ADVENT is the period of time from the 1st December to Christmas Day. The most common way to count down advent is by a calendar which has 25 little windows on. CHRISTMAS CRACKERS are short tubes wrapped in colourful paper. There is a cracker next to each plate on the Christmas dinner table. When the crackers are pulled (with a loud BANG!) a party hat, a toy or small present and a joke falls out! CHRISTMAS PUDDING is the traditional dessert to the British Christmas dinner. It is a cake made with a lot of dried fruits (raisins, plums, figs), nuts and lots of brandy. MISTLETOE was believed to have magical powers in the past. The ancient people of Britain believed that it could cure diseases, protect a house from ghosts and bring good luck! If one stands under it, he or she is kissed by someone standing close by!
“LONDON, April 2,1941–Mrs. Virginia Woolf, novelist and essayist, who has been missing from her home since last Friday, is believed to have been drowned .Mr. Woolf said tonight:”Mrs. Woolf is presumed to be dead. She went for a walk last Friday, leaving a letter behind, and it is thought she has been drowned. Her body, however, has not been recovered.”The circumstances surrounding the novelist’s disappearance were not revealed. The authorities at Lewes said they had no report of Mrs. Woolf’s supposed death.It was reported her hat and cane had been found on the bank of the Ouse River. Mrs. Woolf had been ill for some time.
LONDON, April 19,1941 — Dr. E. F. Hoare, Coroner at New Haven, Sussex, gave a verdict of suicide today in the drowning of Virginia Woolf, novelist who had been bombed from her home twice. Her body was recovered last night from the River Ouse near her week-end house at Lewes.The Coroner read a note that Mrs. Woolf had left for her husband, Leonard.”I have a feeling I shall go mad,” the note read. “I cannot go on any longer in these terrible times. I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer. I owe all my happiness to you but cannot go on and spoil your life.”
She was overcome by an illusory lassitude,intoxicated with a dazzle of rhapsodic chants and retired to bed,wasn’t she?Little do we merely know,if Mrs. Woolf had lost her path.What is a straight path anyway?Is it the path were redemption is lying?
Was she an observer,or was her work more of an autobiography,a hollow void inside her soul,that was filled with meticulous,surrealistic,symbolistic portrayals of succulent personas dipped in hypocrisy.Was she really a lunatic that committed a suicide because of «the voices»,or a plethora of somnolent explanations is under the peel of that dulcet,raw orange,sitting onto that old,sapphire bowl of fruits,rancid and rotten.
On the verge of becoming an independent woman,having no fierce of the opposite sex,a knell-devoured voice,sans bilge,Virginia was living in a Marxist utopia,a state-of-dreaming ,even though she was a feministic icon and beyond.Her mind was agile,her horizons broadened and her spirit fragile,but elegant and boisterous.She had that lack of soporific effect in her sophistry and was an undertoned cynic.Her emotions were beyond universe,a different dimension. She was an inspiration who created superb novels,that were more of riddles.Some of her greatest works are;A Room of One’s Own,Jackob’s Room, To the Lighthouse, Orlando,The Waves, Between the Acts and Mrs. Dalloway.Looking out of the box,now ask ourselves why such a woman of innovation ,that even Edward Albee(a famous playwright)was inspired by her and titled one of his famous plays by her name;«Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf» and when he was interviewed by Paris Review he said, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf mean who’s afraid of the big bad wolf…who’s afraid of living without false illusions”,actually joined the «imitation game»,how come? Was her character,her state,her «tabula rasa» that evanescent at the end?
The thing that is truly sure is that behind every family frame of a great marriage lies someone,blined in that love of the allegro,and then is the other.After all of this immense contribution of her in the world of literature,did she really crack because of love?Was her quoted phrase «If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.»,out of the question?What if her truth was an interaction between fake?Underneath the horrid masks of an aesthetically pleasing society,full of blatant lies,there is still a society struggling to reach the «Belle rêve»,but is characterized unpardonable instead.Fashion industry,is attempting to climb that social ladder many a day by innovative methods,squeezing their creativity,reaching the highest zenith to become the vogue.And the looking glass does not shatter.Thus,a harmonic scream rents the air,a light breeze stirs their mind,shouting the way they want to live,their lifestyle,like the latinian noun «modus».The state of illusioning is a part of humanity,it creates and is created by humans,a de facto situation.
Generally,Virginia was a human being,sophisticated ,motivate,but still imbued with many feelings,that were tainted at last.Behind her aura,peeling the cover she was more of gold,not gilt,a true person that was underrated,betrayed and labeled by her own upper peers,neither a Goddess nor Venus,who ate too much ambrosia.
Author of the article: Michael Lazarides
Bibliography:
The Paris Review, Edward Albee, The Art of Theater No. 4.- Interviewed by William Flanagan
Witnesses describe panic and shock as gunman opened fire in city’s Christmas market
It was about 7:50pm in the narrow shopping lanes of the historic centre of Strasbourg, the picturesque city known as France’s “capital of Christmas”. Streets were packed with locals and tourists gathered under festive lights shaped like gingerbread men carrying candy canes.
