Вербное воскресенье

Palm Sunday

The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday Christians celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and resurrection. Great crowds of people lined the streets waving palm branches to welcome him. The people were very excited. They spread branches on the road – and even laid down their clothes. They shouted 'Hosanna!' which means 'Save us Now!' In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of box, yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.
In Russia this day is called Willow Sunday. Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical in proclaiming their support.
resurrection – воскрешение
assembled worshipers – собравшиеся священники

procuring – обеспечивать, доставать

substitution - замена

bough - сук

box – бот. вечнозеленый самшит

yew – тис
commitment - обязательство
hypocritical – лицемерный, притворный

Customs and Traditions in England

In some areas of the country Palm Sunday was a traditional day for visiting wells and leaving an offering for the spirit of the well. In some places pins were dropped in the wells whilst in other places rags were hung around the wells. It was thought by doing this the spirit of the well would keep the water fresh and clean. Sallow, or pussy willow, was used in many places as a palm substitute, and was commonly known as English Palm amongst country folk. Box, yew, hazel, common willow and daffodils (Lent Lilies) were other alternatives in the days before palm was easily available as an import from Spain.

well - колодец

pin - булавка

rag – тряпка, лоскут

sallow – ива

pussy willow - верба

hazel – лесной орех

Самый внимательный читатель блога

Are you a regular visitor to this blog?

Have you read all the articles attentively?

Do the test and if you are my pupil I'll put you a five for your right answers to my questions. 

Write your name in the form, please.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG5tZEltbE1aRC1BeVB4bWxMNG1tcXc6MA

Интересный обычай

The Tichborne Dole

The Tichborne Dole can surely claim to possess the most romantic story of any British folk custom. The Tichborne Dole is one of the eccentric British traditions and dates back to the 13 century. It takes place in the village of Tichborne in Hampshire every year on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation (Lady’s Day). Over 800 ago, there lived a kind and generous woman called Lady Maybela. It was a custom in those days that if the woman had a lot of money, it all belonged to her husband from the day of their marriage. So, although Lady Maybela had been very rich, she had to ask her husband, Sir Roger de Tichborne, for anything she wanted. Sir Roger was not the nicest of all people. Lady Maybela had to beg for everything she needed. Most of things she had she gave to the poor. When she was very ill and dying, she asked her husband if he would still be kind to the poor people after she was dead. She wanted him to give bread to the poor once a year. Sir Roger wasn't very happy about this. Sir Roger took a burning log from the fire. He told his wife that however much of his land she could get round before the flames from the log went out, he would set aside for the growing of wheat and this wheat would be made into flour for the poor. Lady Maybela tried to stand up but she was too weak, so she began to crawl on her hands and knees. As she disappeared in the distance, the servants held their breath and watched the flames on the log. Sir Roger was getting angrier as he saw how far his wife was crawling. All the time the flame burnt brightly. As Lady Maybela was nearing the house, the log was nearly all burnt out, and when at last she reached the place where she had started, the flame suddenly went out. She had crawled over an area of 23 acres! These same 23 acres are known as the 'Crawls'. Before Lady Maybela died she made Sir Roger promise to give all the flour grown on the 'Crawls' to the poor every 25th March, and just to make sure he kept his promise, she put a curse on the Tichborne family and house. The curse said that anyone in the family not giving flour to the poor on 25th March would find that their house would collapse, their money would be lost and seven sons would be born followed by seven daughters and the name Tichborne would die out. The flour was given every year until 1796, when Sir Henry Tichborne gave money to the church instead of flour to the poor. He had seven sons, his eldest son had seven daughters and half the family fell down, so a very worried son of Sir Henry, a Sir Edward Doughty-Tichborne, started up the custom again - and things have been all right ever since.
dole - подаяние
annunciation - возвещение, рел. благовещение
curse - проклятие, ругательство

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichborne_Dole
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D00E0D61039EF34BC4A52DFB266838F669FDE
view the article published on April 12, 1874 in The New York Times

Олимпиада МПТИ (ф) ЯГУ

On 19 March Yakut State University held a regional olympiad among schoolchildren in Mirny. The competition was in knowledge of English language. My pupil of the 10 form Elena Kolodeznikova won the third prize. I congratulate Lena on this good result and wish her to go on studying English and make her teacher glad.

День святого Патрика

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is here, you see.

We'll pick some shamrocks, one, two, three.

We'll count the leaves and look them over,

And maybe find a four-leafed clover.

I'll sew green buttons on my vest,

Green for St. Patrick is the best.

I'll wear a green hat, very high,

And dance a jig--at least I'll try!

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn. When he was 16, he was sold into slavery to Ireland where he was a shepherd for 6 years. While in captivity he studied and turned to religion. He escaped slavery and later returned to Ireland as a missionary, determined to convert Ireland to Christianity. Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He travelled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity. His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. There was the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. One traditional symbol of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. March 17 is regarded as a national day of Ireland and is celebrated by people of Irish descent all over the world. Parades, concerts of Irish folk musik, fireworks shows, gifts and jokes have become a tradition for this day.

clover - клевер

vest- жилет
captivity - плен, неволя
to convert - обращать в другую веру
sermon - проповедь
stem - основа
bona fide - честное намерение, добросовестность
descent - происхождение

Happy St Patricks Day!

St Pattys Day Animations provided by MySpaceGraphicsandAnimations.com

Что такое детство?

Childhood is a magic castle of sand on a shore:

One moment, it's here;

the next no more.

