The Personal Holiday

The Personal Holiday

As you can remember from my first blog entry, holidays are events that are celebrated, and they are fixed dates in the calendar.  We have been looking at holidays and events that the majority of people recognize.  I believe, however, that people have personal holidays.  In other words, I have considered some holidays to be events that I have experienced in my life because it has affected me personally.  Every year I will remember and celebrate to an extent that experience.  Here is an example:

"I had a lot of great moments and experiences throughout my life.  However, graduating from college is, in my opinion, the best experience of my life.  I have worked hard for four straight years to get a my bachelor’s degree from Hartwick College.  As I was walking on my school’s Division One Soccer Field on May 24, 2014, I had chills throughout the entire ceremony, knowing that I accomplished something great in my life.

My fellow classmates and I met in our gymnasium early in the morning in our graduation robes.  Everyone was taking pictures to recapture the moment, and I was joining in on many celebratory hugs and “calming of the nerves” conversations with many of my friends.  Once it was almost time to line up, we all sat in our appropriate seats so that we can hear some last minute tips and details about the graduation ceremony.  After, we watched a slideshow presentation that all of the students put together recounting the many laughs and memorable moments we all had at Hartwick.  This were where I had chills for the first time during the day.  I saw many photos of me and my friends, and I started to recall all the great times I had at school.  All the academic and social memories I had at school started to fill my brain, and I got a little emotional because I knew this moment was bittersweet.  I knew I was excited to graduate and start my new chapters in my life.  However, I also knew that I did not want to leave the “college life."  

All of a sudden, we were summoned to line up at the gymnasium doors.  The next set of chills began to surface my body when I started hearing the bagpipes.  I watched past graduations, and I knew that it all starts with students marching behind the bagpipes.  However, this time was different, because the bagpipes were for my friends and me.  We started walking towards the big tent.  There were families and friends screaming for all of us.  Once I entered the tent, I saw my family cheering me on, and I passed through the lane filled of my professors who I still look up to this day.  Once we were all sitting, the ceremony started.  We listened to some beautiful music from our school choir and ensemble.  When the time approached, I was getting ready to line up to get my diploma from the college’s President.  The last set of chills that I remembered came at this moment.  One by one people before me was walking across the long stage, shaking the President’s hand and getting their diploma, and then taking multiple pictures on stage with the President.  Moments before my name was called, I said to myself, “Just be yourself, and don’t trip.”  My advice worked because when my name was called, I walked towards the President, hearing the cheer from my family and friends, and received my diploma.  The whole day will always be a memorable one and will always be considered the best experience of my life because of sharing this experience with the people I love."

I will always remember my college graduation on May 24, and I consider this event one of my personal holidays.  Next year it will be my two year anniversary of graduating from college, and in my opinion, it is a day of reflecting on the best four years on my life.  I think about where I am now personally and professionally.  It is also a time for me to think about the many people that are now graduating from college and going through the same process.  Holidays are not just a time to celebrate, but a time to personally remember the best times of your life and reflect on how these special days affected our lives today.

Vocabulary

affect- (verb) to make a difference on a person

capture- (verb) to take or record something

bittersweet- (adjective) good and bad at the same time

ceremony- (noun) a formal event

diploma- (noun) a paper that shows completion at an educational program or school

advice- (noun) a recommendation

Vocabulary Practice 

(Fill in the Blanks)

1. Students ____________ every moment by taking pictures at their graduation.

2. My friend received an award at the _________________.

3. My mom and dad always give me ___________ if I have a problem.

4. A war can _____________ many people.

5. Graduating college can be a _________________ experience.

6. When I finish school, I will obtain my _________________.

Let's Learn Grammar!

The prefix "re" gives the meaning of doing something again.  For example, I used the prefix to the verb "capture" in my blog entry to show meaning that students want to look at pictures at their graduation again in the future.

Try making verbs and put it in a sentence using the prefix "re".

December Holidays

December Holidays

Do you remember what was on my first blog entry?

Santa Claus introduced all of you to my blog Holiday Talk.  He is one of the many major symbols of the December Holidays.  This blog will not only talk about Christmas, but two other holidays that is celebrated and recognized in the month of December.

The first holiday that is recognize in December in Hanukkah.  This holiday is also called the Festival of Lights, and is celebrated by people who follow the Jewish faith.  The holiday is celebrated for 8 straight nights, where people remember the re-dedication of the Holy Temple.  They light 8 candles on a menorah.  Watch this video on the story of Hanukkah.

The next holiday is called Kwanzaa.  It is also celebrated in December.  It is a week long celebration and is part of the African culture.  On each night, they celebrate one of the seven core principles that symbolizes their beliefs: unity, collective work and responsibility, self-determination, purpose, cooperative economics, creativity, and faith.  Watch this video that shows the importance of Kwanzaa.

The last holiday is Christmas.  It is celebrated on December 25, but is recognized and observed for many weeks because it has become commercialized.  Religiously, it is a time to remember the Nativity of Jesus; however, most people follow the decoration aspect on this holiday.  They put up Christmas trees and decorate the outside of their houses with lights.  Also, children love this holiday because on Christmas morning, they wake up and see all the different gifts under the Christmas tree.  They believe that Santa Claus came and left gifts for them.  Watch this video on Christmas.

Vocabulary

symbol- (noun) a representation of something

faith- (noun) a strong belief in something

dedication- (noun) action of committing 

core- (noun) the central or most important aspect of an idea

cooperative- (adjective) working together

commercialize- (verb) to use an idea or something in a way to make money or profit

Vocabulary Practice

(Fill in the Blanks)

1. The Christmas Tree is a _______________ of the Christmas holiday.

2. Many stores ____________________ the Christmas holiday as a way to make money.

3. Kwanzaa has seven ________ principles.

4. I go to church as a way to practice my Catholic ___________.

5. People remember the re-__________________ of the Holy Temple on Hanukkah.

6. We have to be ________________ so that we can get a good grade on our group project.

Let's Learn Grammar!

The past tense is used to represent actions that happened in the past.  For example, read this sentence: "Santa Claus introduced all of you to my blog Holiday Talk."  The verb "introduced" is in the past tense because Santa Claus already completed the action, and it happened in the past.  Try to re-read this blog entry and find words that you think is in the past tense!

Thanksgiving...Let's Eat!!!

THANKSGIVING...LET'S EAT!!!

Thanksgiving is on November 26, 2015.  It has been considered one of the major holidays during the year.

To understand the history of Thanksgiving, take a look at this video.

Thanksgiving has been evolved throughout the years.  The first thanksgiving started in 1621 where the Pilgrims and Indians had their first harvest together.  After, the day has been dated as a national holiday by President Washington and has now been part of American Culture ever since.  

You can see the difference in traditions over time.  In my life, I always had the tradition of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every Thanksgiving morning, while I help my Mom and Dad prepare the huge dinner we were going to have later with my family.  After, we turn on another form of Thanksgiving entertainment.  The annual Thanksgiving football game is on.  Most importantly, we all reflect on how thankful we are for everything we have and the people get to spend time with on Thanksgiving.

  

Let's not forget about the food!  At my household, we always have our traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, green bean casserole, broccoli pie, turnips, and corn bread.  I always get full after eating because my eyes are bigger than my stomach.  

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Vocabulary

consider- (verb) to think about something

evolve- (verb) to develop or change throughout time

harvest- (noun) the gathering of crops(food)

culture- (noun) beliefs, traditions, and values of a group of people

huge- (adjective) another word for big

reflect- (verb) to personally think carefully about something

Practice 

(Fill in the blanks using the appropriate vocabulary word)

1.  Many people celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways based on their _____________.

2. Farmers have a _____________ when all the crops grow.

3. Thanksgiving is a time to ___________ on how thankful I am in my life.

4. Before making a decision, I have to _____________ all the options.

5. My mom is making a __________ turkey because we need to feed a lot of people.

6. The butterflies __________ from a cocoon.

Let's Learn Grammar!

When writing or speaking the English language, we sometimes use expressions, called idioms, that may sound funny, but we use them to explain a concept in a different way.  For example, reread this sentence from the reading: "I always get full after eating because my eyes are bigger than my stomach."  Obviously our eyes are not bigger than our stomachs; however, I wrote this sentence to explain that when I see all the food on the table on Thanksgiving, I think I can eat it all.

Here is a funny idiom: "when pigs fly".  We use this phrase when we don't believe something is going to happen.  Take a look at this sentence: "Oh sure, you will win the lottery when pigs fly!"  

Try writing a sentence using one of these two idioms.

Veteran's Day: November 11, 2015

VETERAN'S DAY

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

As you can tell from the picture, Veteran's Day is a day where we honor all of the people who serve in our nation's military.  In the United States, there are five active military branches: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.  People who serve in the military risk their lives so that our country can be safe.  

Veteran's Day is not only a day of honoring people in today's military, but it is also a holiday of remembrance.  There are countless families that lost people they love because they were fighting for our country, and there are still veterans alive that we should thank every day for their service in the many wars our country faced in the past.  Our nation is one of the best in the world because of our military's effort through all of the past and current wars.  For example, imagine if we didn't have out amazing military to defend against the terror in the Second World War?  

Do you think we would be in a country of freedom and democracy if we lost?  Even better, imagine if we lost the Revolutionary War.  Do you think we would be living in the a country called the United States?  We as a country need to put our lives into perspective and remember that we are living in a safe and wonderful country because of our veterans and today's military.

Vocabulary

Honor: (verb) to show respect for a person or a group of people

Risk: (verb) to take a chance 

Remembrance: (noun) the act of remembering

Defend: (verb) protect from harm or danger

Democracy: (noun) a system of government where every person has a right to vote or make a decision for their country

Perspective: (noun) an attitude or point of view

Vocabulary Practice

1. Veterans day is a day of ___________________ for all the veterans who served in our military.

2. Everyone has their own ____________________, or point of view about our nation's government.

3. Our five branches of military _______________ our country every day.

4.  People in the military _____________ their lives when they serve in the military.

5. We must show ___________ and respect to all the people who served and are currently serving the military.

6. The United States' government is a ________________.

Let's Learn Grammar!

If you reread this sentence, "In the United States, there are five active military branches: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.", you notice that you see a colon in the sentence.  The colon is in bold so that you can see what it looks like.  A colon is a punctuation mark that writers use to introduce a quotation or a list of items.  In this sentence, I used the colon to list the five active military branches.

Let's practice: What are your favorite types of food?  Write a sentence using a colon to state your favorite types of food.  Example: I have three favorite foods: pizza, pasta, and hamburgers.

References

http://www.myfuture.com/military/articles-advice/types-of-military-service

Halloween: October's Holiday

HALLOWEEN: OCTOBER'S HOLIDAY

OCTOBER 31, 2015

Why did I name this title, "Halloween: October's Holiday"? Everyone celebrates and prepares for this holiday throughout the entire month of October. Everyone is always excited about this holiday. But why?

Throughout the month, people celebrate different fall activities that leads up to Halloween. People go pumpkin picking so they can carve or decorate the pumpkins. 

Also, families and friends attend different fall festivals and farms. There, people go through corn mazes, drink apple cider, and enjoy the fall weather.  

There are many people that want to be frightened during the month of October. These people attend different haunted houses. Every haunted house has a theme, and depending on the theme, actors dress up in specific costumes to scare the people walking through the houses.

Watch this funny video from the Ellen show!

Do you think you can walk through a haunted house?

Halloween is a time for people to dress up into different costumes that showcases a specific person or event. People like to dress up to be funny or scary. People attend different parties or events to present their costumes. People buy them through a store, and there are many people that make them from scratch. 

Children love Halloween because of all the candy they get during Trick or Treating.  Trick or Treating is where children walk to different houses in their costumes and say "Trick or Treat" to every house, and in return they get candy. Children carry big bags around town by the end of the night, and the poor parents have to watch out because they don't want all of them to get cavities.

Vocabulary List

prepare: (verb) to get something ready beforehand

excited: (adjective) very enthusiastic or eager

depending: (verb) to be determined or rely on
theme: (noun) a main topic that surrounds the overall setting

from scratch: (phrase) doing something from the very beginning

cavities- (plural noun) damages to the structures of your teeth

Vocabulary Practice

Fill in the correct word.

1. We are very ______________ to go trick or treating tonight!

2. My mom makes her pasta sauce ________________.

3. We have so much to ________________ before the Halloween party.

4. I may walk through the haunted house ______________ how scary it is.

5. So many children may get _______________ if they don't brush their teeth.

6. This haunted house has a circus ______________. We have to walk through a scary Big Top Tent.

Let's Learn Grammar!

When we write sentences, we always capitalize the first letter of every sentence.  When we are writing a name of a person or an event, we capitalize the first letter of the name even though it is in the middle of the sentence.

Go through the reading on Halloween and point out all the times I included a capital letter.