A few words about the mixture of local population and the original indigenous people.
Largest Ethnic Groups In The United Kingdom (Great Britain)
In the United Kingdom, a census is conducted after every ten years. According to the 2011 census, the United Kingdom had a total population of 63,181,775, making it the 3rd most populous in the European Union and the 22nd most populous in the world. Immigration has contributed to the high population growth that has been experienced in the country in the last decade.
The immigrants together with the natives compose the various ethnic groups in Great Britain. The indigenous British are believed to be descendants of the various ethnic groups that settled in the Great Britain before the 11th Century including the Romans, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and Celts. The largest ethnic groups in the United Kingdom are looked at below.
White Europeans
White Europeans, or the White British people, are a racial classification for the people belonging to various ethnic European ancestries. In 2011, the White British population accounted for 87.1% of the entire United Kingdom’s population. The white European population included the population in the Northern Ireland. The majority of the white European (64%) in the United Kingdom is between the age of 16 and 64. White European (65%) are predominantly Christians, mostly Anglican while 25% have no religion. The unemployment rate among the White European is lower than the other ethnic group. The White European also dominates other ethnic groups in the political, social and economic sectors in the Great Britain.
Black British and Afro-Caribbean
Black British and the Afro-Caribbean are groups of people of the Caribbean and former British colonies who trace their origins to Africa. The Afro-Caribbean culture arose in the 16th and 17th Centuries during the triangular trade that was led by the Europeans who brought Africans to European-held colonies in the new World to work as slaves. The Africans who moved into Europe intermarried with the native Europeans leading to the formation of the Afro-Caribbean. Great Britain, France, and Netherlands have the highest number of Afro-Caribbean. In the United Kingdom, the Black British form 3% of the total population. The Black British speak a variety of English dialect. The dialect has been influenced by Jamaican Patois and the social class. Most of the Afro-Caribbean are found in big and across the United Kingdom, especially in London. The majority of Black British have faced a significant amount of racism with discrimination in employment, housing, and other social facilities. Racist Crime continues to plague the Afro-Caribbean with the media coverage of focusing more on the crimes involving the Black. The police have also been accused of racism when dealing with criminals and also when carrying out inspections.
Indians
The British Indian community totals over one million, thus representing 2.3% of the national population. The Indian people in the United Kingdom are of Indian origin or have their ancestry coming from India. Indian culture in the United Kingdom is similar to that practiced in India and other parts of the world. The culture is an amalgamation of different cultures which have been shaped over a long period. The culture is characterized by philosophy, literature, architecture, and music. Most of these Indian people in the United Kingdom are Buddhists and Hindus. The Indian dressing and clothing is unique and distinct and is influenced by culture. Women wear saris while men wear angarkhs. Just as with Indians anywhere else, their food often includes lentils, rice, wheat flour, and pearled barley.
Largest Ethnic Groups In The United Kingdom (Great Britain)
Now that you have read the facts, let’s try the following task. After consulting the above article, answer the questions: How deeply do you reckon the immigrants have influenced the British polulation boom? Do you believe that this multicultural mixture was beneficial or unprofitable for the indigenous population?
The presentation of Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpieces in a innovative digitized manner in Thessaloniki has been the talk of the town for at least the last few weeks. With this admission, let’s meet the person behind the painting, the artist in front of the canvas and immerse ourselves in the magic of his greatest works.
First a few biographical tips about the person.
When and Where Was Van Gogh Born?
Vincent van Gogh was born Vincent Willem van Gogh on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands.
Family
Vincent van Gogh’s father, , was an austere country minister, and his mother,
Anna Cornelia Carbentus, was a moody artist whose love of nature, drawing and watercolors was transferred to her son. Van Gogh was born exactly one year after his parents’ first son, also named Vincent, was stillborn. At a young age — his name and birthdate already etched on his dead brother’s headstone — van Gogh was melancholy. The eldest of six living children, van Gogh had two younger brothers (Theo, who worked as an art dealer and supported his older brother’s art, and Cor) and three younger sisters (Anna, Elizabeth and Willemien).
Early Life and Education
At age 15, van Gogh’s family was struggling financially, and he was forced to leave school and go to work. He got a job at his Uncle Cornelis’ art dealership, Goupil & Cie., a firm of art dealers in The Hague. By this time, van Gogh was fluent in French, German and English, as well as his native Dutch.
In June of 1873, van Gogh was transferred to the Groupil Gallery in London. There, he fell in love with English culture. He visited art galleries in his spare time, and also became a fan of the writings of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. He also fell in love with his landlady’s daughter, Eugenie Loyer. When she rejected his marriage proposal, van Gogh suffered a breakdown. He threw away all his books except for the Bible, and devoted his life to God.
Van Gogh then taught in a Methodist boys’ school, and also preached to the congregation. Although raised in a religious family, it wasn’t until this time that he seriously began to consider devoting his life to the church. Hoping to become a minister, he prepared to take the entrance exam to the School of Theology in Amsterdam. After a year of studying diligently, he refused to take the Latin exams, calling Latin a “dead language” of poor people, and was subsequently denied entrance.
