31st December 2020: New Year's Eve

As you all know, in Spain we eat twelve grapes at midnight. The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of  the Correos building in Puerta del Sol square, Madrid. It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, on on each chime of the clock. This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the twelve grapes have become synonimous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine (such as champagane or cider).

26th December: Boxing Day 2020

Today is Boxing Day. No, it has nothing to do with the sport of fighting with the fists. This is the reason for the name:

A box, usually of earthenware, in which contributions of money were collected at Christmas, by apprentices, etc.; the box being broken when full, and the contents shared.

So, the name Boxing Day derives from the tradition of giving seasonal gifts, on the day after Christmas, to less wealthy people and social inferiors, which was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers and servants.

What if Virgin Mary Had Whatsapp? 2020

THE DIGITAL STORY OF NATIVITY

How would the birth of Jesus be experienced through digital media such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon...? Have a look at the video below:

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Christmas' Eve Dinner 2020

In Britain, turkey is the traditional dish for Christmas' Eve dinner. Enjoy it!

No copyright infringement intended. For educational purposes only.

Christmas Tube Map 2020

(Reblogged from The Telegraph)

This festive Tube map will make you wish the Underground was open on Christmas Day.

If you look closely at this beautiful map, you will see that a few festive changes have been made. We all love a good alternative Tube map. There's a geographically accurate one, one which shows average house prices at each stop, one which points out the most haunted tube stations and even one which shows you how to climb Everest. 

Now, there's a festive tube map, with excitingly-named stations. How do you feel about We Three Kings Cross St. Pancras? Regent's Park has been re-named Treegent's Park. Oxford Circus is now Boxing Day Circus. Our favourite is Victo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria. And Angel has been left out - as it is already festive. They could have bunged a 'Gabriel' on the end.The map was created by a Twitter user named Paul, for us to enjoy during the festivities. He made it to use on his Christmas cards. It's impressive that one man managed to come up with all these different names. Sadly, we cannot use the map on Christmas Day - as the Underground is shut.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

7 O´Clock News / Silent Night 2020

Recorded on August 22nd, 1966, "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" is the twelfth and final track on "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", a 1966 album by Simon and Garfunkel. The track consists of an overdubbing of two contrasting recordings: a simple arrangement of the Christmas carol "Silent Night", and a simulated "7 O'Clock News" bulletin of the actual events of 3 August 1966.

8 Facts about Spain's 'El Gordo' Lottery 2020

The following article was published by PR Newswire on7th December 2010.

'Chacho man', by Sid Lowe

'Chacho man' makes Celta the most fun team to watch in Spain now

Since Eduardo Coudet took over, no one in La Liga has won more, scored more or conceded fewer. It is a new dawn

(Reblogged from The Guardian)

Eduardo Coudet was pissed off, getting angrier and more drunk by the minute. That Rosario Central had been beaten 4-0 in the first leg of the Copa Conmebol final was bad enough, but it was past two in the morning and he was still stuck inside an empty stadium, unable to escape the humiliation, left with nothing to do but dwell on it. That and drink. His name came up with Pablo Sánchez, sent to the anti-doping room together. But however hard they tried, however much beer they downed – and it was a lot – they couldn’t provide a sample. Time passed and Coudet got increasingly agitated: he was going to have them.

This wasn’t the place and certainly wasn’t the time so Sánchez tried to calm him down. Let’s make a promise, he said: if we turn this round, we’ll spend the night inside the ground, our ground. Incredibly, Rosario won the second leg 4-0, claiming their first international trophy on penalties. And, as the players celebrated in the dressing room, preparing to hit the town, Sánchez reminded Coudet they had a promise to fulfil. He went home and came back with a pizza, a torch and a radio. Together they sat in the centre circle wondering why they hadn’t thought up a better promise than this and waiting for the sun to rise, which it always does.

Christmas Carols & Songs 2020

A carol is a song of praise or joy, especially for Christmas. But it is also an old round dance often accompanied by singing.  The word was probably from Old French, derived from Latin choraula, which means "choral song".

Enjoy a selection of traditional Christmas carols and songs in English. Lyrics are included, so you can learn how to sing them!

Merry Christmas 2020

Labor English Zone wishes you the 

Season's Greetings

At Labor English Zone we know what present we want for Christmas!

Encounter of Giants

During these days at the end of the year, a unique astronomical event is taking place with the great conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn that will reach a relative distance of just over 6 arc minutes on the night of December 21. This very close planetary conjunction has not occurred with this closeness since 1623 and the next comparable conjunction will be in 2080. Even with a modest telescope it will be possible to see both planets, the rings of Saturn and the main satellites of both planets in the same visual field. As you know, both planets are low in our night skies at a maximum height of less than 30º and visible at the beginning of the night towards the West.

How can I find Jupiter and Saturn? Jupiter is the brightest “star” in the low western sky in the evening of December, so it is quite easy to find Jupiter. Saturn is fainter than Jupiter, but it is as bright as 1st magnitude star, and shines above Jupiter in early December. Because Jupiter and Saturn fall in a short time in the evening, you can enjoy watching these planets only for a limited time. We recommend that you find Jupiter and Saturn in November or early December.

Advent 2020

What is Advent? (Reblogged from here and here)

The word Advent comes from the Latin word for “arrival”: adventus. The celebration of Advent, whether with wreaths in church or calendars at home, marks the beginning of the Christmas period. It’s one of the major seasons celebrated by most Christian churches in the Western tradition: Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and many additional Protestant churches mark the roughly month-long period with special observance.

Most Advent calendars start on December 1st, but the actual first day of the Advent season changes every year. In 2020, that day is November 29th. In 2021, it will be November 28th. The final day is the same every year: December 24th, Christmas Eve — though many calendars run through Christmas Day.

The reason for the shifting start date is somewhat straightforward: as celebrated by Christian churches in the Western tradition (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox churches, which keep a different calendar), the season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and is celebrated on each successive Sunday leading up to Christmas.

Once Advent finishes, the 12 days of Christmas start... It is the period that in Christian theology marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6th (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings' Day).