Max' girlfriend

Como os prometí os cuelgo el dibujo que Lorena pinto. Venga ánimo. Y recordad que debe tener el tamaño de un folio.

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I wish  everyone Merry Christmas , full of peace, love and happiness and  I hope all of us have a good year 1918.

The Spanish constitution

A little bit of information about our dear Spanish constitution.

Thanksgiving in CEIP "Ntra. Sra de la Antigua"

Max viaja a través de la web

Max sigue viajando por el mundo aunque ahora sea de forma virtual a través de las redes sociales.

http://acercandoaulas.blogspot.com.es/2017/11/maxs-odyssey.html

35 Bc11e7dc1

Thanksgiving Vocabulary

 A little bit of story

La Historia del Día de Acción de Gracias

Los peregrinos (Pilgrims) llegaron a Plymouth Rock el 11 de Diciembre de 1620. El primer Invierno fue muy duro para ellos. Pero el siguiente otoño, ellos obtuvieron una buena cosecha de las semillas que ellos plantaron. Decidieron celebrarlo con una gran cena, incluyendo a los indios que les habían ayudado a sobrevivir el primer año.
Los hombres se fueron a cazar, a conseguir carne para la cena. No se sabe a ciencia cierta si los pavos de la región, fueron parte de la cena, ya que ellos usaban el termino "pavo" para cualquier clase de ave silvestre
Otra clase de alimento que casi siempre tenemos para el Día de Acción de Gracias es el pastel de calabazas. Son muy pocas las posibilidades que ese alimento formara parte del menú de la primera celebración de Acción de Gracias. Las reservas de harina se habían usado, así que no había pan o pasteles de ninguna clase. Había suficiente cantidad de calabazas, por que ellas crecían en el campo y ellos las comían cocidas. Tampoco había leche, sidra, papas o mantequilla. No había vacas para producir leche y la papa recién descubierta, muchos aun creían que era venenosa.
La cena incluyó pescado, bayas silvestres, berros, langostas, fruta seca, maíz, almejas, venado y ciruelas.
El Día de Acción de Gracias no se celebraba todos los años. Inclusive no fue hasta Junio de 1676 que se celebró otro Día de Acción de Gracias. El Día de Acción de Gracias fue proclamado oficialmente por el presidente Lincoln en 1863, para ser celebrado el ultimo jueves del mes de Noviembre. En 1941 el Día de Acción de Gracias fue declarado oficialmente, por el Congreso de los Estados Unidos un día festivo, a celebrarse el cuarto jueves del mes de Noviembre.

Cuando celebre este año el Día de Acción de Gracias, hable acerca de los alimentos que preparó para las festividades y cómo estos se diferencian de los alimentos que hubo en la primera celebración del Día de Acción de Gracias.

Maíz

El cultivo del maíz fue muy importante para los Peregrinos y los nativos indígenas. Era el plato principal y se consumía en toda comida. Había muchas variedades de maíz - blanco, azul, amarillo y rojo.
Alguna cantidad de maíz se secaba para preservarlo y guardarlo como alimento para los meses de invierno. El maíz siempre se trillaba para hacer harina de maíz. La harina de maíz se podía usar para hacer pan de maíz, pudín de maíz, jarabe de maíz, o se podía mezclar con frijoles para preparar succotash (cocción de granos enteros de maíz)
Los Peregrinos no conocían el maíz antes de conocer a los indios.. Los indios les dieron a los Peregrinos semillas de maíz y les enseñaron como cultivar el maíz. Actualmente cultivamos mas hectáreas de maíz que cualquier otro grano.

Adivinanza: �Por qué el granjero ya no dice secretos en el campo de maíz?

Comemos maíz preparado de muchas diferentes maneras. La siguiente es una receta usando harina de maíz y granos de maíz.

Fácil Cacerola de Maíz

1 huevo
1/4 taza de margarina
1 lata de 8 3/4 onzas de granos de maíz
1 lata de 8 3/4 onzas de maíz en crema
1 paquete de 8 1/2 onzas de mezcla para pancitos (muffins) de maíz
8 onzas de crema agria regular o baja en grasa
Precaliente el horno a 350�F.
Combine todos los ingredientes en una vasija mediana. Vacíelos dentro de un molde para hornear cuadrado de 8 pulgadas, rociado con aceite. Hornear a 350� F por 45 minutos o hasta que esté cocido.

Palomitas de maíz en bolas de melcocha (angelitos)

12 tazas de palomitas de maíz
1/4 de taza de mantequilla o margarina
1 bolsa (10 onzas) de angelitos (melcochas)
Ponga las palomitas de maíz (pop corn) en un tazón o cacerola y póngalas a un lado. Caliente en la estufa a fuego lento la mantequilla y las melcochas en una cacerola para salsa espesa. Ponga el fuego a baja temperatura. Revuelva constantemente hasta que se derrita la mezcla
(mantequilla y melcochas) y se observe bien fina. Ahora, ponga las melcochas derretidas sobre las palomitas y mezcle cuidadosamente hasta que las palomitas estén bien cubiertas. Puede hacer figuras. (Ponga un poco de mantequilla en sus manos para que la mezcla no se pegue en sus manos.)
Respuesta: Porque el maíz era todo oídos.


http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/thanksgiving/short-stories/the-first-thanksgiving.html

