Jingle Bells

Silent Night

Merry Christmas

Garfield

Garfield (stylised as Garfield®) is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield (named after Davis' grandfather); his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie. As of 2007, it was syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals, and held the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip.

If you want to see more Garfield comic strips, click here

Someone like you, by Adele

Adele, an English singer with a fantastic voice, started singing when she was only 4. At the age of 22 she won lots of awards with her 2011 album, 21

There's a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bring me out the dark.
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare.

See how I'll leave, with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do.

There's a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bring me out the dark.

The scars of your love, remind me of us.
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
And you played it
To the beat

Baby I have no story to be told
But I've heard one of you and I'm gonna make your head burn,
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there as mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love, remind you of us.
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
And you played it
To the beat

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
But you played it
With a beating

Throw your soul threw every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow

We could have had it all
We could have had it all
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
And you played it to the beat

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand

But you played it,
You played it,
You played it
You played it to the beat

Mistletoe, by Justin Bieber

It’s the most beautiful time of the year
Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer
I should be playing in the winter snow
But I'mma be under the mistletoe

I don’t want to miss out on the holiday
But I can’t stop staring at your face
I should be playing in the winter snow
But I’mma be under the mistletoe

With you, shawty with you
With you, shawty with you
With you under the mistletoe

Everyone's gathering around the fire
Chestnuts roasting like a hot July
I should be chillin' with my folks, I know
But I’mma be under the mistletoe

Word on the street santa's coming tonight,
Reindeer's flying in the sky so high
I should be making a list I know
But I’mma be under the mistletoe

With you, shawty with you
With you, shawty with you
With you under the mistletoe

With you, shawty with you
With you, shawty with you
With you under the mistletoe

Eh, love, the wise men followed the star
The way I follow my heart
And it led me to a miracle

Eh love, don't you buy me nothing
I am feeling one thing, your lips on my lips
That's a very, merry Christmas

It’s the most beautiful time of the year
Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer
I should be playing in the winter snow
But I'mma be under the mistletoe

I don’t want to miss out on the holiday
But I can’t stop staring at your face
I should be playing in the winter snow
But I’mma be under the mistletoe

With you, shawty with you
With you, shawty with you
With you under the mistletoe

With you, shawty with you
With you, shawty with you
Shawty with you, under the mistletoe

Kiss me underneath the mistletoe
Show me baby that you love me so-oh-oh
Oh, oh ,ohhh
Kiss me underneath the mistletoe,
Show me baby that you love me so-oh-oh
Oh, oh ,ohhh

Have you ever kissed anyone underneath the mistletoe? 

Justin Bieber's passport

Passport
Name: Justin Drew Bieber
Date of birth: 1 March 1994
Star sign: Pisces
Place of birth: Stratford, Ontario, Canada.

Weather idioms

One of my friends has decided to study a new grade at university. She has lots of things to do, and she's forever complaining about the little time she's got to to all those things. Moreover, she also wants to have her house redecorated. I told her that all those things were like chasing rainbows.

She got really angry. She answered that I was making a storm in a teacup. Then I realized that I was raining on her parade. In the end, I told her that every cloud has a silver lining, and I'd help her whenever she needed.


Have you understood the text? Can you guess the meaning of the highlighted phrases?

Hurricanes

What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a huge storm! It can be up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiraling inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each hurricane usually lasts for over a week, moving 10-20 miles per hour over the open ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an "eye." The center of the storm or "eye" is the calmest part. It has only light winds and fair weather. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars.

How do hurricanes form?Hurricanes only form over really warm ocean water of 80°F or warmer. The atmosphere (the air) must cool off very quickly the higher you go. Also, the wind must be blowing in the same direction and at the same speed to force air upward from the ocean surface. Winds flow outward above the storm allowing the air below to rise. Hurricanes typically form between 5 to 15 degrees latitude north and south of the equator. The Coriolis Force is needed to create the spin in the hurricane and it becomes too weak near the equator, so hurricanes can never form there.

Quiz time:

When does the Atlantic hurricane season start?

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities make up an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s population. Almost one-fifth of the estimated global total of persons living with disabilities, or between 110-190 million, encounter significant difficulties. Furthermore, a quarter of the global population is directly affected by disability, as care-givers or family members.

Persons with disabilities encounter many disadvantages in their societies and are often subjected to stigma and discrimination. They remain largely marginalized, disproportionately poorer, frequently unemployed and have higher rates of mortality. Furthermore, they are largely excluded from civil and political processes and are overwhelmingly voiceless in matters that affect them and their society.
There are many kinds of disabilities. One of the is deafness.

But did you know that deaf people can 'listen' to music? See this video.
But can they also 'listen' to poetry? See how the poem Annabelle Lee, by Edgar Allan Poe is performed in American Sign Language.

Quiz time:

Do you know when the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is held?

Quiz time:

Did you know that a famous Spanish band in the 1980's made a song based on the poem Annabelle Lee? Guess who they were.

