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Home , Great Union Day, Mistletoe

THE FORESTRY TECHNICAL COLLEGE PIATRA-NEAMŢ 67, Ştefan cel Mare street, Piatra-Neamţ

Issue 90 2018

ISSN 2284 -7529 ISSN –L = 2284-7529

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Great Union Day 2018………………………………………. December in History……………………………………………… ...... 3 Did you know...... Students’ Corner......

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THE FORESTRY TECHNICAL COLLEGE PIATRA-NEAMŢ School magazine

Issue 90 December 2018

in our school for this historical event. They recited poems, sang songs, participated in various competitions, drew posters and on the whole, felt proud of being Romanian citizens and trying to emphasise our national values. This issue of our English written school magazine is about celebrating our , but it is also about winter and Christmas. Snow has already started to fall, the town is beautifully decorated and we are starting to buy gifts or sing Christmas carols. In the Students’ Corner you will read about various traditions related to Christmas and how our students are preparing for this wonderful On the 1st of December we celebrate celebration. our National Day. It is a time of joy and a time of being proud that we are Romanians especially because this year we celebrate our country’s 100th Star’s Editorial Team anniversary. The students from The Technical College of Forestry have taken part in DECEMBER IN HISTORY many activities which were organised 3

Symbols of December 25th December and celebrates the birth of Our Lord Christ over 2000 Birthstone: Turquoise, years ago. Flower: Narcissus or December is also a month of Christmas : Poinsettia multicultural celebrations. December was originally the tenth The following multicultural events and month of the year in the Roman calendar. celebrations are among those that will It gets its name from the Latin word happen this year: which means tenth. However, when the - Day (Christian) Romans added January and February to -Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican) the calendar, it became the twelfth -St. Lucia Day (Swedish) month. -Hanukkah (Jewish) They still kept the name, though. It is the -Christmas Day (Christian) - (Australian, Canadian, English, first month of winter and the last month Irish) of the year. December in the Northern

Hemisphere is similar to June in the

Southern Hemisphere. Day 2018 The first day of astronomical winter is Great Union Day in is on either December 21 or 22. This is the celebrated annually every 1 December . shortest day of the year and the longest Great Union Day, occurring on night. It is called the Winter or Southern is the national holiday of solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Romania. It marks the unification of At the beginning of December, the , , and season of starts. The with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918. word advent means 'coming', and as its This holiday was set after the Romanian name suggests it is a time of preparation Revolution and celebrates the assembly for the coming feast at Christmas. of the delegates of Romanians held in Christmas, the mass of Christ, is held on 4

Alba Iulia, declaring the Union of The story of solstice Transylvania with Romania. Solstice means “sun standing still.” In On December 1, 1918 (November 18 Old the Northern Hemisphere, it is the first Style), the National Assembly of the day of winter, the shortest day and Romanians of Transylvania formed of longest night of the year, occurring on 1,228 elected representatives of the the 20th, 21st or 22nd of December. Romanians in Transylvania, , The introduction of Crişana and Maramureş, met in Alba Christmas Iulia and decreed (by unanimous vote) In the year 274AD, solstice fell on 25th “ the unification of those Romanians and December. Roman Emperor Aurelian of all the territories inhabited by them proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis with Romania.” Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I Day specified the 25th of December as the Before the invention of electric lights, official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. families would balance candles on the In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the branches of their Christmas first Christian Roman emperor, finally Electric Christmas lights were first changed the ancient solstice celebrations invented in 1880 by Thomas Edison, into Christmas, announcing that it however it took another several decades would be an immovable feast, officially for the invention to catch on. And it celebrated as the birth of Christ. wasn’t until 1903, when General Electric began selling pre-assembled kits of – December 24 Christmas lights, the electric lights became popular with people of all The anticipation of reindeer hooves classes. pitter-pattering on the roof, Christmas