Vocabulary

Celebrate.  Celebrar

Feast.         Banquete 

  Lucia Roncero 3.P
Pie.             Pastel de carne  

    Marina Molina 3.P    
Stuffing.      Relleno

Dinner.        Cena

  Iker Sánchez  3º P Harvest.      Cosecha

  Raúl Rivero 3º P Pilgrims.      Peregrinos

Family.         Familia

  Aitor  Puerto 3º P November.    Noviembre

  Manuela Sánchez  3ºP Pumpkin.      Calabaza

  Antonio Gabriel  3º P Turkey.          Pavo

Manuel Algaba 3ºP

MÉRIDA EN PUZZLES

Playing with Max

35 Max arrived in Spain.

Busy Morning! Unit 2. 3rd grade

2.- Busy Morning

- To identify and describe daily routines. - To tell the time with o’clock and half past.

- To learn the days of the week.

-To sing a song and a chant.

- To read and understand a story and a cartoon. To read and understand short descriptions.

- To write a short description of your favourite day.

- To practise pronunciation: i.

Vocabulary:

- brush my teeth, get dressed, get up, go to school, have breakfast, have a shower; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structures:

• What time is it?
• It’s six o’clock. / It’s half past nin

Emèrita Augusta

AUGUSTA EMERITA, CAMINO MOZARABE

Leer más publicaciones en Calaméo

The way of the water in the Roman Mérida.

Leer más publicaciones en Calaméo

Where are you from? Unit 2 4th grade

Where are you from?

  - To learn the names of different countries.

-To learn the names of different languages.

- To sing a song and a chant.

- To read and understand a story and a cartoon.

-To say a tongue twister

Vocabulary:

-          China, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the UK, the USA; Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Italian, Spanish

Structures:

-          Where are you from?

-           I’m from (France).

-           He’s/She’s from (Italy).

-           I speak (Chinese).

-          He/She likes (cycling).

Festivity: Thanksgiving

Países             Nacionalidades


Ireland                   Irish                   I'm  from Ireland. I'm Irish.

France                   French               I'm from France. I'm French.

UK                          British              I'm from UK. I'm British.

USA                        American         I'm from USA. I'm American

Mexico                   Mexican            I`m from Mexico. I`m Mexican.

China                     Chinese              I`m from China. I'm Chinese.

Italy                        Italian                 I`m from Italy. I`m Italian.

Spain                      Spanish               I´m from Spain. I`m Spanish.

Brazil                     Brazilian              I'm from Brazil. I'm Brazilian

Romania                Romanian             I'm from Romania. I'm Romanian.

Pakistan                Pakistani               I'm from Pakistan. I'm Pakistani.

Syria                      Syrian                   I'm from Syria. I'm Syrian.

My family. Preprimary5 years.

MY FAMILY

Objetivos:

-       Learn about the family, furniture and house chores, as well as reviewing more colours, the concepts circle, square and triangle and thenumbers one to five.

Contenidos:

-       New: sofa, bed, bath.

-       Review: brother, sister, grandad, mummy, daddy, baby, granny; red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, brown; bird, whale, frog, duck, hen, mouse, bear; 1-5; circle, square, triangle

The orign of Halloween

Max

Indice

-      Introducción…………………………………………………………..page 3

-      Chapter I.  “Chaquetía Day”…………………………..page 4

-      Chapter II. St. Andrew’s Day –Andrzejki….page 11

-      Chapter III.Max and Santa……………………………..page17

-      Chapter IV.Matisor Day…………………………………….page 20

-      Chapter V. St. Patrick’s Day………………………….page 29

-      Chapter VI  Easter in Ukraine………………………..page 41

-      Epilogue…………………………………………………………………….page 46

   “Cuando tuve de Nuevo a Max entre mis manos cerré los ojos e intenté imaginar todo lo que aquellos hermosos ojos azules habían visto y vivido en su odisea por diferentes colegios europeos”.(Teresa Sánchez Marcos)

Introduction

   The alarm went off and although he had only slept a couple of hours he jumped out of bed, leaving the pleasant warmth of it to embark on the adventure that awaited him.

He had spent the day before packing.  He was going to make the most exciting journey of his life, he would tour Europe visiting some schools and knowing firsthand how some parties were held in those countries.

What clothes had he to wear? The destinations were Spain and Poland during the autumn, Finland and Romania in winter and finally Ireland and Ukraine in spring. He chose not to carry much luggage and buy typical clothes in every place.

He lived in the Rue de Treves at number 81 near the "Classroom of the Future" in Brussels. Indeed, he was Belgian and his native language was French but he could defend himself in all countries because he had a good grasp of the English language and knew that in all the places where he would go, English was studied as a second language.

When he was ready, his friend Marc drove him to the airport and stood there, watching as the plane in which his best friend was now seated in took flight. They were going to be separated for many months but Max had promised to send him many letters describing everything that he saw and experienced in detail. He would also enclose photographs and drawings from the students.

Chapter I.  “Chaquetía Day”

 In Merida, October 28th, 2016

Dear Marc!

How are you? I hope you are well.

I am already in Merida, at last. It's my first destination and it's been incredible.

