International Women's Day 2011, 100 Years!

Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.


Organisations, governments and women's groups around the world choose different themes each year that reflect global and local gender issues.

Some years have seen global IWD themes honoured around the world, while in other years groups have preferred to 'localise' their own themes to make them more specific and relevant.

THEME: So while many people may think there is one global theme each year, this is not always correct. It is completely up to each country and group as to what appropriate theme they select.

Below are some of the global United Nation themes used for International Women's Day to date:

- 2011: Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women

- 2010: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all
- 2009: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls
- 2008: Investing in Women and Girls
- 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
- 2006: Women in decision-making
- 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future
- 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
- 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
- 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
- 2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
- 2000: Women Uniting for Peace
- 1999: World Free of Violence against Women
- 1998: Women and Human Rights
- 1997: Women at the Peace Table
- 1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future

Whats your International Women's Day 2009 Theme?
Please let us know your 2009 themes to add below, by clicking here.

Various 2009 themes around the world
- Global, United Nations: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls
- Canada, Status of Women (Federal Gov): Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality
- Australia, UNIFEM: Unite to End Violence Against Women
- Australia, Queensland Government Office for Women: Our Women, Our State
- Australia, WA Department for Communities: Sharing the Caring for the Future
- UK, Doncaster Council: Women's Voices and Influence
- UK, Welsh Assembly Government: Bridging the Generational Gap
- UK, Accenture: Stretch Yourself: Achieving 50:50 in the boardroom by 2020

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908 Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909 In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910 At a Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen, an International Women's Day of no fixed date was proposed to honour the women's rights movement and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. Over 100 women from 17 countries unanimously agreed the proposal. 3 of these women were later elected the first women to the Finnish parliament.

1911 Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914 On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.

1917 On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1918 - 1999 Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women’s Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

2000 - 2007 IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.
Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google even changes its logo on its global search pages. Corporations like HSBC host the UK's largest and longest running IWD event delivered by women's company Aurora. Last year Nortel sponsored IWD activities in over 20 countries and thousands of women participated. Nortel continues to connect its global workforce though a coordinated program of high-level IWD activity, as does Accenture both virtually and offline. Accenture supports more than 2,000 of its employees to participate in its International Women's Day activities that include leadership development sessions, career workshops and corporate citizenship events held across six continents - in eight cities in the United States and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Africa and the UK. Accenture also coordinated am IWD webcast featuring stories about Accenture women worldwide that ran uninterrupted for 30 hours across 11 time zones via Accenture's intranet. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Taken from: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Flag Day in Mexico

February 24 is established as the Flag Day. In this day special TV and radio programs are broadcasted, in order to diffuse the the history and meaning of the Flag."

Since February 24th, 1937, there are public festivities on the Flag day in front of the monument to the General don Vicente Guerrero, the first Mexican military that swore to the flag in the famous hug of Acatempan on March 12, 1821.

The Mexico Flag and its emblem have an old and very interesting story about what it depicts.

While the Flag of the Estados Unidos de Mexico ( that’s right; United States of Mexico) wasn’t established

officially in its form until 1821, it depicts a story of Mexico culture from the ancient peoples known as the

Aztecs.

Supposedly in 1325 long before most of North America was “discovered” the Aztecs were populating the area

known as Mexico today with a relatively great civilization.

The story goes that the Aztecs received a vision or a sign from “Huitzilopochtli” through one of their many

“gods” that told them they would know where to build their central city or “zocólalo”, the empire of

“Tenochtitlan” ("Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus") when they saw what is today depicted on the Mexican Flag..

They were told that when they saw a [Mexican] Eagle perched on a Nopal cactus with a serpent (rattle snake)

in its talon, located on an island, this is where they should begin to build their permanent city. They supposedly

did encounter this on an island in the middle of a lake (Lake Anáhuac) now known today as México City. See

Mexico map.

The only problem with building there was there was not much dry land so the

Aztecs created balsas or basically rafts made of reeds and soil where they would

live and grow their foods. Eventually through the many years they used and

diverted the water making more and more “land” to live on.

This is where Mexico City currently stands today. This is also why through the

many years that as the Aztecs and eventually the Spaniards and now Mexicans

developed Mexico City, it is sinking into the earth.