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Eve dinner by the fire, Christmas birth, partaking in beautiful traditions, carolling amidst glowing holiday lights, or just spreading some holiday cheer! evening church services, staying up late You should know that... to prepare the stockings…. These are The figure of (Santa what makes Christmas Eve for many Claus) is based on the patron saint of one of the most magical days of the children, Saint Nicholas (270-310AD) year. While Christmas Eve traditions He became well known for supporting vary by culture and country, one thing is the needy. He would often be seen, clad for sure, no matter who or where you in red and white bishop’s robes and are—on December 24, the fantastical riding on a donkey, handing out gifts to becomes possible, and magic is all children. around us. in New York Christmas – December 25 The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, founded New York – named New There are so many things to love about Amsterdam under the Dutch and the Christmas holiday The renamed when the British took over the great thing about Christmas colony – and brought with them the is that there is a joyful celebrations of , the Dutch festivity for everyone to name for Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is enjoy. Although Christmas the American pronunciation of has in Christianity and honours the Sinterklaas. birth of Jesus Christ, it has evolved over two millennia into a worldwide Mistletoe and holly celebration that’s both religious and at Christmas secular. Every year on December 25, we Mistletoe is a symbol for peace and joy. celebrate Christmas, a day for spending The idea originated in the ancient times time with family, honouring Christ’s of the : whenever enemies met

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under the mistletoe in the forest, they Pole. But there are lots in Lapland, had to lay down their arms and observe Finland. So today we know that the a truce until the next day. From this reindeer live around the secret village of comes the custom of hanging a ball of Father Christmas and the elves mistletoe from the ceiling as a sign of somewhere on the friendship and goodwill. mountain in the Savukoski county of In the Celtic language mistletoe means Lapland, Finland, which is on the

“all-heal.” Finnish-Russian border.

Names of the Christmas

reindeer Rudolph is the most Did you know? famous The first Christmas trees reindeer. He is the leader of the other 8,

According to some sources, the Christmas is whose names are Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, actually a throwback to "Yggdrasil," the Great Tree of Life mentioned in Norse mythology. Dancer, Dash er, Donder, Prancer, and The first documented use of a tree at Christmas Vixen. and New Year celebrations is argued between the cities of Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in The names of the 8 reindeer were Latvia! Both claim that they had the first trees; Tallinn in 1441 and Riga in 1510. published by Clement Clark Moore, an The modern custom of an indoor is thought to have originated in Germany. American poet and professor of theology, German Christians would bring trees into their in his 1822 poem “A Visit From St. homes to decorate. Nicholas.”

The famous Christmas reindeer At one stage it was thought that Father Christmas stockings A special Christmas Christmas (Santa Claus) lives in the tradition is hanging you North Pole. In 1925 it was discovered stocking for Santa to fill that there are no reindeer in the North 7 with small presents. This tradition comes humble shepherds who were first to to us from Holland, where children hang worship the new-born Christ. stockings for Sinter Klaas to fill. Legend has it that the was But why stockings? Here is one story. invented in 1670 by a choirmaster at the Long ago there was a merchant who had Cologne Cathedral who handed out the three daughters. Sadly, the merchant bent sugar sticks among children to keep somehow lost all of his money. His them quiet during the Living Crèche daughters were going to be sold as ceremony. servants to pay his bills. During their last Did you know? night at home the girls washed their English is the official language of 54 stockings and hung them by the fire to countries, almost double any other dry. Bishop Nicholas, hearing about their country. It is the most widely used fate, dropped gold down the chimney into language in the world, and is used by each girl’s stocking. many international organizations. The girls were saved! “Merry Christmas” is much more When their father heard who had given common than “Happy Christmas”, the gold, he went around town praising although the latter is sometimes heard. Bishop Nicholas. Beginning about two weeks before Ever since, children have hung Christmas, “Merry Christmas” is the stockings by the chimney in the hopes common greeting in the United that Santa Claus will fill their stockings Kingdom, Ireland, and America. with gifts, too.

The Christmas candy cane, shaped as a shepherds’ crook, represents the

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Boxing Day – December 26

Did you know that Boxing Day originated in the UK? Boxing Day is great excuse to give gifts to people. Everyone loves a gift so give your family and friends a gift from you. Boxing Day is observed only in the , Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some other Commonwealth nations.

Let’s learn! New Year’s Eve – December 31

Did you know that the first places in the world to ring in the New Year are Samoa, Tonga, and Kiribati, while American Samoa and Baker Island in the USA are the last?

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English For Everybody!