Teresa Sanchez, one of the English teachers of the school, came to meet me at the airport and took me directly there because they were going to celebrate "La Chaquetía" that same day. You are probably wondering what Chaquetía is? it is the festivity that they celebrate in Merida coinciding with Halloween.

 It's amazing to arrive in the city Marc and see its imposing Roman buildings. We will both have to take a leisurely trip when I finish my travels across Europe and enjoy the architectural wonders of the place. Antigua's school is tiny, no more than 200 students and about 20 teachers, but it's a place where you feel good because it's like a big family where everyone knows each other and cares for each other. And now it's time to go and celebrate "La Chaquetía". The entire

educational community and I head towards an esplanade where there is a medieval

hermitage called "Ntra. Sra. de la Antigua ", yes, yes, like the school and something curious has happened, the students have adopted it and take care of it with much affection. For example, they share some festivities with her, like this one today.

    - I'll tell you how I celebrated the event. La Chaquetía was very funny, Flor, the director had made quince candy and we mixed it in a piece of bread with cheese. She gave me the recipe, I am also sending it to you because it does not seem difficult to make and it tastes delicious. The students sat in groups forming circles, in the shade of the hermitage and shared their "Chaquetía", that is to say, they all ate everything, because it encourages sharing. La Chaquetía is composed of ingredients such as walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts ... and also grenades, figs, mandarins, grapes and quinces.

But they did not just share with each other. A few meters from the hermitage there is a center where the elders of the city meet during the day, and can you guess what is called? Exactly, La Antigua. Many of these elders are the grandparents of the students and it was very emotional. The

grandparents had a fire where they were roasting the chestnuts that the children brought but first the professors split them because if they did not do they said that the chestnuts may explode. Then

they made small, little packets with paper and put several chestnuts inside them, they were delicious!

    I made an incredible discovery Marc. One of the elders told me that The Procession of the Souls was a widespread tradition in Extremadura in the XIX during the night of the dead, on October 31. The souls, who were people dressed in black or white, walked the streets of the village asking for money while going from house to house. And it used to end up in the cemetery. I deduce that Halloween was already celebrated here before the Europeans arrived in America and took with them the Celtic Halloween celebrations. It really shows that in this area there must have been Celtic settlements and its culture still survives.

   There is more to tell you. When they finished sharing their "chaquetías" and roasting the chestnuts, they began to play. They were traditional games, from those of yesteryear. Even some grandpas and grandmas participated as well. It was hot, very hot. I have been told that it has been a very hard summer and that there have even been days of 45º C. and it was apparent that autumn had not yet arrived. Luckily there was a very large fountain where we were and we were able to quench our thirst.

  After two hours the professors gathered their groups of students and we returned to the school. Some children had kept their packet of roasted chestnuts to share at home with their families. Marc, this celebration has been a real lesson of sharing.

Before leaving I had been given drawings, photos, videos and letters ... For the moment I am sending you this letter, some photos and also some drawings where I will explain to you what they are doing.

When the time for the farewell came, there were hugs and tears. It's funny, the Spaniards love to hug and kiss, I really felt at home.

I am writing to you from the plane that is taking me to Poland. I am loaded with very good memories and with the hope of continuing to enjoy myself while I go through the different European centers that I have been commissioned to visit.

Your friend Max

                     (By Teresa Sánchez Marcos from Spain)

“Dulce de  Membrillo" Recipe

Ingredients:

-      Quinces

-      sugar

Elaboration

The quinces are washed and covered with water in a pot. They put on the fire the necessary time for the punctures with a fork to be soft.

They are allowed to cool, peel and remove the seeds.

We added the same amount of sugar that we have of fifteen.

Example: For 1 kg of quince 1 kg of sugar.

From here there are two ways to do it.

The traditional one:

 You pass through the mixer the fifteen and the sugar and put the pot to the fire, it is spinning (with a wooden spoon) until it acquires the desired texture. We must be careful because it splashes and we can burn.

The modern one:

 It is passed through the mixer and placed in a microwave-safe container. At maximum power is put in periods of 5 minutes and meet until it acquires the desired texture.

This is mine.  A student from Poland who is a friend of the Spanish students did the drawing and sent it to them.

Chapter II. St. Andrew‟s Day –Andrzejki

 In Bialystok, November 29th, 2016

Dear Marc!

We haven‟t seen each other for over a month. How are you? I hope everything is fine.

I am already in Poland which is my second destination. I have never been here before and I haven‟t expected that it is such an amazing country. It‟s not only because of its outstanding beauty but most of all because of exceptionally friendly and hospitable people I‟ve had a chance to meet.

As I managed to find out, Bialystok is the largest city in north-eastern Poland serving the function of the capital of Podlaskie province. It is the administrative, economic, and academic centre of the region which, due to its exceptional environmental assets, has been termed the Green Lungs of Poland. As an interesting side note, I can add that Bialystok is also the place of birth of LudwikZamenhoff, the inventor of the artificial language Esperanto.

On the day of my arrival, late in the evening, I was also invited to a traditional Polish dinner. I will never forget the taste of Polish “pierogi‟, “bigos‟ and “babkaziemniaczana‟. Everything was so delicious! I took some recipes.

Now let‟s come back to the celebration of “Andrzejki”. I learnt that the tradition of “Andrzejki” fortune telling was noted in the 16th century and it is still known and practiced in all regions of Poland. However, nowadays the ceremony has lost a lot of its magical and serious character and has been transformed into fun and games during St. Andrew parties arranged by young people.

