Winds of March, we welcome you,
There is work for you to do.
Work and play and blow all day,
Blow the winter cold away.
March wind is a jolly fellow;
He likes to joke and play.
He turns umbrellas inside out
And blows men’s hats away.
He calls the pussy willows
And whispers in each ear,
«Wake up you lazy little seeds,
Don’t you know that spring is her
Spring, spring is coming soon,
Grass is green and flowers bloom,
Birds returning from the south,
Bees are buzzing all about,
Leaves are buddign everywhere,
Spring, spring is finally here!
Never mind March, we know
You’re not really mad
Or angry or bad.
You’re only blowing the winter away
To get the world ready
For April and May.
The winds of March begin to blow,
And it is time for kites, you know.
Here’s the way I make my kite,
Watch and help me do it right.
I cross two sticks so thin and long,
Tied together good and strong.
A string I fasten to each end,
And across the middle to make it bend.
I measure and cut the paper straight,
And glue along the edge and wait.
A ball of string to hold my kite,
When it sails almost out of sight.
And here’s my kite all ready to go,
Please March wind begin to blow!
April is a rainbow month,
Of sudden springtime showers.
Bright with golden daffodils
and lots of pretty flowers.
The roofs are shining from the rain,
The sparrows twitter as they fly,
And with a windy April grace
The little clouds go by.
Yet the backyards are bare and brown
With only one unchanging tree—
I could not be so sure of Spring
Save that it sings in me.
May’s a month of happy sounds,
The hum of buzzing bees,
The chirp of little baby birds
And the song of a gentle breeze.
The grass is green.
Flower blossoms I have seen.
The days are warm.
By evening it cools.
It’s time to find the garden tools
Springtime is garden time,
Garden time, garden time,
Get your spades and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is planting time,
Planting time, planting time,
Get your seeds and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is jumping time,
Jumping time, jumping time,
Get your ropes and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is singing time,
Singing time, singing time,
Children sing a happy song,
Springtime is here!
I love the spring.
For every day
There’s something new
That’s come to stay.
Another bud
Another bird
Another blade
The sun has stirred.
Spring is here,
In the air,
You can smell it coming,
On the trees,
Leaves are green,
Caterpillars sunning.
Birds are back,
Grass is out,
Busy bees are humming,
On the trees,
Leaves are green,
Caterpillars sunning.
The national character of the English has been very differently described, but most commentators agree over one quality, which they describe as a sense of superiority. The English are a well-disciplined people andit is probably no exaggeration to say that they have the best manners in the world.
They are all polite; they all know how to hold their knife and folk and how to behave in society. This is not to say that they are never rude. The visual coldness of Englishmen has been almost noted by the foreigners. But they also confess that once one gets to know Englishmen better, he turns out to be a very companionable fellow.
The characteristic feature of the English is their love of games. They like playing all of them. They play football and cricket; games are nowhere so popular as in England. However they are childish at their games they are very serious in business. The British have long been famous as a nation of animal-lovers. Nearly every family has a pet which is paid much attention to.
The English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. The English are stay-at-home people. “There is no place like home” they say. When they don’t work, they like to spend their time at home with their families. They like to live in small houses with a small garden behind them. Traditional English house has a fire-place in a living-room. It makes atmosphere comfortable and lovely. People all over the world know the saying “The Englishman’s home is his castle”.
The English are tea-drinkers. They have it many times a day. Some Englishmen have tea for breakfast, tea in lunch time, tea after dinner, tea at tea time and tea with supper. Some English families have “high tea” or big tea and no supper. Also English people like porridge. Some of them eat porridge with milk and sugar.
What about holidays? In England people celebrate a lot of holidays. Some of them are^ Christmas, the New Year, the 14-th of February, Easter, Halloween and others. Christmas is the Britain’s most popular holiday. The first-ever Christmas card was posted in England in the 1840s. The Christmas tree was introduced into the royal household by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Buying presents, cooking turkey and decorating Christmas tree are done by people on the Christmas Eve. Carols are often sung on Christmas Eve by groups of singers to their neighbors, and children hang a stocking on the fireplace or at the foot of their bed for Father Christmas to fill. Christmas dinner consists of a roast turkey, goose or chicken with roast potatoes. This is followed by mince pies and Christmas pudding flaming with brandy. The New Year is not as widely celebrated as Christmas. The most common of celebration is a New Year party.
British weather is very changeable. It can be rainy, sunny, cloudy, snowy, windy, warm, foggy at any time of the year. If it’s raining when you get up in the morning, it can be hot and dry by the afternoon. That’s why the weather is the main point of discussion for the British. People enjoy discussing snow, complaining about the cold and comparing the weather conditions with previous winter.
День святого Томаса в Нидерландах
День святого Томаса отмечается в Голландии 21 декабря — в самый короткий и самый темный день в году. Этот день является последним днем занятий в школе перед Рождественскими каникулами.
