STIR-UP SUNDAY

Today is Stir-Up Sunday in the UK.  This day falls on the last Sunday before Advent and the name comes from some words in a prayer which is read on that day.  In the prayer, people ask God to "stir up" or encourage them to do good things.  As "stir" also means "mix", people began to associate this Sunday with the task of making Christmas pudding as it has to be stirred a lot and should be made several weeks before Christmas.

Traditionally, every person in the family stirs the pudding and makes a wish while they do so but these days, most people buy their Christmas puddings.

Image: Musical Linguist at the English language Wikipedia

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today is the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.  It is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November there and on the second Monday in October in Canada. 

Families gather together to give thanks for what they have and they traditionally eat roast turkey with cranberry sauce, yams and pumpkin pie.

The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  The pilgrims who had arrived in America from England on the Mayflower ship wanted to give thanks for their successful crops and they invited the Wampanoag Native Americans, who had helped them with their harvest, to the feast. The Wampanoag brought their large families to the feast but they brought extra food as well!

The President of the United States traditionally "pardons" one lucky turkey at Thanksgiving: the turkey is allowed to live and is flown to Frontierland in Disneyland, where it spends the rest of its life.

THANKSGIVING WORDSEARCH

M O R C G H Y G F P R C T P J

X A O E P L Y M O U T H H I H

Y Q S V W U Y P E H P A A E M

Y E E S Y O U A S T Q E N Y V

Z I K K A M L M M T E H K R M

S T G R P C I F S U C A S R N

B E H K U R H A Y O S R G E O

N T I U G T O U R A K V I B D

F N O L R R F N S J M E V N R

X B I J J S U E B E N S I A A

I P R V L C D G A W T T N R P

I W C R O P S A K S K T G C A

Z L F P Y K A O Y D T L S F B

M B I Y A D I L O H Q C R R K

I A P I P O G A O N A P M A W

CORNUCOPIA

CRANBERRY

CROPS

FEAST

HARVEST

HOLIDAY

MASSACHUSETTS

MAYFLOWER

PARDON

PIE

PILGRIMS

PLYMOUTH

PUMPKIN

ROAST

THANKSGIVING

THURSDAY

TURKEY

WAMPANOAG

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS!

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

At 11 am on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918, the guns fell silent along the Western Front and World War 1 ended.  Therefore this day is called "Armistice Day" or "Remembrance Day" in Britain, France, Commonwealth countries and other allied nations.  

In Britain people wear poppies on their lapels as so many soldiers died in the poppy fields of Flanders [Belgium] during World War 1.  This year the 11th November falls on a Sunday but when it does not,  ceremonies of remembrance for soldiers who lost their lives in all wars are held on the nearest Sunday to this date. At 11 am the country observes a two-minute silence.

A Royal British Legion poppy
Image: Wikipedia

On Remembrance Sunday the Queen lays a wreath of poppies on behalf of the nation at the Cenotaph [war memorial] in Whitehall, London.  The Duke of Edinburgh, other members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition and other politicians also lay wreaths, as do the High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries. Afterwards there is a march past of war veterans' associations and the associations which help soldiers' families.  The event is organised by the Royal British Legion.

The money raised by the sale of paper poppies is used to help soldiers who have been injured and the families of those who have died.

The Queen leads the tributes at the 2011 Ceremony of Remembrance

ELECTION DAY WORDSEARCH

E B F L R P G G Y E O C S T U

J T P Z A Q O V T A O T W I U

T P A R X K H A G N A F I X D

Z G T B H S D G S T N O N E E

T Y W S E I H T E Z Q V G A M

W N B J D D I S E F Q Y U S O

E Q E N W T R G R F M O T E C

N L A D U N A C I L B U P E R

F C E E I C A M P A I G N E A

I I N C T S H O U S E L T G T

N C R A T O E Y D A L I F L L

Y Q V S L I V R A O H L A K U

B U V R T E O Y P W F F U O S

B T Z R E Q D N T O L L A B E

Z B Q H N N D K M W T B G T R

BALLOT

CAMPAIGN

CANDIDATE

CONSTITUENCY

DEBATE

DEMOCRAT

ELECTION

EXIT

FIRST

HOUSE

LADY

PARTY

POLL

PRESIDENT

REPUBLICAN

RESULT

STATES

SWING

VOTE

WHITE

REMEMBER, REMEMBER.....

Guy Fawkes

The 5th November is not a holiday in the UK but it is the day of an important celebration known as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night.

In 1605 a man called Guy Fawkes and other conspirators tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament by placing gunpowder in the cellars. The plot was discovered in time and Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators were tried and put to death.

On Bonfire Night we light bonfires and we have fireworks. We make an effigy of Guy Fawkes and put it on the top of our bonfire to be burned. In the past, in the days leading up to Bonfire Night, children used to display their guy [effigy] in the street and ask people for “a penny for the guy.” This tradition is not practised much now, as people think it is begging and they don’t want the children to try to buy fireworks with the money. [In the UK you are not allowed to buy fireworks if you are under 18.]

It is very cold in the UK in November so when we go outside to watch the fireworks and the bonfires we wrap up warmly and we eat hot food like jacket potatoes, sausages, pumpkin soup, toffee apples and a cake called ginger parkin.

To this day, the Yeomen of the Guard or Beefeaters [soldiers who form the Queen's bodyguard] search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament before the State Opening of Parliament every year in November.

All children learn this rhyme:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

gunpowder, treason and plot,

I see no reason

why gunpowder treason

should ever be forgot.

Vocabulary

blow up = destroy by explosion

gunpowder = powder which can cause an explosion

cellar = storage space under a building

plot = conspiracy

tried = to have your case heard in a court of law

put to death = executed

bonfire = a big, outdoor fire

days leading up to = the days before

beg = to ask for money in the street

wrap up warmly = to wear warm clothing

search = to try to find something

treason = a plot against the king or queen