Freedom, by AKON

Everything I have, everything I own

All my mistakes man you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free
From Senegal West Africa,
To St. Louis, Missouri
Thanks to Catherine Dana
For giving my pops his glory
He came down with his drum
And a dream to change the world
In a free uplifting world
And that's all he ever want
Mom came a little after
Gave birth to my brother
then all of the pressure
Made 'em fight one another
See, the pain would never last
Did the best with what they had
He knew the world was out for grabs
And he searched to find his
Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes man, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free
So I search to find my
..Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free, yeah
As a kid I never knew
I'd have to hustle just to make it through
So I found myself skipping school
Cause' the girls don't think I'm cool
And because of that I didn't care
Whether or not I went to jail
I just wanna be treated fair
Cause thats all I ever knew
Tellin' me I need to slow down
Cause everybody in the whole town
Cause they know how I get down
Foreigner from another town
Can you believe we still around?
After so many hit the ground
And we ain't gon stop now
Until we get that
Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, reedom
Everything I have everything I own,
All my mistakes man you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free
won't stop till I find
my freedom, my Freedom, my Freedom, Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl, you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free, yeah
If you wanna be free, and the land is drug-free
put your hands up,  put your hands up
If you wanna be free, from all your misery
put your hands up, put your hands up
If you wanna be free, with plenty money
put your hands up, put your hands up
If you wanna be free, just praise G-O-D
put your hands up, put your hands up
Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom
Everything I have, everything I own
All my mistakes girl you already know
I wanna be free, I wanna be free

International Day for Abolition of Slavery

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).

The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

In 2007 the UN marked the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on 25 March. In 2008 the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade became an annual observance.

“To eradicate contemporary forms of slavery, we need new strategies and measures that can unite all actors. While Governments bear the primary responsibility, the private sector has an integral role to play. Earlier this year, the Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, outlining how states and businesses should implement the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. I welcome the widespread support it has received from the business sector.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day
for the Abolition of Slavery
2 December 2011

Quiz time:
Which famous  novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe is about slavery?

The show must go on

Freddy Mercury was the singer of this English group. He died of AIDS on November 24th, 1991.

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

More than 90,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

HIV can be passed on through infected bodily fluids, most commonly via sex without a condom or by sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment.

There are now more people than ever living with HIV in the UK — more than 90,000 — with around a quarter of those unaware they have the virus.

Here are a few more facts about HIV in the UK:

• Over 90% of people with HIV were infected through sexual contact
• You can now get tested for HIV using a saliva sample
• HIV is not passed on through spitting, biting or sharing utensils
• Only 1% of babies born to HIV positive mothers have HIV
• You can get the results of an HIV test in just 15-20 minutes
• There is no vaccine and no cure for HIV

Quiz time:

What does AIDS stand for? And HIV?

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday in October.

When we think of Thanksgiving today, images of football, pumpkin pie, parades, and turkey dinner complete with cranberry sauce come to mind, as well as plans for a Black Friday shopping spree the following day.

Of course none of these items were present back in 1621, when the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims sat down together to give thanks for nature’s bounty. Although the celebrants at this particular meal didn’t even call it “Thanksgiving”, this particular harvest feast is the one after which we model our modern-day Thanksgiving celebrations. People of both cultures had been giving thanks for the fall harvest and other gifts of nature for many centuries.

However, the Native Americans had their own religious customs and beliefs. As a result, during this "first" Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Native Americans did not focus on what was different between them, but instead concentrated on what they all shared. The two groups of people worked side by side to hunt and prepare food as equals and friends. Their friendship and cooperation was yet another thing for which to be thankful.

When we sit down to our Thanksgiving dinner, we honor a piece of early American history. The story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans serve as a good reminder for all of us to be thankful for what we have--no matter how much or how little.

Quiz time:

Which American president changed the date to the fourth Thursday in November, proclaiming it a Federal holiday in 1941?

St. Andrew's Day

St. Andrew's Saltire

St Andrews Day is on 30 November. On this day, Scots all around the world celebrate their national day.

The Scottish flag is the cross of St. Andrew, also known as the Saltire. It is said to be one of the oldest national flags of any country, dating back at least to the 12th century

In January 2007, the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act was given royal assent, making 30 November (or the nearest Monday if a weekend) a bank holiday in Scotland. However, instead of being a full public holiday, it is a voluntary public holiday.

Around midnight on Nov. 29, the day before St Andrew's Day, it was traditional for girls to pray to St. Andrew for a husband. They would make a wish and look for a sign that they had been heard.

A girl wishing to marry could:

• Throw a shoe at a door. If the toe of the shoe pointed in the direction of the exit, then she would marry and leave her parents' house within a year.
• Peel a whole apple without breaking the peel and throw the peel over the shoulder. If the peel formed a letter of the alphabet, then this suggested the name of her future groom.

Quiz time:

Did you know that Scotland has 790 islands? Guess how many of them are inhabited.