В этот день в школах распространена очень забавная традиция: 21 декабря все ученики стараются как можно раньше прийти на занятия. Каждый приходящий пишет на классной доске свое имя. А того ученика, чье имя появится в этом списке последним, весь день будут дразнить «сонным Томасом». Знай, что в такой день просто стыдно долго спать! Даже учителя боятся опоздать в школу в этот день. И дело не в нареканиях со стороны начальства, а из опасения прослыть тем самым «сонным Томасом» для своих учеников.
Ночь с 21 декабря на 22 декабря — самая длинная в году, она получила название «ночи двух хлебов». В эту ночь успевают дойти две очереди выпечки. Примечательно, что в эту же ночь из печей выходит знаменитый черный рождественский хлеб в форме звезды.
St. Thomas day, St. Thomas gray, The longest night and shortest day.
December 21 is usually the shortest day of the year, yet this day usually commenced the Christmas preparation of cleaning and baking. Although we no longer honor St. Thomas on this day, we can still use this day as a reminder to put in exerted efforts and start finishing our external preparations for Christmas. All the weeks before should have been more of spiritual preparation.
In Tyrol and in parts of Canada, this was considered “pie day”, with meat pies baked for the family, then cooled and frozen. They are saved for the feast of the Epiphany, and are thawed, reheated and eaten.
In England, this was a day of charity, when the poor women went a “Thomasing” or begging. Wheat was cooked and distributed for the poor.
Father Francis X. Weiser tells of some other old customs of this day:
In some parts of central Europe ancient customs of “driving demons away are practiced on the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle (December 21) and during the following nights (Rough Nights), with much noise, cracking of whips, ringing of hand bells, and parades of figures in horrible masks.In a Christianized version of this custom farmers will walk through the buildings and around the farmyard, accompanied by a son or one of the farm hands. They carry incense and holy water, which they sprinkle around as they walk. Meanwhile, the rest of the family and servants are gathered in the living room reciting the rosary. This rite is to sanctify and bless the whole farm in preparation for Christmas, to keep all evil spirits away on the festive days, and to obtain God’s special protection for the coming year.
It seems that unmarried girls have many allies with the saints. In Austria, legend says that unmarried girls can see their future on St. Thomas Night, if they climb into bed over a stool and throw their shoes toward the door, the toes of the shoes pointing downward. If they sleep with their heads at the foot of the bead, the dreams will reveal visions of their future husbands. Also, if a single woman on St. Thomas Day can pick out a young rooster from among a brood of sleeping chicks, she will soon obtain a husband, or see him in her dreams.
In a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way.
Bells on bob-tails ring,
Making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride
And sing a sleighing song tonight.
Chorus:
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
2
A day or two ago, I thought I’d take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright, was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank, misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank and we got upsot
Chorus.
3
A day or two ago, the story I must tell
I went out on the snow, and on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by, in a one-horse open sleigh
He laughed as there I sprawling lie but quickly drove away
Chorus.
4
Now the ground is white, go it while you’re young
Take the girls tonight, and sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed bay, two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! you’ll take the lead
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Тихая ночь, святая ночь,
Все затаилось перед свершившимся чудом,
Пред Девой Марией с младенцем,
Святым младенцем
Спи младенец блаженным сном,
Спи блаженным сном.
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Тихая ночь, святая ночь,
В трепетном молчании замерли пастухи,
С небес спускается сияние
После хвалебной песни Господу
Родился Христос-Спаситель
Родился Христос-Спаситель
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
I don’t want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don’t care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you, yeah.
I don’t want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
And I don’t care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don’t need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won’t make me happy
With a toy on Christmas Day
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
You, baby
Oh, I won’t ask for much this Christmas
I won’t even wish for snow
And I’m just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
I won’t make a list and send it
To the North Pole for Saint Nick
I won’t even stay awake to
Hear those magic reindeer click
‘Cause I just want you here tonight
Holding on to me so tight
What more can I do?
Baby, all I want for Christmas is you
You, baby
Oh, all the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the sound of children’s
Laughter fills the air
And everyone is singing
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa, won’t you bring me the one I really need?
Won’t you please bring my baby to me?
Oh, I don’t want a lot for Christmas
This is all I’m asking for
I just want to see my baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh, I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby, all I want for Christmas is you
You, baby
All I want for Christmas is you, baby
All I want for Christmas is you, baby
All I want for Christmas is you, baby
All I want for Christmas is you, baby
You know Dasher, and Dancer, and
Prancer, and Vixen,
Comet, and Cupid, and
Donder and Blitzen
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of allRudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose
and if you ever saw it
you would even say it glows.All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
play in any reindeer games.Then one foggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say:
“Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you’ll go down in history!