STUDENTS’ WRITING CORNER

*Christmas is one of the most important

and most popular holidays throughout the

year. The winter vacation is near and I

have many things to do. One of these

things is to buy gifts for friends and

family. I’ve always liked the idea of

Secret Santa because you don’t know

where your gift comes from. I’ve always

spent Christmas at my grandmother’s

house, a place which is full of comfort,

warmth and happiness.

At Christmas, I have always been able

to escape the cold winter days and allow

myself to truly enjoy the celebration.

Christmas is a time for family and

friends to get together, share stories

and feel good. A week before Christmas

Eve I’ll go with my grandmother to buy

a Christmas Tree. On Christmas Eve, all

the family gathers in the living-room,

starting to decorate the Christmas Tree.

When we start decorating the Christmas

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Tree, the first thing we do is add the right proportions because the base was tree lights, then the garlands and then too big; but I tried to fix it and finally the other decorations. it was finished: eyes, nose and

My grandmother makes the best sponge everything. But the next day when I cake and on the 24th of December I went outside my snowman was destroyed; bake cookies with my best friend and at first, I was destroyed but then I sometimes we burn the cookies in the remembered that I did the same thing oven. to a snowman built by some classmates

We also make a list with our New Year some days ago. resolutions. Every winter we go to the Merry Christmas! Make lots of skating rink even if I don’t really beautiful snowmen this year! know how to skate. Adriana Iordache -9 A

Ingrid-Ioana Lupu- 9 A

*It was a beautiful December night. It

*How do I see Christmas? First of all, was the day before Christmas. All day

I think it’s the best festivity ever where long it wouldn’t stop snowing and the all the family gets together, the children houses were covered in snow. Such an sing Christmas carols. When I was little amazing scenery! i went outside with my sister, sometimes In my family’s house it smells like apple playing in the snow, sometimes playing pie, sponge cake and cookies. My mom with other children and making snowmen. is cooking a delicious meal while me and

I remember 4 or 5 years ago I was my father are decorating the Christmas trying to make a snowman. I wanted it tree. to be as tall as me and it wasn’t very I got so fascinated by the tree difficult because I was pretty short. decorations that I didn’t even notice it

Anyway, I started building my snowman was midnight. I looked out of the window when I realised that I didn’t use the and everything looked like it came out from a Disney movie. 11

The stars were shining and it was a full “Santa, are you there? Please, come moon in the sky. For a second I thought faster!”

I heard Santa’s bells jingling in the Another Christmas memory is with my distance but I guess I was really tired Italian cousins and my little sister who so I went to bed. was just born. I got costumed as the

The next day, when I woke up I ran Fairy Queen, a cousin was the Fairy King downstairs in the living-room where the and the others were princes and

Christmas tree was. I was really happy princesses. We had lots of fun. to see a lot of gifts left near the tree About Santa Claus, I think that he really by Santa Claus. I enjoyed all the gifts exists and I don’t think n that he gives together with my family. only material things. He usually gives us

I love Christmas! things that we want or deserve and they

Andreea Vinca- 9A may be feelings, accomplishments or even

people. Merry Christmas, everyone! *Christmas is a day which gives us a lot Ana Lara Fodor- 9 A of memories that we consider very special. One of my favourite memories about Christmas is when I and my twin cousins organised a pyjama party. We were five years old and I remember that we had a lot of fun.

So, there were three kids running in the apartment, looking at every window to see if Santa Claus is coming. We also opened the rooms in the house asking:

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Celebrating our National Day 2018

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We Wish You A Merry Christmas And a happy New Year. Glad tidings we bring To you and your kin; Glad tidings for Christmas And a happy New Year!

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow On a one-horse open sleigh, Over the fields we go, Laughing all the way; Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright, What fun it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! O what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh

Christmas is a wonderful www.educationworld.com/a_lesson celebration ! https://nationaltoday.com/christmas/ Snow is falling, all around me. http://www.learn-english-today.com/resources-for- teachers.html Children playing, having fun. https://didyouknow.org/christmas It’s the season of love and

understanding, EDITORIAL TEAM: Merry Christmas, everyone! The students from IX A grade:

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Ingrid-Ioana Lupu, Adriana Iordache, Andreea Vinca, Ana Lara Fodor

COORDINATING TEACHER:

IRINA VREMIR

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