May tradition from Finland: Äitienpäivä - Mother´s day

Aitienpäivä Suomessa

Suomessa  äitienpäivää vietetään toukokuun toisena sunnuntaina. 

Ensimmäisen kerran sitä vietettiin täällä vuonna 1918. Se tuli meille USAsta. 

Se on virallinen liputuspäivä. Useimmissa maissa äitienpäivää vietetään jonakin muuna ajankohtana. Sitä voidaan viettää monin eri tavoin. Tavallisinta on tarjoilla aamiainen äidille vuoteeseen.  Äidille voi antaa lahjoja ja kukkia. Voi  myös  tehdä kortin itse. Äitienpäivänä täytyy äidille olla hyvin ystävällinen. Jotkut perheet menevät syömään ravintolaan.

Mother’s day in Finland

Mother’s day is on the second Sunday of May.

It was first celebrated in Finland in 1918.

It came from the United States of America.

It is an official flag day in Finland.

Most of the countries have a different day for Mother’s day.

There are many ways to celebrate it. The most usual way is to make a breakfast and serve it to Mother in the bed. You can give flowers and presents to your Mother. You can draw a card too, if you want. You have to be very kind to your Mother. Some families go to eat in a restaurant.

SPANISH MAY TRADITION

WORKSHEET

The third game from Finland: Mirror - Peili

Peili

Pelin aluksi maahan vedetään pitkä viiva n. 20 askeleen päähän seinästä. Valitaan yksi pelaajista ”peiliksi”. Peili asettuu seinän viereen ja loput pelaajat viivan taakse. Peili kääntyy selkä selin muihin pelaajiin. Silloin kun peili on kääntyneenä seinään päin, eikä näe muita pelaajia, saavat he liikkua kohti seinää. Aina kun peili kääntyy pelaajia kohti, pitää pysähtyä mahdollisimman nopeasti. Jos peili näkee jonkun liikkuvan, huutaa hän tämän pelaajan nimen. Nähdyksi tulleen pitää oalata takaisin lähtöviivalla ja aloittaa alusta. Pelin voittaa se, joka pääsee peilin huomaamatta ensimmäisenä koskemaan seinää. Voittaja saa toimia seuraavan kierroksen peilinä.

Mirror

The game is played outside. At first a long line is drawn on the ground. The line is about 20 steps from a wall. One person is a ”mirror”.

”Mirror” is placed beside the wall and rest of the players are placed behind the line. ”Mirror” is faced towards the wall so that he/she cannot see the others. The players start to move toward the wall and the ”mirror”. Every time the ”mirror” looks toward the players, they have to stop moving right away. If the ”mirror” sees some one moving, he/she shouts the player’s name. The one that was seen moving has to move back to the starting point. The winner of the game is the one who gets to the wall and touches it without being seen by the ”mirror”. The winner is the ”mirror” in the next game.

May tradition from Sweden

Mors dag
Mors dag är en högtidsdag som ska uppmärksamma alla mammor på en särskild dag.
Företeelsen att fira våra mammor finns runt om i världen men på lite olika sätt och olika dagar. Den första Morsdagen firades 1908 i USA av en kvinna som hette Ann Jarvis som ville hedra sin döda mamma. 1919 firades Morsdag första gången i Sverige.
Nuförtiden firar vi Morsdag den sista söndagen i Maj. Det är inte någon flaggdag i Sverige.
Traditionen att fira sin mamma på en särskild dag har inte varit helt populär bland alla.
Många tycker att det bara är en kommersiell dag som finns för att affärsmännen ska tjäna pengar. Hursomhelst så brukar barn i många skolor måla fina morsdagskort som de ger till sin mamma på Morsdagen. En del mammor får frukost på sängen av sina barn, blommor eller någon liten present. Vissa restauranger annonserar om speciella Morsdagsmenyer som de vill locka med.




Mother's Day is a celebration that will draw attention to all the mothers on a special day.The phenomenon to celebrate our mothers are around the world, but in slightly different ways and different days. The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1908 in the USA by a woman named Ann Jarvis.She wanted to honor his dead mother. 1919 Mother's Day was celebrated for the first time in Sweden.Today we celebrate Mother's Day on the last Sunday in May. There is no flag day in Sweden.The tradition to celebrate our mother on a special day has not been entirely popular with everyone.Many think that it's just a commercial day for businessmen to make money. Anyway, usually children in many schools have to paint fine Mother's Day card that they give to their mom for Mother's Day. Some mothers get breakfast in bed by her children, flowers or any small gift. Some restaurants advertise a special Mother's Day Menus that they want to attract.

FIRE: Mount Etna Volcano

We have involved our children of class 2 A in the activity about FIRE. The theme we have chosen is Mount Etna Volcano, called The Mountain of Fire or Mongibello, which is situated on the east coast of Sicily. At first the class teacher Tina, during the science lesson, has explained what is a volcano and then has invited the children to imagine how is the top of the mountain and to draw it focusing on fire colours. They have found inspiration looking at the photos and the paintings about Etna of our famous Sicilian painter Renato Guttuso. The materials we have used have been paper and wax crayons.

Meeting in Barrafranca

Uusimaa

This is made by our 6th graders

Art from Kerava: Fire

We wanted to link this topic to history. We talked about prehistory of Finland and the art of that time. We watched pictures from book and teacher read a fictive story about that time. We painted "rock paintings" with red colour and made our own hand marks. We burned little bit the sides of papers.

