Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Day)

Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta

Over four hundred years ago, in 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes and a group of plotters attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London with barrels of gunpowder placed in the basement. They wanted to kill King James and the king’s leaders. 

Why did Guy Fawkes want to kill King James 1st and the king’s leaders?

When Queen Elizabeth 1st took the throne of England she made some laws against the Roman Catholics. Guy Fawkes was one of a small group of Catholics who felt that the government was treating Roman Catholics unfairly. They hoped that King James 1st would change the laws, but he didn't.

Catholics had to practise their religion in secret. There were even fines for people who didn't attend the Protestant church on Sunday or on holy days. James lst passed more laws against the Catholics when he became king.

What happened - the Gungpowder Plot

A group of men led by Robert Catesby, plotted to kill King James and blow up the Houses of Parliament, the place where the laws that governed England were made. The plot was simple - the next time Parliament was opened by King James l, they would blow up everyone there with gunpowder. The men bought a house next door to the parliament building. The house had a cellar which went under the parliament building. They planned to put gunpowder under the house and blow up parliament and the king.

In celebration of his survival, King James ordered that the people of England should have a great bonfire on the night on 5^th November. The event is still commemorated annually in England on 5^th November by fireworks and burning ‘guys’ (effigies) on bonfires. 

Crime Does Not Pay (True Crimes Comics)

Here' a very popular nursery rhyme that refers to that event in history:

"Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, twas his intent
To blow up King and Parli’ment.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.
By God’s mercy he was catched
With a dark lantern and lighted match.
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King."

An Autumn Traditional Game: CONKERS

This is a very good article by Sharon Jacobsen about a traditional game usually played in Autumn. I thought that maybe we could give it a try:
 
In an age where children spend a huge percentage of their free time playing with expensive computer games, it's nice to know that some old-fashioned games are still being played outdoors and cost absolutely nothing.

During the fall, wherever you find horse chestnut trees you'll find children playing conkers. It's a game that was enjoyed by their parents, their grandparents, and even their great grandparents and, hopefully, their own children will one day enjoy it, too.

What is A Conker? 

A conker is a hard brown nut that's encapsulated in a green, prickly case produced by the Horse Chestnut tree. The cases fall from trees when they're ripe and can easily be collected from the ground.

In contrast to the nuts produced by the Sweet Chestnut tree, conkers are NOT to be eaten by humans.

Choosing A Conker

If you're serious about your game, choose your conkers carefully. The best ones are symmetrical in form, firm to the touch and should be uncracked.

Use the water test. If a conker is damaged inside it will float in water so this is a good way of testing the density of your nut. Floaters should be discarded while those that sink to the bottom will be the hardest and the best.

Preparing A Conker for Play

Make a hole through the middle of your conker, going from the dull area at the top and down through the bottom. A thin skewer or hand-drill is useful for this.

Choose string that doesn't break easily and thread a length about 12 inches long through the hole and tie a knot at one end to stop it from pulling through.

There are several ways to make your conkers harder, including:

Bake the conker in the oven on a low heat for 30 minutes
Soak the conker in vinegar overnight
Put conkers away to use the following year (they harden with age).

How To Play Conkers 

Two players are needed, each with a conker of his own. Each player holds his conker from the string and attempts to hit the opposing conker.

If your conker is the one being hit, you should let it hang down with the string wrapped around two or three fingers to secure it - you don't want your conker flying off when it's hit! It's up to your opponent to decide how high your conker should be held and it's important it's held still.

If you're the striker, you should wrap the string around your hand in the same way as you would if your conker was being hit. You should then take the conker in your other hand and draw it back, ready to strike. As you release the conker, you should swing it down and try to hit your opponent's conker. If you're successful, this is called a strike. If you miss, you're allowed two more goes before swapping positions.

If, when making a shot, the strings tangle together, the first player to call "strings" is awarded an extra shot.

If a player drops his conker or has it knocked out of his hand, the opposing player can call "stamps" and jump on it. End of one conker! However, if the owner calls "no stamps" first, the conker is safe (unless it smashed when it hit the ground, of course).

The game continues until one conker is completely destroyed; the one with the remaining conker is the winner.

Good luck!   


This is a link to an article on Today's Telegraph about the game and how far people would go over students' safety.

Halloween

Yes, I know this is too big!

I was going to write a few things about Halloween but then Martina Cabrera did a very good job of it on her blog so I'm just going to link to it (with her permission) so you can see for yourselves. There are very interesting facts about Halloween I bet you didn't know.
Here's her post on Halloween
Another interesting link:
Halloween at the history channel

Do you remember I told you about a Film entitled The Rocky Horror Picture Show? and that there is a scene in Fame, a movie you saw last year, where they dance to one of the songs? Well, that song is Time Warp and Here's a great link where they use the song (and video) to teach English. Enjoy!

Time Warp (Rocky Horror Picture Show) at the Multimedia English Classroom

 Here's the Glee version, I think you may like it. I don't care much for it though (too soft), I much prefer the original. Judge for yourselves, What do you think?

This post is to apologize to those of you who are still waiting for my reply to your e-mails: I've been pretty busy these past few days but I will get to it tomorrow, even if I have to stay in all weekend :(

Leif Erikson Day

We have already covered Columbus Day and Native American's Day and now it is the Vikings' turn.

Although it is a few days late, let me tell you a little bit about Leif Erikson Day (October 9th):

Though not a public holiday, this day is dedicated to the first European ever to set foot in North America.

Christopher Columbus was not the first European to discover the New World! This commonly held belief is wrong. Columbus didn't reach the New World until 1492, 500 years after Leif Erikson's arrival in 1001 AD. Historians have been able to put this together based upon records at the time. However, Leif Erikson made no maps of his journey. Physical evidence of his travels are lacking.   

Leif Erikson was the first European to set foot in the New World, opening a new land rich with resources for the Vikings to explore. But for some unknown reason, the Vikings only made a few voyages to the New World after Leif. Unfortunately, this caused his discovery to remain unknown to nearly all of Europe, which was in the midst of the Crusades. 

Native American's Day

 David Mann Native American Fine Art titled:"Peace on Blue Lake - Native Americans"

As Raquel Cardona pointed out to me,  not all states celebrate Columbus Day.

The coming of Columbus, and the rest of white Europeans after him, represented oppression and genocide for the Native American People. That's why some people are against the celebration.

Instead, they celebrate other events on the day. For example, South Dakota's official holiday on this date is Native Americans' Day (also known as Native American Day), while people in Berkeley, California, celebrate Indigenous People's Day.

We can celebrate it too by reading about Native Americans and listening to a Native American song, Cherokee Morning Song:

Happy Columbus Day!

Tomorrow is Columbus Day!

Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until the 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus' achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years.

Since 1971, the holiday has been fixed to the second Monday in October. It is generally observed today by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service and other federal agencies, most state government offices, and some school districts.

Here’s a video from The History Channel explaining how Columbus Day came to be celebrated: