Καλά Χριστούγεννα! Thinghs you might not know about Christmas

Christmas time is coming and we want to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Boldog karácsonyt, feliz Natal!!!

 

 

Here are festive facts to get you even more in the mood for Christmas..

Christ's Mass : the word Christmas comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse" meaning "Christ's Mass".

Xmas : the abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.

Speedy Santa : US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.

Noel : the word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news".

Christmas Trees : nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.

Early Christmas Trees : they may date back to pagan traditions, but the earliest known reference to a Christmas tree is in a German pamphlet from 1570.

Tallest Tree : the world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.

Eating a Christmas Tree : many parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C.

Rudolph the Reindeer : Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.

Jingle Bells : James Pierpont's 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving.

Christmas Songs : JINGLE Bells was the first song broadcast from space when Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.

Banning Christmas : In 1647, after the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell banned festivities. The law wasn't lifted until 1660.

The Birth of Jesus : Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.

Tangerines : the tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.

 

And we want to share with you some of the weirdest Christmars traditions from around the word....
 

Καλά Χριστούγεννα

Wine Tasting

On the 13th of November we had the chance to go for a Wine Route trip, where we tried 8 different types of wine.

There are some tips how to look like a professional and impress other, when you drink wine. And of course to enjoy it more.

US Elections, what will happen next?

Two days after the elections in the USA, everyone is expectant of knowing what is going to happen because of the result got in it. Donald Trump, in case there is still somebody do not know him, candidate of the republican party for president of the United States of America, has got to reach the position at the White House for the next four years.

After knowing the outcome of the elections, many people are angry, many scared, many others concerned of what will happen both with the future of the United States and of the rest of the world.  It is unquestionable the person in charge of such a big responsibility will have the power from now on to decide the destiny of many people with his decisions, and according to the image the new president of the US has given so far in terms of sexuality, racial profiling and migrant policy among ohters, it seems almost impossible to trust in a better future. But let us try to do not being very catastrophists for the moment and take a look how things are coming up.


The other main candidate, Hillary Clinton, from the democratic party, was the hope for many people both in the US and in the rest of the world in order to continue with the economical and social "stability" there has been so far. But all that glitters is not gold and Hillary, according to some revealed information in the latest months, has been shown that she was not the most appropriate person to succeed Barak Obama either. Some controversial decissions in foreign countries leaked by reliable sources demonstrated her purposes in some countries with open conflicts that were not legitimate.

In any case, one of two candidates were unavoidable to be chosed as president. As a result of the elections, now both the future of the USA and the rest of the world are in hands of Donald Trump, a man with an outlandish personality who will not leave anyone indifferent.  

"Pão por Deus" (bread for God)

The 1st of November in Portugal is holiday and its called "O dia de todos os Santos" (all saints day).
In the VIII century the Catholic Church establish this day, mixing the catholic tradition with the pagan one - the Stamhain in Celtic tradition that latter was called Halloween. The word Halloween actually come from "all hallows day".
So the tradition says that in the 31st of October, the end of the Summer, the deads and the living people were more close, and the spirits came back to their houses to ask for food. To receive them, the families left food and drinks next to their doors. They did campfire and they use masks in the streets.
In Portugal this tradition is done on the 1st of November in a different way. Usually is done on country areas and basically is small groups of children that goes from door and door asking for food like dry cakes and candys. Latter people started to give some money as well.
When they arrive to the people's houses they have to screen "pão por deus" that means bread for God.
This tradition is disappearing every year more and more, especially because with the crisis people don't have that much to give and also because the Halloween started to take more credits then the old tradition.
Even though, in some places in the North and Centre of the country, they still do it and according to the tradition, the children collect their food in hadmade bags by their grandmothers. These bags are made with different pieces of different textile, re-using the waste of the sewing.

Who We Can Love

One of the strangest things about relationship is that we are not free to feel attracted to just anyone.

We tend to have very strong psychological types that we can't deviate from. All of us carry inside us very specific list, defining what the people we can love need to be like as characters. These list are often weirder.

Why can't we settle down with people who are good for us? That's because we are looking for someone who feels familiar.

A lot of us learned about love in childhood at the hands of people who were trouble for us and who continue unconsciously to guide our love types, this can cause havoc with our chances of happiness.
Emotional health mean expanding on the number of people we are free to fall in love with.

We learn about love in childhood, but we liberate ourselves from the traumas of childhood when we realize we can love in different ways, and get used to something that may at first be eerily and challenging unfamiliar.

This video, made from THE SCHOOL OF LIFE, explains why we fall in love with the wrong person.

Alain de Botton is a writer, philosopher and television host. He founded The School of Life. Deals with the culture and history of thought emphasizing their value for everyday life.

Million ways of Butternut Squash

It's butternut squash (pumpkin) season.

The positive health effects of butternut squash has been known by the Indians, they cured snake bites and it helped eliminate freckles.

Nowadays supported scientific research by the fact that the butternut squash has an a lot of calcium, zinc, manganese, copper, iron, phosphorus, vitamin C, carotene, biotin, niacin, pantothenic acid, A, B1, B2, B6, and the content of folic acid have health maintenance, curative effect . The butternut squash is suitable for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, in particular, show high efficiency in the case of cold, common cold diseases, but applicable to pneumonia and other treatment of lung injury. The butternut squash can even help with allergic coughing, sneezing, reduce asthma attacks.

Its consumption can make our skin more beautiful, especially in the treatment of acne is a great help. In folk medicine it is used as a laxative and bowel cleanser. Consuming can be very beneficial for people suffering by digestive problems. The butternut squash stimulates liver function, helps prevent heart and coronary problems.

With the low calorie content of pumpkin is ideal for people with strict diet.

Those who have never tasted a real butternut squash might think, with so many beneficial effects it has to have a bad taste. Wrong! Probably the most delicious fried, but you can make soup, vegetables, cakes, jam, and juice of it.

It’s rare that a vegetable combines three important characteristics such as healthiness, taste delicious and affordable price. You can find butternut squash on every continent except Antarctica…

On the next week at the veggie kitchen we will show you three different ways to prepare it.

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Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

Approx. 1.5 kg butternut squash

1 large onion

3-4 cloves garlic

1l bouillon broth

100 ml cream (milk)

(roasted pumpkin seeds)

1 heaping ts curry

1 heaping ts ground cumin

1 heaping ts ground coriander

Salt and pepper

Croutons

1. Slice the butternut squash for bigger pieces and put it in the oven till it’s ready, or put in the microwave for 20-25 minute

2. Meanwhile, cut the onion for small pieces, and cook in in a bigger pot

3. Cut the ready butternut squash to small pieces and with the sliced garlic add to the onion.

4. Add the bouillon broth and the curry, coriander, cumin; boil and cook for a few minutes.

5. Pull off from the fire, blend it with a blender until its smooth, pour more water if necessary

6. Pour in the cream and boil it again. After tasting put salt and pepper, depending on your taste

7. Serve with croutons and roasted pumpkin seeds

Tip: Don’t throw out the peel, cut in into very small pieces and add it before blending.

The importance of advertising in our society

Nowadays it´s unthinkable to live without the presence of advertisement in our lives. On TV, on Internet, the Social Media, newspapers, at the streets...everywhere. And the main reason why we are surrounded of such a huge amount of publicity is simply: promoting or selling a product. It doesn´t matter which is the shape or the function of the product. Many times the same product is something abstract, like a feeling, an emotion or simply a value. Even ourselves as individuals are considered a product where what really matter is the image. 

 When you think in the word "advertisement" the first thing that comes up with your mind is a product needs to be promoted in order to be sold later. This may be the original idea, but with the same necessity of reaching a huge amonut of people and of becoming more sofisticated to be competitive, in recent years the advertisement companies have evolved to the point of creating adverts that get into your mind and pushing you, unconsciously most of the times, to purchase the good.

Besides of selling a product or promoting events with a lucrative purpose, advertisement it´s also used both as to promote comunity or charity events for instance or to let your friends know that you are going to organize a party. The main goal of advertisement is to send you a message that makes some how an effect on you.

On the other hand, advertisement also has a crucial paper in our lives, not only for the fact that they want to send us a message to spend, but also to consider as a product ourselves. The fact of creating a good CV for example in order to show your best face to get a job it can also be a kind of advertisement. Let´s say that we are "selling" ourselves in order to get a job, or also through the Social Media. Something so simple as posting a photo, a song or a statement in your social network is another type of advertisement.

As you can see, the word "advertisement" has different meanings and uses in today´s society, and it depens how it is used can be very useful or very harmful, useful in order to spread a message with intentions or harmful in order to create you the necessity of buying a prodcut that you don´t need. This is only an opinion.