It is said that under Mexico City today are many levels of civilizations. For

example many of the Catholic cathedrals created by the Spaniards are actually

on top of invisible pyramids that were built by the Aztec people.

The green-white-red tricolor was first seen in 1821 and was know as the “Sierra”. The name was given to it by

the Indians of the sierra of Veracruz and Puebla.

It was not officially adopted by Mexico until April 14th, 1823. As for the colors there seems to be some

disaccord. As you can see by the following examples.

Once source claims:

Green is for hope and victory.

White is for the purity of our ideals.

Red is for the blood our national heroes shed.

Another source says:

Green is for Independence

White for Roman Catholicism

Red for Union

There have been several revisions to the flag with the last being in 1995 with the passing of the modifications of

the Flag law.

The decree issued on May 9, 1995 modifies the articles 2, 18, and 55 ... of the last Flag Law issued in DOF on

February 9, 1991, states how the Coat of arms should be reproduced on the reverse side: From article 2 of the

mentioned decree:

The National Coat of Arms is featured by a Mexican eagle exposing its left profile, the upper part of the wings in

a level higher than plume and slightly displayed in a battle attitude; with the sustentation plumage dow

nwards

touching to the tail whose feathers are arranged in natural fan. It puts its left grasp on a bloomed that is born in

a rock that emerges from a lake. It is grasping with the right grasp and the beak, in attitude of eats, a curved

serpent, so that it harmonizes with the whole. Several "pencas" of the grow to the sides. Two branches, one of

“Encino” to the front of the eagle and another one of laurel opposed, form a lower semicircle and they are

united by a ribbon divided in three strips that, when the National Coat of Arms is represented in natural colors,

correspond to those of the National flag.

When the National Shield reproduces in the reverse side of the National Flag, the Mexican Eagle will appear

standing in its right grasp, holding with the left one and the beak the curved serpent.

Another important feature of this decree is the addition of the article 54-Bis talks about the destruction of a flag:

>From article 54-Bis of the mentioned decree:

When it is required to destroy some copy of the National flag, it will be done by means of the incineration, in

respectful and solemn act, in accordance with the specifications that the corresponding regulation d

etermines.

Source:

Decree of reform for the articles 2o, 18 & 55, and in addition article 54 Bis…of the law of the shield, the Mexico

Flag and Mexican National Hymns.

Issued in DOF on May 9, 1995.

The Mexico Flag is most prominently flown on “Día de Bandera” which is the Flag Day of Mexico, February

24th and also on México’s Independence Day, the 16th of September, known as El Grito or the shout for

independence.

Idiomas para salir de la crisis laboral, el inglés, el idioma más valorado en las entrevistas

Idiomas para salir de la crisis laboral

 (Fuente: Diario El Economista)

La demanda de formación siempre aumenta en tiempos de crisis ante la dificultad para acceder a un empleo. Los idiomas no son una excepción. Este año, las aulas se han llenado de jóvenes y adultos que buscan en la lengua extranjera una oportunidad para acceder, mantener o reincorporarse a un empleo. Pero no todos los idiomas presentan las mismas oportunidades. Todo depende de los objetivos profesionales que se tengan. Lo único claro es que sin inglés es imposible. La lengua anglosajona es la que manda en el mercado de trabajo.

Prácticamente, en la mayoría de las ofertas de empleo se requiere el conocimiento de algún idioma extranjero.

Incentivo ante la crisis económica

Un factor por el que muchas personas deciden aprender alguna lengua diferente a la materna, tendencia que se acentúa en tiempos de crisis económica porque es más difícil poder encontrar un empleo o mantenerlo.

Esta situación ha originado que no sólo los adolescentes y jóvenes llenen las aulas de los centros de formación, bien sean públicos o privados, para estudiar y mejorar su currículum, sino que los adultos y jóvenes que ya dejaron la universidad hace unos años hayan tenido que volver a asistir a clase.

A falta de las cifras oficiales definitivas, los centros tanto públicos como privados, han experimentado este año un aumento de la demanda de idiomas , aunque este incremento se debe también a otros factores como el hecho de que los estudiantes de masters y grados tengan que certificar su conocimiento de idiomas , la entrada del Plan Bolonia que facilita la realización de estudios en centros universitarios extranjeros y la nueva selectividad, que incluye una prueba oral de idioma extranjero.

La demanda para aprender idiomas se ha percibido, sobre todo, en relación al inglés. "Hemos notado un aumento de entre el 10 y el 15 por ciento", según explica Carmelo López, director del Centro de Lenguas Modernas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, quien señala que "con la crisis teníamos previsto este incremento porque la gente aprovecha para formarse".

La demanda de idiomas también se ha notado en los centros privados. En este caso, según datos de Aseproce, se ha registrado un aumento del 10 por ciento. El incremento no afecta por igual a todas las lenguas y "el inglés es la estrella.

El inglés, el idioma más valorado en las entrevistas

Y es que no hay duda de que el inglés es la lengua más importante y la que se ha convertido en el idioma internacional por excelencia, además de ser la más valorada en los procesos de selección. De hecho, según la Guía de las Empresas que ofrecen empleo, elaborada por la Cámara de Madrid y la Fundación Universidad Empresa, el aspecto más valorado por las compañías a la hora de elegir al mejor candidato es el conocimiento de inglés.

La demanda de empleados que sepan inglés hace que la lengua anglosajona sea la prioridad para cualquier estudiante y trabajador, con independencia de su actividad profesional, y que se convierta en imprescindible en determinadas profesiones relacionadas con áreas como la ingeniería, la economía, la ciencia y tecnología.


A partir de ahí, hay que decantarse por estudiar más idiomas, porque "en el Consejo de Europa se está hablando de crear ciudadanos plurilingües que conozcan, además de la lengua materna, otra lengua con un buen nivel y que tengan conocimientos bastante buenos de otro idioma más". Eso sí, no hay que olvidarse bajo ningún concepto del inglés porque para encontrar trabajo es el más importante y sin conocimientos de este idioma es prácticamente imposible acceder a un empleo. Luego, es cuestión de elegir y de ser conscientes que los idiomas abren más puertas profesionales que otras materias y asignaturas, porque con el conocimiento de lenguas extranjeras se encuentra más fácilmente un trabajo, aunque sea temporal y en lugares como la costa.


Extracto del artículo 'Idiomas para salir de la crisis laboral' - 7 de abril de 2010 por Eva Sereno en Ecoaula


Fuente: Diario "El Economista"

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS, WHAT ABOUT YOURS?

Funny New Year Quotes

Laugh Your Way Into the New Year With These Funny New Year Quotes

By Simran Khurana, About.com

The New Year may be a significant event for many people. But the absurdities of the celebration cannot escape a skeptic's mind. Here are some funny New Year quotes. What better way to start a New Year than with a hearty laugh? You can share your joy by greeting everybody with these funny New Year quotes.

Mark Twain

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.



Brooks Atkinson

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.



Bill Vaughan

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.



P. J. O'Rourke

The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to.



Jay Leno

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year's resolution.



James Agate

New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.



Eric Zorn

Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.



Bill Vaughan

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.



Charles Lamb

New Year's Day is every man's birthday.



Oprah Winfrey

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.



Mark TwainNew Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.



Judith Crist

Happiness is too many things these days for anyone to wish it on anyone lightly. So let's just wish each other a bile-less New Year and leave it at that.



Anonymous

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.



Joey Adams

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!



Anais NinI made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.



Oscar Wilde

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.



Robert Paul

I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit rounder, but still none the wiser.



AnonymousA New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.



Leonard Bernstein

From New Year's on the outlook brightens; good humor lost in a mood of failure returns. I resolve to stop complaining.



G. K. Chesterton

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

What's yours?

HAPPY XMAS...

We will host our "Posada Party" on Tuesday December 21st. after 4pm. Come to enjoy with us! There will be music, food and special prizes. Students, guests, and community members are welcome! Though some traditional holiday food will be provided, guests are encouraged to either bring a food/drink contribution or a $25 donation for this special event!