Now let’s meet the artist!!!
Van Gogh the Artist
Vincent’s younger brother, Theo, the art dealer
In the fall of 1880, van Gogh decided to move to Brussels and become an artist. Though he had no formal art training, his brother Theo offered to support van Gogh financially. He began taking lessons on his own, studying books like Travaux des champs by Jean-François Millet and Cours de dessin by Charles Bargue.
Van Gogh’s art helped him stay emotionally balanced. In 1885, he began work on what is considered to be his first masterpiece, “Potato Eaters.” His brother, Theo, by this time living in Paris, believed the painting would not be well-received in the French capital, where impressionism had become the trend. Nevertheless, van Gogh decided to move to Paris, and showed up at Theo’s house uninvited. In March 1886, Theo welcomed his brother into his small apartment.
In Paris, van Gogh first saw impressionist art, and he was inspired by the color and light. He began studying with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Pissarro and others. To save money, he and his friends posed for each other instead of hiring models. Van Gogh was passionate, and he argued with other painters about their works, alienating those who became tired of his bickering.
Van Gogh in Arles
Van Gogh became influenced by Japanese art and began studying eastern philosophy to enhance his art and life. He dreamed of traveling there, but was told by Toulouse-Lautrec that the light in the village of Arles was just like the light in Japan. In February 1888, van Gogh boarded a train to the south of France. He moved into the “yellow house” and spent his money on paint rather than food.
Why Did Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear?
In December 1888, van Gogh was living on coffee, bread and absinthe in Arles, France, and he found himself feeling sick and strange. Before long, it became apparent that in addition to suffering from physical illness, his psychological health was declining. Around this time, he is known to have sipped on turpentine and eaten paint.
His brother Theo was worried, and he offered Paul Gauguin money to go watch over Vincent in Arles. Within a month, van Gogh and Gauguin were arguing constantly, and one night, Gauguin walked out. Van Gogh followed him, and when Gauguin turned around, he saw van Gogh holding a razor in his hand. Hours later, van Gogh went to the local brothel and paid for a prostitute named Rachel. With blood pouring from his hand, he offered her his ear, asking her to “keep this object carefully.”
The police found van Gogh in his room the next morning, and admitted him to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. Theo arrived on Christmas Day to see van Gogh, who was weak from blood loss and having violent seizures. The doctors assured Theo that his brother would live and would be taken good care of, and on January 7, 1889, van Gogh was released from the hospital. He was alone and depressed. For hope, he turned to painting and nature, but could not find peace and was hospitalized again. He would paint at the yellow house during the day and return to the hospital at night.
Asylum and End of Life
Van Gogh decided to move to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence after the people of Arles signed a petition saying that he was dangerous. On May 8, 1889, he began painting in the hospital gardens. In November 1889, he was invited to exhibit his paintings in Brussels. He sent six paintings, including “Irises” and “Starry Night.“
On January 31, 1890, Theo and his wife, Johanna, gave birth to a boy and named him after van Gogh. Around this time, Theo sold van Gogh’s “The Red Vineyards” painting for 400 francs. Also around this time, Dr. Paul Gachet, who lived in Auvers, about 20 miles north of Paris, agreed to take van Gogh as his patient. Van Gogh moved to Auvers and rented a room. In July of that year, Vincent van Gogh committed suicide.
Theo, who was suffering from syphilis and weakened by his brother’s death, died six months after his brother in a Dutch asylum. He was buried in Utrecht, but in 1914 Theo’s wife, Johanna, who was a dedicated supporter of van Gogh’s works, had Theo’s body reburied in the Auvers cemetery next to Vincent.
Legacy2018-12-03
Theo’s wife Johanna then collected as many of van Gogh’s paintings as she could, but discovered that many had been destroyed or lost, van Gogh’s own mother having thrown away crates full of his art. On March 17, 1901, 71 of van Gogh’s paintings were displayed at a show in Paris, and his fame subsequently grew enormously. His mother lived long enough to see her son hailed as an artist and a genius. Today, Vincent van Gogh is considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt.
Χρησιμοποιούμε cookies για να σας προσφέρουμε την καλύτερη δυνατή εμπειρία στη σελίδα μας. Εάν συνεχίσετε να χρησιμοποιείτε τη σελίδα, θα υποθέσουμε πως είστε ικανοποιημένοι με αυτό.ΕντάξειΌχιΔιαβάστε περισσότερα
, was an austere country minister, and his mother,
, was a moody artist whose love of nature, drawing and watercolors was transferred to her son. Van Gogh was born exactly one year after his parents’ first son, also named Vincent, was stillborn. At a young age — his name and birthdate already etched on his dead brother’s headstone — van Gogh was melancholy. The eldest of six living children, van Gogh had two younger brothers (Theo, who worked as an art dealer and supported his older brother’s art, and Cor) and three younger sisters (Anna, Elizabeth and Willemien).