 Here is the link:
Astuvansalmi rock paintings

April tradition from Finland: Mantan Lakitus 2010

April tradition from Finland: Vappu -May Day Eve

Vappu

Vappu on kevään ja suomalaisen työn juhla. Vapun päivään kuuluvat ilmapallot, naamiasasut, ylioppilaslakit, vappumarssit, poliittiset puheet, vappulounaat ja eväsretket.

Vappu on lasten juhla. Silloin saa koristella kodin ilmapalloilla, serpentiineillä ja vappuviuhkoilla. Vappuna juodaan simaa ja syödään munkkeja ja tippaleipiä.

Vappu on myös ylioppilaiden juhla. Ylioppilaat laittavat päähänsä valkoiset ylioppilaslakkinsa ja kulkevat koko päivän ne päässään.

Vappuna juhlivat myös työläiset. He kulkevat lippukulkueissaan kaupungin halki.

May Day – The 1st of May

On May Day we celebrate Spring and Finnish labour. Balloons,  clown costumes, student caps, parades,  flag processions, political speeches, May Day dinners and picnics are part of May Day celebration.

May Day is childrens’ festival. We decorate our homes with balloons, streamers and  whisks made of silky paper. We drink mead and eat doughnuts and  and special  May Day confectionery called tippaleipä”  or May Day fritter (in the picture).

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Also people who have graduated from high school celebrate on May Day by wearing their  white student caps all day and having a stroll on the streets.

Working-class people celebrate May Day, too. They walk in flag processions through towns.

RECIPE: A Pagnuccata

Canto: Preghiera a Gesù Crocifisso

APRIL TRADITION IN BARRAFRANCA: The Holy Week and Easter Day

The Holy Week and Easter in Barrafranca Many religious and traditional events are held in our town during the Holy week. The celebrations start on Palm Sunday with processions among the Parrish churches streets. Children take interlaced palms, embellished with flowers and ribbons, while adults take olive branches to be blessed in the churches. On Holy Wednesday evening a group of people act, in some characteristic places of the town, the “Vasacra” a moving representation of passion and death of Jesus Christ. Altars are bared in churches after the religious rites on Holy Thursday and people go visiting the “Sabburca”. The Sabburca are places of worship prepared in the churches and embellished by flowers, plants, candles and coloured lights around a golden urn where there is the Holy Sacrament. On Holy Friday morning the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, in mourning, is carried in procession and according to the popular interpretation She goes out searching for his Son who has been captured and condemned to death. She is accompanied on the way by Saint John, by the confraternities, by the band and by a group of men singing dirges (the lamentations). Little girls (le monachelle) wear a black dress and a black cloak and boys shake the scattiole. The most important and solemn celebration is in the evening. Our Lady of Sorrows, Saint John, the Urn of dead Jesus go in procession with Jesus on the cross (U Trunu) who is covered with gold and big coloured flowers (scocchi), offered by faithful, and carried with great effort by many people. Easter Day is celebrated with the representation of the meeting (a Giunta) of Holy Mary and Risen Christ. Typical are the twelve big woodenhead Apostles. On the following day, Easter Monday, we used to go out in the country with relatives and friends and eat special traditional food: grilled meat, grilled sardines, grilled artichokes and vegetable omelettes. Our typical sweets are: la colomba pasquale, i muscardini and a pagnuccata.

La Settimana Santa e la Pasqua a Barrafranca Molti eventi caratterizzano il nostro paese durante la Settimana Santa. Le celebrazioni iniziano la Domenica delle Palme con le varie processioni lungo le strade delle parrocchie. I bambini portano le palme intrecciate, abbellite con fiori e fiocchetti, mentre gli adulti portano dei rami d’ulivo che vengono benedetti nelle chiese. La sera del Mercoledì Santo, in alcuni posti particolari del paese, un gruppo di persone recita la Vasacra una commovente rappresentazione della passione e morte di Gesù Cristo. Il Giovedì Santo, dopo i riti religiosi, gli altari vengono spogliati e le persone iniziano la visita ai sabburca. I sabburca sono luoghi di culto allestiti nelle chiese attorno ad un’urna dorata, nella quale viene esposto il SS. Sacramento, e abbelliti di fiori, piante, candele e luci colorate. La mattina del Venerdì Santo la statua dell’Addolorata, vestita a lutto, viene portata in processione e, secondo l’interpretazione popolare, va in cerca di suo Figlio che è stato catturato e condannato a morte. Durante il tragitto è accompagnata da San Giovanni, dalle Confraternite, dalla banda musicale e da un gruppo di uomini (i lamentatori) che intonano dei lamenti. Le bambine indossano un abito e un mantello nero e i bambini scuotono le scattiole. La più importante e solenne manifestazione si tiene la sera con la processione dell’Addolorata, di San Giovanni, dell’Urna col Cristo morto e del Crocifisso che, coperto di ori e di scocche (fiori)offerti dai fedeli, viene trasportato con grande sforzo da numerose persone. Il giorno di Pasqua si celebra con la rappresentazione della Giunta, cioè l’incontro della Madonna con Cristo Risorto. Particolari sono i dodici Apostoli con le teste di legno. L’indomani è usanza andare in campagna per festeggiare con amici e parenti e mangiare carne arrostita, sardine arrostite, frittate di verdure e i dolci tipici: la colomba pasquale, i muscardini e a pagnuccata.