Check out this website!
Listen and watch the video about Halloween, and answer the questions based on what you heard and saw!
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/history-of-halloween-listening.html

Columbus Day: October 12, 2015

Columbus Day 2015: October 12, 2015

There is no school next Monday because we will be celebrating Columbus Day!  This annual holiday is known for the anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas.  Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, and he was famous for sailing the Atlantic Ocean and discovering the New World, or the Americas.

Watch this quick video about the voyage to the New World!

What were the names of the three ships that set sail?

On this holiday, most states observe this day as a national holiday, where they celebrate through parades and different events.  In New York City, there are around 35,000 marchers that participate in the city's Columbus Day Parade down Fifth Avenue.

Interesting fact:  There are four states that do not recognize Columbus Day (Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Oregon).  These states either replaced or ignored this day with their own holiday.  There are a lot of different views about Christopher Columbus.  For example, even though he was the leader in finding the "New World", he was known for mistreating the natives of the New World.  There are many resources where you can read more into the history of Columbus' travels to the Americas.

Vocabulary List

Annual: (adjective) happens every year

Famous: (adjective) has a reputation and is favored or known by everyone

Observe: (verb) to see and notice something

Recognize: (verb) to to identify and show knowledge about something

Mistreat: (verb) to be mean

Resource: (noun) a place of help and support

Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the blanks

1. I want to be a good soccer player.  I should _____________ some soccer games.

2. My mom said to me, "Don't ____________ my brother."  In other words, I should not be mean to him.

3. We have an _______________ show every year to celebrate Columbus Day!

4. My teacher told us that we should find one ________________ to help us write our paper.

5. Taylor Swift is very ______________.

6. Most states __________________ Columbus Day as a national holiday.

Let's Learn Grammar!

We show possession when we add the apostrophe to a singular noun.  For example, "the children's bus" shows that the bus belongs to the singular noun "children".

HOWEVER! Did you notice in the blog this sentence: "...you can read more into the history of Columbus' travels to the Americas."  There are many singular nouns that end in the letter "s", for example Columbus.  When we see that kind of singular noun, we just simply add an apostrophe to the end of the noun (the letter s).  

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day#Local_observance_of_Columbus_Day

http://www.nycgo.com/events/columbus-day-parade2

What is a "Holiday"?

Welcome to "Holiday Talk" 

Everyone loves to celebrate!

We all follow a calendar.  A calendar shows the months of a year, and in those months, we all experience different holidays.  Before we talk about the many holidays we celebrate, what is the definition of a holiday?   If you look up what a holiday is in a dictionary, you will find different but similar definitions.  According to dictionary.reference.com, a holiday is a day where we celebrate an event or a person without the stress of having to work or go to school and the holiday is a fixed day on our everyday calendar.  In the coming posts, we will look into the many major holidays that are part of all of our lives.

Vocabulary List

Calendar: (noun) a table or register with the days of each month and week in a year

Different: (adjective) not the same

Holiday: (noun) a day where we celebrate an event or a person without the stress of having to work or go to school and the holiday is a fixed day on our everyday calendar

Celebrate: (verb) to observe or take part in an event with ceremonies or festivities.

Stress: (verb) to experience worry over something or someone

Major: (adjective) greater in size or importance

Vocabulary Exercise Number One: Match the Definition to Each Vocabulary Word

1. Calendar ____                        a. take part in an event

2. Different ____                        b. greater in size or importance

3. Holiday ____                          c. consists of days of each month and week 

4. Celebrate ____                       d. we don't work or go to school on this day

5, Stress____                              e. to experience worry

6. Major ____                             f. not the same

Vocabulary Exercise Number Two: Write the correct vocabulary word next to each sentence.

1. Today is the greatest day ever!  I don't have school today because we are celebrating a ____________________! 

2. I have a lot of ________________. I hope I pass my math test.

3. An apple is not the same as an orange.  They are _________________.

4. My mom's birthday is on July 30.  I need to mark it on my _________________.

5. The next blog post will be about one of the _______________ holidays.

6. We are at a wedding to _______________ the marriage of two people.

Let's Learn Grammar!

You just read and defined two nouns: Calendar and Holiday

A noun is a word that is either a person, place, thing or idea.

Exercise: Write two sentences using the nouns "Calendar" and "Holiday".

Check out this website!  Fun holiday games!

http://www.primarygames.com/holiday_fun.php

Holiday Video!

This video explains all the different holidays!

Resources

(n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://dictionary.reference.com/