Merry Christmas around the world

Afrikaner (Afrikaans) ~ "Een Plesierige Kerfees"

Argentine ~ "Felices Pascuas"

Bohemian ~ "Vesele Vanoce"Brazilian ~ "Boas Festas"

Chinese (Cantonese) ~ "Saint Dan Fai Lok"

Danish ~ "Glædelig Jul"

Dutch ~ "Vrolijk Kerstfeest" - Gezellige kerst

English ~ "Merry Christmas"

Filipino ~ "Maligayang Pasko"

Finnish ~ "Hyvaa Joulua"

French ~ "Joyeux Noël"

German ~ "Froehliche Weihnachten"

Greek ~ "Kala Christouyenna"


Hawaiian ~ "Mele Kalikimaka"

Hebrew ~ "Mo'adim Lesimkha"

Icelandic ~ "Gledileg Jol"

Indonesian ~ "Selamat Hari Natal"

Irish ~ "Nollaig Shona Dhuit"

Italian ~ "Buone Feste Natalizie" - Natale italiano

Japanese ~ "Kurisumasu Omedeto"

Korean ~ "Sung Tan Chuk Ha"

Lithuanian ~ "Linksmu Kaledu"

Malay ~ "Selamat Hari Natal"

Maori ~ "Meri Kirihimete"

Norwegian ~ "God Jul" - Norsk Jul

Romanian ~ "Craciun Fericit"

Peruvian ~ "Felices Fiestas"

Portugese ~ "Boas Festas"

Slovakian ~ "Vesele Vianoce"

Spanish ~ "Feliz Navidad"

Swedish ~ "God Jul" - Jul i Sverige

Welsh ~ "Nadolig Llawen"



























Christmas Facts
Every year more than 400 million people celebrate Xmas around the world -- that makes Xmas one of the world’s biggest religious and commercial festivities. In approximately year 300 A.D., the birthday of Jesus was determined to be on December 25, the day that has been celebrated from then till this very day. The celebration on the 25th of December starts with Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24.

The religious festival is originally a blend of pagan customs. The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, i.e. "the birthday of the unconquered sun.". Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in late December to early January. However, it is uncertain exactly why December 25 became associated with the birth of Jesus since the Old Testament doesn’t mention a specific date of the event.

Christmas around the world:







In Italy, children receive gifts from the good witch La Befana, old, bent and dressed in black. La Befana was a widowed, childless woman when the Three Kings passed on their way to see the Christ child. When they asked her the way to Bethlehem she was busy cleaning and sent them away. Realizing her mistake, she left to search for the Baby Jesus. To this day she is still searching going from house to house on Epiphany, January 6, leaving a gift for good children.

Russian children await gifts from Babouska, a farmer's wife who offered food and shelter to the Three Wise men on their journey to Bethlehem, Baboushka declined their offer of travelling with them to visit the Christ child. Realizing her error on the eve of Epiphany, she tried unsuccessfully to find them, but handed the presents she had intended for the infant Jesus to children she passed along the way.



In Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America, the Three Kings or Wise Men bring Christmas gifts to children, while in France children eagerly await the coming of Father Christmas or Pere Noel who brings their gifts.



In some cultures, Saint Nicholas travels with an assistant. The old bishop Sinterklass arrives in Holland on December 6 in his red bishop's costume astride a white horse. In many port towns, he is said to have sailed in on a ship from Spain. Beside him walks Black Peter with a black sack and a book recording each Dutch child's behavior through the year. Good children receive a gift from the bishop while bad children may be carried away in Black Peter's sack.

In Germany Saint Nicholas also travels with a helper, known as Knecht Ruprecht, Krampus, or Pelzebock, and comes with a sack on his back and a rod or switches in his hand. Saint Nicholas gives gifts to good children, while those who have been bad are punished by the assistant with a few hits of a switch.

Swedish children wait for the gnome Jultomten, also called Julemanden or Julenisse, who dresses in red and carries a sack of gifts on his back. He flies in his sleigh pulled by the Julbocker, the goats of Thor, the god of thunder. Elves, called the Juul Nisse, hide in the attics of families throughout the year, eagerly waiting to help him. Children leave bowls of milk or rice pudding in the attic for the elves, hoping they will be empty in the morning.