Women gather together to wear silly hats, eat dainty food, and forget how unresponsive their husbands are. Men gather to talk sports, eat heavy food, and forget how demanding their wives are. Only where children gather is there any real chance of fun. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons. ~Author Unknown

You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again. ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

In childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking out. In memories of childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking in. ~Robert Brault

The childhood shows the man

As morning shows the day.~John Milton

Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath. Author Unknown

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” Elizabeth Lawrence quotes

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. Deepak Chopra quotes

http://www.gifzona.com/

And what is childhood for you?

Праздник мам в Великобритании

Mothers' Day - Mothering Sunday

14 March 2010

Mother's Day in UK is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in the month of Lent. It is traditionally known as Mothering Sunday. In fact England was the first country in the world to dedicate a day for mothers as early as 1600s. Mothering Sunday is a time when children pay respect to their Mothers. Children often give their Mothers a gift and a card. Many churches give the children in the congregation a little bunch of spring flowers to give to their Mothers as a thank you for all their care and love throughout the year. Mothering Sunday is not a fixed day because it is always the middle Sunday in Lent (which lasts from Ash Wednesday to the day before Easter Sunday). This means that Mother's Day in the UK will fall on different dates each year and sometimes even fall in different months. Mothering Sunday was also known as 'Refreshment Sunday', Pudding Pie Sunday (in Surrey, England) or 'Mid-Lent Sunday'. No one is absolutely certain exactly how the name of Mothering Sunday began. However, one theory is that the celebration could have been adopted from a Roman Spring festival celebrating Cybele, their Mother Goddess. As Christianity spread, this date was adopted by Christians. The epistle in the Book of Common Prayer for this Sunday refers to the heavenly Jerusalem as "the Mother of all us all", and this may have prompted the customs we still see today. It is known on this date, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church). The church in which each person was baptised. People who visited their mother church would say they had gone "a mothering. "Young British girls and boys 'in service' (maids and servants) at the local Manor House or in a Mansion, were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. This was usually on Mothering Sunday. Often the housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden (or hothouse) was allowed.

Lent - великий пост

congregation - прихожане

Ash Wednesday - среда на первой недели великого поста

refreshment - обновление

epistle - послание

to prompt - подсказывать

maid - горничная, прислуга

Manor House - помещичий дом

Mansion - большой дом, особняк

hothouse - оранжерея, теплица

Watch the cards on this holiday here: http://www.123greetings.com/events/mothers_day/happy_mother/mothersday71.html

Планета Уран

13 March 1781: Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, was discovered by the famous English astronomer Gershel.
Information on space and the Solar System http://www.astrolab.ru/cgi-bin/manager.cgi?id=7&num=1093

The solar system consists of the Sun, eight planets, more than 60 moons, millions of rocky asteroids and billions of icy comets. All the planets orbit the Sun in elliptical paths. The average distance of the Earth from the Sun is about 149,6 million km Until, there was thought to be 9 planets in the Solar System. In 2006, the international Astronomic Union decided that Pluto is no longer a planet, so there are now only 8 planets in the Solar System.

The moon is about 3,250 km wide
The Earth is about 13,000 km wide
The Sun is about 1,300,000 km wide
The order of the planet from the Sun is: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The name of our galaxy is the Milky Way. Our solar system is located in the outer reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. All the stars that you see at night and our Sun belong to the Milky Way. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage.htm

День первого телефонного звонка

On 10 March 1876 Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in his Boston laboratory, summoning his assistant from the next room.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. A. G. Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 March 1847. He was educated at the Edinburgh high school and Edinburgh University. He removed to London in 1867, and entered the University there, but left on account of his health, and went to Canada with his father in 1870. In 1872 he took up his residence in the United States, introducing with success his father's system of deaf-mute instruction, and became professor of vocal physiology in Boston University. Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. His first public exhibition of the invention was at Philadelphia. In retrospect, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study. On 27 March 1884 the first long distance telephone line between New York and Boston was made.

to summon - вызывать
elocution - ораторское мастерство
eventually - возможно
intrusion - вторжение

Read more about A. G. Bell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell and http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/bell.html

International Women's Day

I congratulate all women of the world on International Women's Day! Be healthy, happy, lucky and loved not only by your dearest and nearest!

 Let's sing this wonderful song together!

С праздником милые девочки, девушки, женщины!

Милые женщины, добрые, верные!
С новой весной Вас, с каплями первыми!
Мирного неба Вам, солнца лучистого,
Счастья заветного, самого чистого!
Много Вам ласки, тепла, доброты, -
Пусть исполняются Ваши мечты!

С первым днем весны!

Spring has begun!

Spring Quotes:

• Spring has come when you can put your foot on three daisies. Proverb

• Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. Doug Larson

• Is it so small a thing

   To have enjoy'd the sun,

  To have lived light in the spring,

  To have loved,

  To have thought,

  To have done? Matthew Arnold

• Come, gentle Spring! ethereal Mildness! come. James Thomson

• Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment. Ellis Peters

• In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. Mark Twain

• The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. Henry Van Dyke

• Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil. Bishop Reginald Heber

• Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men. Chinese Proverb

• Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Yoko Ono

• Nothing is so beautiful as spring Gerard Manley Hopkins

• A little madness in the Spring

  Is wholesome even for the King. Emily Dickinson

• I thought that spring must last forevermore,

  For I was young and loved, and it was May. Vera Brittain

• If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. Anne Bradstreet

Slush – слякоть, грязь

Perpetua – вечный, бесконечный

Wholesome – полезный, благотворный

Watch the card here