έναρξη της χριστουγεννιάτικης περιόδου! Τα παιδιά την παραμονή των Χριστουγέννων ντύνονται βοσκοί και γυρίζουν από σπίτι σε σπίτι τραγουδώντας τα κάλαντα, ενώ ο κόσμος τους κερνά γλυκά και ξηρούς καρπούς. Στις 6 Ιανουαρίου αδημονούν για τον ερχομό της γριάς La Befana, η οποία ψάχνει τον μικρό Ιησού και στην πορεία της αναζήτησής της αφήνει δώρα στα φρόνιμα παιδιά. Σύμφωνα με την ιταλική παράδοση, η La Befana σκούπιζε το σπίτι της, όταν δέχτηκε την επίσκεψη των Tριών Mάγων, οι οποίοι πήγαιναν να συναντήσουν το νεογέννητο Ιησού. Oι Tρεις Mάγοι της ζήτησαν να τους ακολουθήσει, αλλά η La Befana αρνήθηκε, διότι δεν είχε τελειώσει από το σκούπισμα του σπιτιού. Μετά όμως, μετανιωμένη, μάζεψε όσα δώρα μπορούσε και προσπάθησε να ακολουθήσει τους Tρεις Mάγους. Δυστυχώς δεν τους βρήκε ποτέ. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, συνεχίζει ακόμη την αναζήτησή της για τον Xριστό, γι’ αυτό κάθε χρόνο αφήνει δώρα στα παιδιά. Στην Ιταλία η περίοδος των Χριστουγέννων ξεκινάει στις 8 Δεκεμβρίου και ολοκληρώνεται στις 6 Ιανουαρίου (ημέρα των Θεοφανίων). Εκτός από το χριστουγεννιάτικο δέντρο, σημαντικό σύμβολο στον εορτασμό των Χριστουγέννων, αποτελεί και η φάτνη της Γεννήσεως που υπενθυμίζει τον Φραγκίσκο της Ασίζης, ο οποίος ήταν ο πρώτος που δημιούργησε αναπαράσταση της ιστορίας των Χριστουγέννων με αγαλματίδια.

ΟΛΛΑΝΔΙΑ

Σύμφωνα με το θρύλο, ο Άγιος Νικόλαος, ο οποίος ονομάζεται «SinterKlaas», καταφθάνει στην Ολλανδία το Νοέμβριο, τρεις βδομάδες πριν τα γενέθλιά του. Ο Sinterklaas δεν είναι ο Santa Claus ή αλλιώς Άι Βασίλης∙ είναι μια παραδοσιακή χειμωνιάτικη φιγούρα που γιορτάζεται κυρίως στις Κάτω χώρες (είναι γνωστός και ως The Good Holy Man). Το πλοίο του, που είναι φορτωμένο με δώρα, το υποδέχεται στο λιμάνι η Βασίλισσα Βεατρίκη συνοδευόμενη από πλήθος κόσμου (φυσικά το έθιμο αυτό αναφέρεται στην εποχή που η Ολλανδία ήταν αποικιοκρατική και έρχονταν τα χριστουγεννιάτικα προϊόντα από τις αποικίες της). Τις ημέρες που ακολουθούν ο SinterKlaas γυρίζει όλη τη χώρα πάνω σε ένα άσπρο άλογο μαζί με τον βοηθό του τον Zwarten Piet (Μπλακ Πιτ ή Μαύρο Πιτ). Τα παιδιά στην Ολλανδία παίρνουν τα δώρα τους στις 5 Δεκεμβρίου.

ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΑ

Στην Γερμανία η περίοδος των Χριστουγέννων είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντική. Οι Γερμανοί δίνουν ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στο στόλισμα του σπιτιού με πολύχρωμα φωτάκια και χριστουγεννιάτικες φιγούρες, ενώ συνηθίζουν να τοποθετούν στο εξωτερικό του σπιτιού ένα φυσικό έλατο. Ένα από τα κύρια έθιμά τους είναι το λεγόμενο “Adventskranz”. Σύμφωνα με το έθιμο αυτό τοποθετούν ένα κηροπήγιο με τέσσερις θέσεις,  που συμβολίζουν τις τέσσερις τελευταίες εβδομάδες του έτους. Κάθε Κυριακή που τελειώνει μια εβδομάδα ανάβουν και το αντίστοιχο κερί. Έτσι υπολογίζουν αντίστροφα τις μέρες που απομένουν για τον ερχομό του νέου έτους. Ακόμα ένα έθιμό τους είναι και το χριστουγεννιάτικο ημερολόγιο, το λεγόμενο “Αdventskalender”. Αυτό είναι ένα ημερολόγιο με 24 θέσεις «κλεισμένα πορτάκια» που συμβολίζουν τις ημέρες μέχρι τα Χριστούγεννα. Κάθε μέρα λοιπόν ανοίγουν και ένα πορτάκι περιμένοντας την έκπληξη που κρύβει. Αυτή μπορεί να είναι ένα μικρό δωράκι, ένα σοκολατάκι, ένα γλυκό κ.α. Καλά Χριστούγεννα!!!

Το πρόγραμμα της σχολικής γιορτής των Χριστουγέννων 2012

Υλικό:
Μαθητική Ζωή 24.zip