The next day, early in the morning, Dorota took me directly to her school where I was going to see the Polish celebration of St. Andrew’s Day called “Adrzejki”. Soon after we arrived at a place I was shown around the school and got to know some

interesting facts. The school is quite big, about 500 primary students and 45 teachers. It was named after Kazimierz Górski who was an outstanding coach of Poland National Football Team. What is special about this school is that it is sport-oriented and well equipped with sporting facilities. I could see many students playing football and volleyball both indoors and outdoors. They were enjoying themselves a lot.

 I tell you how I celebrate this event with Polish students and their teacher from SzkolaPodstawowa nr37. It was a very special afternoon which brought me loads of fun! The students showed me a lot of ideas of how to find out about the future, namely the marriage, lucky or unlucky love and prosperous or poor perspectives. The most spectacular was pouring hot liquid wax through a keyhole into cold water. The shape of the solidified wax was supposed to represent something that would happen to us in the upcoming year. After unlimited interpretations of wax shapes, we took part in the shoes race. Everyone took off their shoes and put them in a line one after the other. Then, we moved them gradually one after the other in the direction of the door. The owner of the shoe which reached the doorstep first would obviously be the first one to marry. After knowing the result of the shoes competition, it was the time for other fortune telling practices such a palm reading, horoscopes, astrology, magic box or crystal ball. There were lots of laughing while students were piercing the heart with either females or male names on the back. Girls and boys stuck the needle into the heart from the other side, so that they couldn´t see what was written there. The little hole in the paper heart showed them the name of their future spouse. I must say that I also really liked the idea of the cups flipped upside down. Under three cups were placed in sequence: a ring, a coin and a leaf. Then the cups were mixed and students were supposed to choose one of them. Choosing the ring symbolized a happy love, the coin would bring us money, whereas the leaf was the announcement of the wedding. The last idea were fortune cookies. You will never guess what prediction I found inside my fortune cookie! I will keep it a secret till we meet!

Our St. Andrew´s celebration lasted only two hours but I will always remember this special party and I´m very grateful for the invitation to participate in it.

   I´m sending you photos from my greatest memories and I also enclosed a recipe for these amazing fortune cookies!

Tomorrow I’m leaving for Finland. I know that it will be difficult to say goodbye to Polish friends but I believe I will come back there one day.

I will write to you soon.

Your friend Max

                          (By Dorota Żukowska from Poland) 

Fortune cookies recipe

Ingredients

 2 egg whites

 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar

 50 g (⅓ cup) plain flour, sifted

 30 g butter, melted

 14 paper messages

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C. Use a pencil to mark two 8 cm circles on a sheet of baking paper, flip paper over and place onto a baking tray.

Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, mix until sugar dissolves.

Add flour and butter and beat on a slow speed until smooth.

Working in batches of two, place a teaspoonful of mixture onto each circle on the baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to spread evenly to cover circle completely.

Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden around edges.

Working quickly loosen cookies from tray using a spatula.

Place a paper message in the centre of each.

Fold hot cookies in half, pressing edges together.

Gently bend each cookie over the side of a glass to form a crescent shape. Place onto a wire rack to cool.

Repeat with remaining cookie mixture.

Chapter III.Max and Santa.

In Rovaniemi,  December 26th 2016

Dear Marc,

How are you? I wish you Happy New Year 2017!

I decided to spend Christmas time in Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland. The Finnair Santa flight from the capital of Finland Helsinki to Rovaniemi arrived on time. Rovaniemi is Santa’s official home town in Lapland.

The city of Rovaniemi was decorated for Christmas time. There were beautiful Christmas trees with lights all around the city. The weather was freezing cold. So I had to do some shopping. I bought warm winter clothes, e.g. woollen

mittens. I also bought soft reindeers as souvenirs.

In Rovaniemi I visited Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle. In Santa Claus Village there were Christmas trees, snowmen, beautiful lights and ice

sculptures. In Santa Claus Village I crossed the magical Arctic Circle and had a chance to meet Santa Claus. It was great to meet Santa Claus himself. I have always wanted to ask Santa how old he is. Santa told me that’s something not even he can remember exactly.

One of the most interesting places was Santa’s post office. Santa’s Elves were sorting out letters from all over the world. I got a very special chance to see Santa’s workshop. There were big and small presents waiting for delivery on Christmas Eve.

In Santa Claus Village, there were reindeers with a wooden sleigh. I jumped on the sleigh and rode like Santa through a snowy forest. For the first time in my life, I saw The Northern Lights. In the evening it was fun to go to the sauna and swimin the snow.

On Christmas Eve I was invited to a Finnish Christmas dinner.  As a dessert I tasted gingerbread cookies. I liked them a lot. I sent you a gingerbread mould with a recipe for gingerbread cookies. So you can bake them, too.

I took videos about Rovaniemi city and Santa Claus Village. I hope you enjoy them.

Best wishes

 Max

                                                                       (By Tuire Kokko from Finland)

Gingerbread cookies recipe

(makes about 45)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes per batch

Oven temperature: 400°F (200 °C)

125 g margarine

3/4 dl dark syrup

1 dl granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp ground gloves

1 tsp grated orange rind

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp baking soda

4 dl white flour

1 egg

Chapter IV.Matisor Day

In Oradea, February 1st, 2017

Dear Marc!

Finally, after a long way, I arrived in Romania. I will stay with them a few days and then I will continue my way to Ireland

After arriving in Romania, I discovered that here they have another "Valentine's Day", which is called "Dragobete". Then I learned about "Mărţişor", another Romanian celebration. I like  holidays, so  I  was very happy.

Today, March 1st, in Romania is celebrating "Mărţişor Day" symbol of the spring arrival. This morning, when I came to school, I saw that the streets were  filled with vendors of trinkets (mărţişoare). In the classroom I was expected from the fourth grade students who gave each other trinkets (mărţişoare). They gave me one, too. I'll take it with me in Ireland.

I will add some information  with my letter about Dragobete and Martisor.

 After some beautiful days spent in Romania I am ready to go. Tomorrow morning I will say goodbye to my Romanian friends and I will fly to Ireland. I hope to go faster than ever in Romania.

 I will tell you soon what I've done here.

Love

      Your friend Max

                            (By Sandor Traier from Romania)

Dragobete: Lovers’ Day, in Romania.

Dragobete, the traditional lovers’ day in Romania, is celebrated on February 24^th , ten days after the Western European and American counterpart Valentine’s Day. The Dragobete traditional story goes that, clothed with holiday suits, young men and women in front of the church and go searching the woods and meadows for spring flowers. They sit around fire on the hills of the village and talk. At noon, the girls run to the village, each followed by one boy who had fallen for them. If the boy is fast and reaches the girl o his choice and if she likes him, she kisses him in front of everyone. This tradition triggered the expression “Dragobete kisses the girls” (Dragobetesaturafetele). The kiss show the two lovers’ engagement. Dragobete being an opportunity to show the love in front of the community.

    There are a number of Dragobete customs in rural areas, many of which are not kept by modern Romanians anymore. On this day, no animals are sacrificed because it would ruin the point of mating. In the old days, single women used to gather the last remnants of snow, called “the fairies’ snow”, and the water resulted from the melted snow was used throughout the year for various beauty treatments and love spells.

   The tradition goes that men should not hurt women, nor argue with them, otherwise they will not do well the whole year. Youngsters believe that on this day they should be joyous and respect the holiday, so that they can be in love the whole year.

    Modern Romanians embraced Valentine’s Day in the early 90s. More recently, a new movement has emerged in Romania -that of celebrating the traditional holiday instead of what is seen as the commercial, Western European-imported celebration. Bar and clubs organize Dragobete-themed nights, media outlets put up campaigns to remind Romanians of their traditional holiday.

Martisor: one of the most representative of Romania’s traditions.

    The Martisor, a spring token, a tiny adornment tied with a red and white entwined cord, is one of the most representative Romanian traditions that is 8,000 years old when people used to give each other red and white pebbles in a string as a gift.

Martisor a genuine Romanian holiday celebrates the arrival of spring. Young ladies and women dear to us receive these spring tokens on March 1^st, the Martisor day. It is believe to bring joy and good luck. In Bukovina (North-Eastern  Romanian province) men who receive Martisor.

    It is a red and white entwined cord, the red symbolizes the winter and the white one the spring. The little jewel (thing) may be a symbol of good luck such as a three-leafed  dove, chimney sweeper or a heart.

   The spring token is worn for a week or two, on outer garments as a brochre. Archaeological discoveries revealed that the firs spring day was celebrated even 8000 years ago. Roman time’s Martisor  were white and red pebbles in a string.

    Like in ancient times, they were coins tied by black and white wool threads. Gold, silver or bronze coins were chosen depending on the social status. They were worn round the neck or the wrist and were later named marts or martigus (diminutives for March).

The Dacians (Romanians’ ancestors) believed these amulets brought fertility, beauty and prevented sunburns and they wore them when the trees started blooming and they were laer hung on the tree twigs.

    Folklore scientists found Martisor variants in the ancients civilization as well and they think they are directly related to God Mars’ heralds, because it was on Mars ides when snow was not melted yet throughout the Roman Empire, When military campaigns could start. Therefore, red and white means exactly that day, as well as vitality and victory, on one hand and purification and inauguration on the other.

    It was also said that white and red were strong amulets against evil eye and a token of purity and innocence.

    The Romania folkloric tradition also relates Martisor to the legend of Baba Dochia. Martisor custom is part of the ritual scenario of the time’s renewal, Dochia’s symbolic death and birth. According to the traditions it was even Dochia who was spinning the threads while she was driving the sheep back up to the mountains. Thus, because Martisor is inseparable from Dochia tradition in the Carpathians we can certainly say it is a very old Romanian custom found in all the areas where Romanians and Aromanians live, later taken over by other south-eastemEuropean peoples.

Source: Romanian National News Agency

Mince Pie

Ingredients

 1 large jar mincemeat (about 600g)

 2 satsumas, segmented

 1 apple (finely chopped)

. zest 1 lemon

. little icing sugar, for dusting

For the pastry

 375g plain flour

 260g unsalted butter, softened

 125g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

 1 large egg. plus 1 beaten egg for glazing

Method

1.    Place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together to a crumb consistency. Add the sugar and the egg, and mix together. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and fold until the pastry comes together, be careful not to over mix. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 10 mins.