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance but you still catch my eye
Tell me baby do you recognize me?
Well it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me
I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying “I Love You” I meant it
Now I know what a fool I’ve been
But if you kissed me now I know you’d fool me again
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special (special)
A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I’m hiding from you, and your soul of ice
My god I thought you were someone to rely on,
Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover but you tore me apart
Now I’ve found a real love you’ll never fool me again
Maybe next year,
I’ll give it to someone, I’ll give it to someone special
Special, someone, someone
I’ll give it to someone, I’ll give it to someone special
Who’ll give me something in return
I’ll give it to someone, hold my heart and watch it burn
I’ll give it to someone, I’ll give it to someone special
I thought you were here to stay
How can love be for a day?
I thought you were someone special, gave you my heart
I’ll give it to someone, I’ll give it to someone
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
You gave it away
I’ll give it to someone, I’ll give it to someone
No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It’s the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now’s the time for us to sayHappy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbor is a friend
Happy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die
You and ISometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he’ll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he’s astray
Keeps on going anywayHappy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbor is a friend
Happy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die
You and ISeems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It’s the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we’ll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine
Happy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbor is a friend
Happy New Year
Happy New Year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die
You and I
The real Santa lived a long time ago in a place called Asia Minor. It is now the country of Turkey. His name was Nicholas.
Nicholas’ parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He went to live with his uncle who was a priest.
Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money. He had three daughters who were old enough to get married. But in those days young women had to have money in order to get married. This money was a “dowry” and it was used to help the new family get started. If you didn’t have dowry money, you didn’t get married.
This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat. The daughters were going to be sold as slaves because they couldn’t live at home any longer. They were very sad. They wouldn’t be able to have families of their own. And they would have to be slaves—no longer able to decide where they would live or what they would do.
The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold, she washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went to sleep—the father and the three daughters.
In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking. Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were!
The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine! Two of the daughters would now be saved. Such joy!
And the next night, the father planned to stay awake to find out who was helping his daughters. He dozed off, but heard a small “clink” as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and ran out the door. Who did he catch ducking around the corner?
Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle. “Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us—I hardly know what to say!” Nicholas said, “Please, do not thank me—thank God that your prayers have been answered. Do not tell others about me.”
Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help secretly. He didn’t want any attention or thanks. Years passed and he was chosen to be a bishop. Bishops look after their people as shepherds look after their sheep. And that is what Nicholas did. When there wasn’t any food, he found wheat; so no one went hungry. He always helped people in trouble. All his life Nicholas showed people how to love God and care for each other.
Everyone loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things Nicholas had done. Sailors took these stories about Nicholas everywhere they went. Some of the stories were about his special care for children—helping and protecting them when danger threatened. And so more and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him. He is an example of how we should live. And that is why he became a saint.
This is the story of the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. To this day people say that St. Nicholas, or Santa, is the special friend of children.
The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus
St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind man and had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it. There are several legends about St. Nicholas, although we don’t know if any of them are true!
The most famous story about St. Nicholas tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to get presents in first started! It goes like this:
There was a poor man who had three daughters. He was so poor, he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn’t get married. (A dowry is a sum of money paid to the bridegroom by the brides parents on the wedding day. This still happens in some countries, even today.) One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house (This meant that the oldest daughter was then able to be married.). The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated later with the second daughter. Finally, determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening until he caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. But soon the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that maybe it was from Nicholas.
Because of his kindness Nicholas was made a Saint. St. Nicholas is not only the saint of children but also of sailors! One story tells of him helping some sailors that were caught in a dreadful storm off the coast of Turkey. The storm was raging around them and all the men were terrified that their ship would sink beneath the giant waves. They prayed to St. Nicholas to help them. Suddenly, he was standing on the deck before them. He ordered the sea to be calm, the storm died away, and they were able to sail their ship safely to port.
St. Nicholas was exiled from Myra and later put in prison during the persecution by the Emperor Diocletian. No one is really knows when he died, but it was on 6th December in either 345 or 352. In 1087, his bones were stolen from Turkey by some Italian merchant sailors. The bones are now kept in the Church named after him in the Italian port of Bari. On St. Nicholas feast day (6th December), the sailors of Bari still carry his statue from the Cathedral out to sea, so that he can bless the waters and so give them safe voyages throughout the year.
in 1066, before he set sail to England, William the Conqueror prayed to St. Nicholas asking that his conquest would go well.
In the 16th Century in northern Europe, after the reformation, the stories and traditions about St. Nicholas became unpopular.
But someone had to deliver presents to children at Christmas, so in the UK, particularly in England, he became ‘Father Christmas’ or ‘Old Man Christmas’, an old character from stories plays during the middle ages in the UK and parts of northern Europe. In France, he was then known as ‘Père Nöel’.