In Austria and Switzerland it is Christkindl or the Christ Child who arrives bearing gifts. In some towns children await the Holy Child and in others Christkindl is a beautiful girl-angel who comes down from heaven bearing gifts.

And in England a thinner version of Santa Claus known as Father Christmas, wearing long red robes with sprigs of holly in his hair, delivers gifts to children.

Actividades Celebración del 30 Aniversario de Instituto de Inglés América

Thanks to all our friends, collaborators, and contributors who made possible to perform the different activities we did to Celebrate the 30th. Anniversary of Instituto de Inglés América, once again, Thanks you who makes it possible, so we can continue Empowering Our People!!!

DAY OF DEAD

Halloween and The Day of Dead

Halloween

Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns. The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", also which is now known as All Saints' Day. Some modern Halloween traditions developed out of older pagan traditions, especially surrounding the Irish holiday Samhain, a day associated both with the harvest and otherworldly spirits. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the Western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Many European cultural traditions, in particular Celtic cultures, hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Scottish and Irish tales of the Sídhe).

History
The modern holiday of Halloween has its origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain (pronounced /ˈsˠaunʲ/ from the Old Irish samain). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes erroneously regarded as the "Celtic New Year". Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. When the Romans occupied Celtic territory, several Roman traditions were also incorporated into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated in late October by the Romans for the passing of the dead as well as a festival which celebrated the Roman Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit were incorporated into the celebrations. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which is a proposed origin for the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.

History of name
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", also which is now known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.


Symbols

Jack-o'-lanterns are often carved into silly or scary faces.The carved pumpkin, lit by a candle inside, is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols. This is a Scottish and Irish tradition of carving a lantern which goes back centuries. These lanterns are usually carved from a turnip or swede (or more uncommonly a mangelwurzel). The carving of pumpkins was first associated with Halloween in North America, where the pumpkin was available, and much larger and easier to carve. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their home's doorstep after dark.

The jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard drinking old farmer who tricked the devil into climbing a tree, and trapped him by carving a cross into the trunk of the tree. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack which dooms him to forever wander the earth at night. For centuries, the bedtime parable was told by Irish parents to their children. But in America the tradition of carving pumpkins is known to have preceded the Great Famine period of Irish immigration, and the tradition of carving vegetable lanterns may also have been brought over by the Scottish or English; documentation is unavailable to establish when or by whom. The carved pumpkin was associated generally with harvest time in America, and did not become specifically associated with Halloween until the mid to late 19th century.

The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely an amalgamation of the Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from American filmmakers and graphic artists, and a rather commercialized take on the dark and mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, magic, or mythical monsters. Common Halloween characters include ghosts, ghouls, witches, vampires, bats, owls, crows, vultures, haunted houses, pumpkinmen, black cats, aliens, spiders, goblins, zombies, mummies, skeletons, and demons. Particularly in America, symbolism is inspired by classic horror films, which contain fictional figures like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and The Mummy. More modern horror antagonists like Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Leatherface, Jason Voorhees, and the Jigsaw Killer have also become associated with the holiday. Homes are often decorated with these symbols around Halloween.

Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween.

Taken from Wikipidia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

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The Day of Dead

Day of The DeadMexico celebrates a yearly tradition called Day of the Dead during the last days of October and the first days of November. Due to the duration of this festivity and the way people get involved it has been called “The Cult of Death.”

As in many Latin American countries, Mexico commemorates the Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day on November 2nd. The legacy of past civilizations is graphically manifested on this occasion through people’s beliefs that death is a transition from one life to another in different levels where communication exists between the living and the dead. This communication takes place once a year throughout the country.


Differing from the Roman Catholic imposed ritual to commemorate All Souls’ Day, which is observed in many countries, the custom established by pre-colonial Mexican civilizations become a ceremony where indigenous beliefs blended with Catholic beliefs. Therefore, the Day of the Dead in Mexico is not a mournful commemoration but a happy and colorful celebration where death takes a lively, friendly expression.


Indigenous people believed that souls did not die, that they continued living in Mictlan, a special place to rest. In this place, the spirits rest until the day they could return to their homes to visit their relatives. Before the Spaniards arrived, they celebrated the return of the souls between the months of July and August. Once arrived, the Spaniards changed the festivities to November 2nd to coincide with All Souls’ Day of the Catholic Church.