2.    Scoop the mincemeat into a bowl and add the satsumas, apple and zest.

3.    Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Using a round cutter (about 10cm), cut out 16 bases and place them into muffin trays. Put 11⁄2 tbsp mincemeat mixture into each. Brush the edge of each pie with a little beaten egg. Re-roll out the pastry to cut 7cm lids and press them on top to seal. Glaze with the rest of the egg, sprinkle with caster sugar, then make a small cut in the tops.

4.    Bake mince pies for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool before releasing

5.   them from the muffin trays and dusting with icing sugar. Serve.

Chapter V. St. Patrick’s Day

In Wexford,  March 17th, 2017

Dear Marc,

I left Romania last night and you’ll never believe what happened when I looked out the aeroplane window, I saw an amazing rainbow over Ireland and the land was so green I was hoping there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!!  After I left Dublin I travelled to Wexford to Our Lady of Fatima School.

On the Monday morning I met with the students in Middle 3 along with their teacher Glenda and classroom assistant Patricia.  I went to an assembly and met all the students and teachers of the school along with the Principal MrsWaters, at the assembly it was explained all about the activities that would happen that week and that I was special visitor for the week. 

I attended a craft workshop and the younger students were making St. Patrick Day badges to wear on their Jumpers for their parade,  I helped out during the work shop.  Later on that day I met two training assist dogs who would go on to help children with autism they were very friendly and their training takes 18 months.

The following day we had two more workshops with the middle school students making paper Leprechauns this was the best fun as I got to dance with the leprechauns to some Irish music the whole class loved it.  The older students went on to make St. Patrick’s Day Cards for their families so I was certainly kept busy that day and so tired after my dancing!!

Wednesday we had another assembly where students talked about their Erasmus trip and showed photos and how they met other students from Italy, France and Germany.  This was a great experience for all the students involved, they got to know new cultures just like me on my trip.

That afternoon I did some Irish games and had to learn some more Irish Dancing for the following days Ceili which is when we will all get to do some Irish set dancing called the Walls of Limerick

Thursday was a very exciting day we had the school St. Patrick’s Day parade when all the students dressed up in something that represented Ireland, they wore Irish Jerseys, dressed as St Patrick and leprechauns and wore silly beards and hats and coloured the Irish flag on their faces.  We marched around the school to some Irish music and then Middle 3 class judged for the best costume for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd prize, it was hard to pick because everyone looked great and of course I had a few photos taken with the winners.

That afternoon we had the Ceili and got to taste some Irish food, I had some famous Colcannon which is Potatoes, Kale, Cabbage, onions and ham all mashed together it was delicious.  I also tried Soda Bread with cheese it was amazing so light but filling, the best of all was famous Irish Crisps called Tayto and the refreshing Club orange drink which I needed after all of my dancing.

I had a great experience where I went home to a student’s house for the weekend so I could get to see the big St Patrick’s Day parade in Wexford Town the excitement was electric. I was on the local radio talking about my trip and eTwinning explaining why I was there.  The parade itself was full of colour and characters, it had bands playing from different parts of the world, there were all sorts of clubs marching (Karate, kickboxing, hurling, football, Irish dancing schools, Wexford Scouts and Girl Guides the best thing of all was a massive inflatable Snake it was huge this was to represent St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, the parade went on for 2hrs and I enjoyed every minute with my new family.

On my last day Middle 3 students travelled to Tramore a town about an hour away from Wexford to hear the story of ST. Patrick told by the author John Willmott.  We met John for a walk first on the lovely beach, the weather was a bit on the cold side but we all still enjoyed the walk and watching some surfers on the Atlantic Ocean.   John was so funny telling us the story of St. Patrick he liked to add little antidotes, he told us the story while having lunch in a Typical Irish Pub but as I’m underage I didn’t get to sample the famous Irish Drink GUINNESS. 

Well Marc I will be so sad to say good bye to my Irish Friends as they were so welcoming and some day I will be back to visit this Lovely Emerald Isle, Slainte which means goodbye in the Irish language and I hope you enjoy my video and photos.

Looking forward to my next adventure in The Ukraine..

Bye for now

Your Friend Max

                                                    (By Glenda McKeown from Ireland)

ST. PATRICK´S STORY

Many, years ago in the day of old,   in a land far, the story begins which tells of the boy who becomes St Patrick. 

  He was not born in Ireland, which many people believe, including many Irish people. No, he was born in a country across the sea from Ireland called Wales. Wales is not far from Ireland which turned out to be rather unfortunate for young MaewynSuccat. Who is that? I hear you ask. You see that was his name before he became Patrick, I am glad he changed it as St MaewynSuccat’s day is much harder to pronounce. I am sure that young Maewyn had a normal childhood; perhaps he played football with his friends who also had silly names. Perhaps he used the Internet. Could he have had a Facebook page? Or, how about a mobile phone to text his friends? I wonder which TV programmes he preferred? Well you see, electricity had not been invented in Maewyn’s time so he would not have had any of the things that young people today could not imagine living without. What kind of games do you think young Maewyn and his friends played so long ago? Anyway, back to the story. When Maewyn was sixteen years old a group of mad Irishmen raided his little Welsh village and captured him. Without even asking for permission, they bundled him on a boat back to Ireland to sell as a slave. He always wanted to go on a boat journey but not like this. No more normal childhood for young Maewyn.