In some countries including parts of Austria and Germany, present giver became the ‘Christkind’ a golden-haired baby, with wings, who symbolizes the new born baby Jesus.
In the early USA his name was ‘Kris Kringle’ (from the Christkind). Later, Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle and St Nicholas became ‘Sinterklaas’ or as we now say ‘Santa Claus’!
Many countries, especially ones in Europe, celebrate St. Nicholas’ Day on 6th December. In Holland and some other European Countries, children leave clogs or shoes out on the 5th December (St. Nicholas Eve) to be filled with presents. They also believe that if they leave some hay and carrots in their shoes for Sinterklaas’s horse, they will be left some sweets.
St. Nicholas became popular again in the Victorian era when writers, poets and artists rediscovered the old stories.
In 1823 the famous poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ or ‘T’was the Night before Christmas’, was published. Dr Clement Clarke Moore later claimed that he had written it for his children. (Some scholars now believe that it was actually written by Henry Livingston, Jr., who was a distant relative of Dr Moore’s wife.) The poem describes St. Nicholas with eight reindeer and gives them their names. They became really well known in the song ‘Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer’, written in 1949. Do you know all eight names? Click on Rudolph’s nose to find out!
Did you know that Rudolph might actually be a girl!? Only female reindeer keep their antlers throughout winter. By Christmas time most males have discarded their antlers and are saving their energy ready to grow a new pair in the spring.
The UK Father Christmas and the American Santa Claus became more and more alike over the years and are now one and the same.
Some people say that Santa lives at the North Pole. In Finland, they say that he lives in the north part of their country called Lapland.
But everyone agrees that he travels through the sky on a sledge that is pulled by reindeer, that he comes into houses down the chimney at night and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds, in front of the family Christmas tree, or by the fire place.
Most children receive their presents on Christmas Eve night or early Christmas morning, but in some countries they get their presents on St. Nicholas’ Eve, December 5th.
St. Nicholas putting the bag of gold into a stocking is probably where the custom of having a tangerine or satsuma at the bottom of your Christmas stocking came from. If people couldn’t afford gold, some golden fruit was a good replacement – and until the last 50 years these were quite unusual fruits and so still special!
The biggest Christmas stocking was 51m 35cm (168ft 5.65in) long and 21m 63cm (70ft 11.57in) wide (from the heel to the toe). It was made the volunteer emergency services organisation Pubblica Assistenza Carrara e Sezioni (Italy) in Carrara, Tuscany, Italy, on 5th January 2011. Just think how many presents you could fit in that!
Santa Claus and Coca-Cola
St. Nicholas in Harper’s Weekly: January 1863
There’s a Christmas Urban Legend that says that Santa’s red suit was designed by Coca-Cola and that they might even ‘own’ Santa!
This is definitely NOT TRUE!
Long before coke had been invented, St Nicholas had worn his Bishop’s red robes. During Victorian times and before that, he wore a range of colors (red, green, blue and brown fur) but red was always his favorite!
In January 1863, the magazine Harper’s Weekly published the first illustration of St Nicholas/St Nick by Thomas Nast. In this he was wearing a ‘Stars and Stripes’ outfit! Over the next 20 years Thomas Nast continued to draw Santa every Christmas and his works were very popular indeed (he must have been very good friends with Santa to get such good access!).
This is when Santa really started to develop his big tummy and the style of red and white outfit he wears today. Nast designed Santa’s look on some historical information about Santa and the poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’.
St. Nicholas in Harper’s Weekly: January 1881
On January 1st 1881, Harper’s Weekly published Nast’s most famous image of Santa, complete with a big red belly, an arm full of toys and smoking a pipe!
This image of Santa became very popular, with more artists drawing Santa in his red and white costume from 1900 to 1930.
Santa was first used in Coke adverts in the 1920s, with Santa looking like the drawings of Thomas Nast. In 1931, the classic ‘Coke Santa’ was drawn by artist Haddon Sundblom. He took the idea of Nast’s Santa but made him even more larger than life and jolly, replaced the pipe with a glass of Coke and created the famous Coke holding Santa!
Coca-Cola also agree that the red suit was made popular by Thomas Nast not them!
Coke has continued to use Santa in their adverts since the 1930s. In 1995 they also introduced the ‘Coca-Cola Christmas truck’ in the ‘Holidays are coming’ TV adverts. The red truck, covered with lights and with the classic ‘Coke Santa’ on its sides is now a famous part of recent Christmas history.
The real Santa lived a long time ago in a place called 
St. Nicholas, Santa Claus & Father Christmas 
In the 16th Century in northern Europe, after the reformation, the stories and traditions about St. Nicholas became unpopular.
Did you know that Rudolph might actually be a girl!? Only female reindeer keep their antlers throughout winter. By Christmas time most males have discarded their antlers and are saving their energy ready to grow a new pair in the spring.