Presently, two celebrations honoring the memory of loved ones who have died take place: On November 1st, the souls of the children are honored with special designs in the altars, using color white on flowers and candles. On November 2nd the souls of the adults are remembered with a variety of rituals, according to the different states of the Mexican republic.


The celebrations of Day of the Dead or All Souls Day are referred to differently in some of the states. For example in Yucatan it is known as Hanal Pixan which means “The path of the soul through the essence of food;” in the highlands of Michoacan it is known as Jimbanqua or the party honoring with flowers the people who died that year; in San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo and in the southern part of Oaxaca it is known as Xantolo and Day of the Dead in the majority of Mexico. Whatever name is given, this is an ancestral tradition that blended with Catholicism to create a special time and space to remember and honor the loved ones by offering them an ofrenda, the fragrance of the flowers, the light of the candles, the aroma of special foods and the solemnity of prayers.
It is also a time to joke and make fun of death through “calaveras”, poetry allusive to a particular person, generally politicians; sugar, chocolate and amaranth skulls which are given to one another with their friend’s name so “they can eat their own death” and special crafts allusive to different aspects of the living, with skeletons representing daily activities.

People start getting ready for the celebration on the third week of October with the harvesting of the cempasuchitl flower, also known as the flower of the twenty petals or the flower of the dead which is sold in the market place or Tianguis, where the family goes to buy everything that they will need to put on the altar. On the altar they will place the ofrendas of fruits, vegetables and the special dishes prepared for the soul to enjoy the essence of the aroma of the food. This altar will also have items that once belonged to the deceased.

On November 1st in many towns the ritual of the Vigil of the Little Angels takes place in the cemeteries, particularly in the islands of Janitzio and La Pacanda in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan. Little girls dressed in satin blouses and colored skirts, white stockings and shiny shoes are the center of this ceremony. Wearing the white pinafore, an important piece of the Tarascan feminine attire, the girls calmly comply with the tradition while they are observed from a certain distance by their parents. This is the way the tradition is passed down from generation to generation.

On November 2nd, the souls of the adults are honored in their homes with beautifully decorated altars. Each state has different styles but all of them represent a place where the ofrenda becomes a spiritual communion between life and death. Again, in each state the making of the altar and the rituals are different.

The celebration concludes in many towns with the vigil in the cemetery. In some places the vigil is done during the whole night of November 1st to November 2nd. In other towns the vigil is done during the day. Mysticism is the rule in the cemeteries, but in many of them music is also part of the ritual that combines religious prayers with the sounds of the trumpet playing a tune by a Mariachi band. In others it is a trio that sings a song by the tomb or in some cases even a band plays danzones at the entrance of the cemetery. Ritualistic dances are also part of the celebrations in many places honoring the deceased.

Whichever way is celebrated, Day of the Dead is a time of reflection about the meaning of life and the mission that one needs to fulfill. Death in many situations imparts a feeling of pain and loss, particularly for those who do not know the purpose of their path on this earthly plane. For others, death is transcendence, transformation and resurrection. During the celebration of Day of the Dead all those feelings and beliefs come together in a season that brings to life the memory of the loved ones.


Taken from Day of Dead Blog at:
http://www.dayofthedeadblog.com/

By Mary J. Andrade.

CBS 5 Interview with Mary Andrade
Mary Andrade shares her knowledge about the Day of the Dead Celebration in Mexico with CBS 5 / KPIX TV in San Francisco, CA. This interview is part of the “Hispanic Heritage Month” and featured by CBS 5.
To view the interview please follow this link (note that it starts with a short commercial)

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=39318@kpix.dayport.com
To view the “Hispanic Heritage Month” spot trailer please follow this url:
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=74203@kpix.dayport.com
To learn how Hispanic Heritage Diversity is being celebrated in the San Francisco Bay Area please follow these two links:
http://cbs5.com/community/Celebrate.Hispanic.Heritage.2.816365.html
http://cwbayarea.com/community/kbcw.community.hispanic.2.810161.html


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