He was sold to a Druid chief who had a large herd of pigs. Guess what his new job was to be? Yes, you guessed correctly; a pig farmer. Now life as a pig farmer was no picnic for the young man from wales. It was a very difficult and smelly job to do, perhaps at that time his name was changed to Smelly, we just don’t know.

He ate, slept with and generally lived among the pigs and each night he would tell them the story of “The three little pigs”, how they loved that story.

It was during his time in Ireland that Smelly, sorry, Maewyn became a Christian. One night he heard a voice in his dreams telling him to get an airplane back to his own country, but as airplanes were not yet invented he had to go by ship. He fled the coast of Ireland and found his way back home. After having the world’s longest shower he joined a monastery where he stayed for the next twelve years. It became his goal in life to convert the pagans of Ireland to Christianity. Perhaps he thought that this would put a stop to their pastime of kidnapping and selling young boys into slavery. It was at this time that he took the name Patrick. He became a bishop and went back to Ireland to pursue his destiny.

  He was very good at his job as he helped many people to find God and leave their old pagan ways behind. He even went to visit his old slave master to show that he had no bad feelings towards him. Perhaps he also wanted to visit his old roommates the pigs, but alas, they had all been eaten. This upset Patrick because he was looking forward to a nice piece of ham. The story goes that his old master took all his valuables to his house and burned it down with himself still inside. Apparently, he did not want to face his former slave who had become

famous.

   Many stories have been written about Patrick. He was not yet called St. Patrick, which would come much later. It is said that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland, not in a car mind you because cars had not been invented yet either. This is not exactly true, at that time there were no snakes in Ireland. As the devil is often referred to as a snake, it is said that it was the devil he banished from Ireland.

   It is said also that he used the shamrock as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. That is why the shamrock is very famous in Ireland and people around the world associate it with Ireland. But we do know that he built many churches and schools all over Ireland. He spent almost thirty years in Ireland teaching the pagans of that green land about the wonders of the Catholic religion. The Irish people never forgot about the boy who, in the twelfth century became a saint, taking the name St Patrick.

  St Patrick day was originally a religious holiday but these days it is a secular holiday. It is celebrated each year on March 17th, which is the date on which he died. Ireland is not the only country to celebrate. Over the centuries many Irish people went to distant lands to find fame and fortune. With them they brought their culture and traditions. Today St. Patrick’s day is also enjoyed by both Catholics and non-Catholics. In my own little town, on the south coast of Ireland, we have a beautiful parade through our city streets. Lots of children dress up as leprechauns and mini St Patricks. It is a day to remember all the good things about being Irish, a time to be proud of our history.

                         (By John Wilmott from Tramore-Ireland)

Soda Bread Recipe

What you need:

-      450g/1lb Cream Plain Flour.

-      1 level teaspoon Bread Soda.

-      1 level teaspoon Cream of tartar.

-      Good pinch of Salt.

-      1 tablespoon Shamrock Golden Caster Sugar (optional)

-      25g/1oz Butter or Margarine.

-      300ml/1/2pt Buttermilk or Sour Milk.

How to:

1.    Sleve flour, bread soda, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl. Add sugar if used.

2.   Rub in the butter/margarine to resemble breadcrumbs, lifting mixture with fingertips to introduce air to the dough.

3.   Add milk and mix to make a soft dough.

4.   Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead a little.

5.   Turn the smooth side up and shape into a round. Place the dough on a floured tin.

6.   Cut a cross over the top.

7.   Bake in preheated oven at 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 5-6 for 40-45 minutes.

8.   When baked the underneath should have a hollow sound when tapped.

9.   Cool on a wire tray. Cover with a dry tea towel to give a soft crust.

Colcannon

Ingredients:

3 pound potatoes, scrubbed.

2 sticks butter.

1l/4 cups hot milk.

Freshly ground black pepper.

1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded.

1 (1-pound) piece ham or bacon, cooked the day before.

4 scallions, finely chopped parsley leaves, for garnish.

Directions:

Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes.

Peel them using a knife and a fork. Chop with knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a sew grinds of black pepper.

Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker colour. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.

Put ham in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Remove any fat and chop into pieces.

Add cabbage, scallions and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.

Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

Chapter VI  Easter in Ukraine

In Ukraine, Easter 2017                                                            Dear Marc!

        I am already in Ukraine, which is my last destination point. I have never visited Ukraine before and I am very pleased to open its beauty and unicity. The first thing I saw was the long, wide and mighty river which is сalled Dnieper. I arrived to Cherkasy it is a town not far from the capital of Ukraine(Kyiv). The town stands on the river bank and there are many forests, parks and gardens in it. According to the Ukrainian tradition I was met with bread-and-salt on embroidered towel. The railway station I arrived at was almost at the city center but far from the place I played to stay in thus I had a brilliant opportunity to get acquainted with Cherkasy. There are many interesting old buildings in Cherkasy some of them were created by famous architect VladyslavHorodetskyi. Cherkasy  region is a cradle of cosaks – warriors who defended the freedom of Ukraine in ancient times. There is a beautiful monument to their famous leader – Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi in Cherkasy. Ukraininans are talented people I visited the Art museum, The Museum of EmroideredTowel  and One-Book-Museum(Kobzar by Taras Shevchenko). The last one was the most interesting for me. I was a bit tired after my long journey that’s why I made my way to Cherkasy School 7.

    My new friends invited me to family dinner. It was the time before Easter and the dinner was lean but very tasty I tried famous Ukrainian varenyky(dumplings with different filling), holubtsy with mushrooms and uzvar(stewed fruit with dry fruit)

     The next day we started to get ready for the Great Holiday. It was Pure Thursday and Ukrainians usually clean their houses and yards and it is obligatory to wash with Blessed Willow before the sunrise on this day. As you know I don`t like to get up early but I decided to follow the traditions, “When in Ukraine do as Ukrainians do.” you know!

    They said I was lucky not to come the week before Easter: on Willow Sunday Ukrainians have a tradition to beat each other with blessed Willow saying “ It’s not me, it’s willow”! I am not sure now I would be able to follow it.

    The next day on Passion Friday we painted Easter eggs(made Pysankas)  It was such an interesting activity! The eggs can be decorated in different way! The most amazing was the wax drawing decoration.  One of my new friends invited me to his granny to watch her baking Easter Bread. She wore embroidered blouse and prayed before baking and asked us not to laugh and not to make noise.

    On Easter Sunday I woke up very early and went to the church to bless Easter Bread. I went there with my new friends. We had very nice Easter Basket decorated with ribbons and flowers. Actually many people in Ukraine go on The Whole Night Mass at Easter.  After Blessing we congratulated each other with the words “Christ is Risen” – “He has risen indeed” and went home to have family dinner. It was so delicious! I tried smoked meat, sausages, pies and cakes. Don’t worry I have written down some recipes for you!

    The Monday after Easter is called Polyvianyi in Ukraine because of old tradition to pour water on each other on this day(of course this tradition is followed only by young people). We went to the beautiful park with plenty of tulips on that day as I didn’t want to be wet but wanted to visit more places of interest in Ukraine!

Your friend

     Max

                        (By Lesia Shcherbatiuk from Ukraine)

Special Cake “SmerekovaKhala”

Ingredients:

-      Flour 350-450 grams

-      Butter 250 g

-      Sugar 220 g

-      Sour Cream 200 g

-      Baking powder  1 teaspoon

-      A pinch of salt

-      Pitted cherries   1 kg

-      Sugar 100-150 g.

·        Mix sour-cream, butter, salt and baking powder

·        Add flour.

·        Add sugar.

·        Mix with your hands until you can make a ball.

·        Divide into 15 pieces.

·        Roll out thinly each piece.

·        Put 10-13 pitted cherries with sugar in the middle of each cake.

·        Close up edges.

·        Put some baking paper on the tray, place your cakes and bake them for 15-20 min at 100ºC

·        Mix sour-cream with sugar.

·        Spread cream over your cakes and put them n the form of a hut. 5-4-3-2-1.

·        You may decorate it with nuts and chocolate if you like.

·        Enjoy your cake!

Epilogue

At the end of May Max began his trip home, but first he wanted to say goodbye to the Spanish students.

When the children saw him, they hugged him and kissed him as well.

Max looked very good, he had many souvenirs  with him although he had lost his suitcases.

Max told the children a lot of stories about the beautiful places he had visited.

In a few days, Max will return home when school closes. It will be a pity, but  he has to continue its way, but he will visit us one more day in the future, we are sure.

Good luck Max!

 

 

                         The End

 

     Max’sOdyssey es el producto final de un Proyecto eTwinning llamado "Holidays and celebrations in differentEuropeanschools".

Max es un personaje de ficción que recorre diferentes centros escolares europeos en busca de información de cómo celebran  los estudiantes festividades típicas de cada país y recoge, al menos, una receta que haya probado en dicho lugar.

    Las historias que vive Max las cuenta en forma de carta, que envía a su amigo Marc, que vive en Bruselas.

    Max fue diseñado por los alumnos y alumnas polacos y fue en España donde le dimos vida en forma de muñeco.

    Max viajó físicamente desde España a Polonia y de ahí a Finlandia. Seguidamente se dirigió a Rumania y a continuación viajó hasta Irlanda. Su último destino fue Ucrania y voló de nuevo a España donde fue recibido con grandes muestras de cariño. En cada uno de sus destinos se hizo fotos con los alumnos celebrando la festividad de ese país.

El libro fue escrito por:

Teresa Sánchez  ESPAÑA

Dorota Zukowska  POLONIA

Tuire kokko  FINLANDIA

Sandor Traier  RUMANIA

Glenda Mckeown  IRLANDA

John Wilmott IRLANDA. Él fue el creador de la divertida versión de St. Patrick que aparece en el libro, y fue él también, quien de una manera desinteresada participó como miembro invitado en este Proyecto.

Lesia Shcherbatiuk  UCRANIA

Glenda, from Ireland, asked the students to choose a few words on their thoughts and feelings of the project!

    Este libro fue maquetado por Teresa Sánchez Marcos y se imprimió en España, en colaboración con la biblioteca del Centro “CEIP NTRA. SRA. DE LA ANTIGUA” de Mérida, en junio de 2017.