Wednesday 15 December 2010

Estonians have another similar day - Kadripäev


On the 25th of Novembere there is Kadripäev in Estonia. Traditions are quite the same as during halloween, but people who go for trick-and-treat, aremostleu women and they are dressed in white clothing.
In our school group of 2.grade visited classes singing, dancing and telling about traditions.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

ROMANIA SAYS THANK YOU

We had recived the cards from Ireland, Turkey, Estonia, Greece
Soon we are going to post the photos. Thank you very much

Friday 12 November 2010

Estonian MARDIPÄEV


We celebrated our national MARDIPÄEV on the 10th of November. Traditions and activities are quite similar as Halloween, but we do not decorate pumpkins. We draw scary masks for this evening.

Thursday 4 November 2010

photos of Plato Academy





Hooray to Greece, Hooray to Romania!



everybody enjoys making the banner


the banner with the Romanian cards is ready
We were really excited to receive your cards Romania! We loved them all. The cards gave us the opportunity to seek information about your country and learn things about you!

Thanks for the cards!


We have got letters with the Halloween cards from Romania and Ireland. Thank you very much, dear friends!
We also translated your text about traditions into Estonian and put it on our classroom wall - beside European map.
Estonian partners from Sõmeru Põhikool

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Plato Academy says thank you!

Estonia and Romania,
we received your Halloween cards!

it was an amazing experience
thank you!
we are posting photos soon!

Thank you Ireland!
we received your cards!

Sunday 17 October 2010

Saturday 16 October 2010

Chicagoans Go Halloween

Here is what some of our students wrote about Halloween!

Halloween or All Hallows Eve

Halloween is always celebrated on the thirty first of October. it's supposed to be called  "All Hallows Eve" but i just call it Halloween so if you see an American kid don't say hallows eve, say Halloween. A lot of people think it's called "the day of the Dead". We trick or treat, which is when we go outside the people's houses and they give us candy yum! We go to haunted houses they freak you out. There's tons of scary stuff! It's really fun! Maybe you can come to America and do all this stuff. I mean, doesn't this sound really fun?
Anastasia

We celebrate Halloween on October 31. Because that is the day before the Celtic New Year. It is called Halloween because it comes from all Hallows Eve because of the Celtic New Year. We celebrate Halloween by Trick-Or-Treating. Trick-Or Treating is when you go out and says “Trick or treat” meaning if the person doesn’t give you a treat you play a prank on them.
Γιορτάζουμε το Χάλογουιν στις 31 Οκτωβρίου, γιατί αυτή είναι η ημέρα πριν από το Νέο Έτος για τους Κέλτες. Το όνομα βγαίνει από «All Hallows Eve». Γιορτάζουμε το Χάλογουιν με ένα έθιμο που λέγεται «Τρικ ή Τριτ».Στο «Τρικ ή Τριτ» τα παιδιά πάνε στα σπίτια, ντυμένα με στολές και ζητούν από τους σπιτονοικοκύρηδες να τους κεράσουν γλυκά. Αν αυτοί δεν τους κεράσουν, τότε τα παιδιά τους κάνουν μια φάρσα. Ντυνόμαστε με κουστούμια, στολίζουμε κολοκύθες, πηγαίνουμε σε στοιχειωμένα σπίτια, διαβάζουμε τρομακτικές ιστορίες και βλέπουμε ταινίες τρόμου.  
Steven

Halloween is a Scottish holiday.  We celebrate Halloween on October 31 and we dress up in scary or cute costumes. We carve faces into pumpkins.  We take bags, pillowcases or buckets, go around our neighborhood, ring the doorbell at each house and say “Trick or treat!” and if the person doesn’t want to get tricked, they give you candy! Some people carry boxes for donations for Unicef.


Το Χάλογουιν είναι μια Σκωτσέζικη γιορτή. Στην Αμερική, γιορτάζουμε το Χάλογουιν στις 31 Οκτωβρίου και ντυνόμαστε με τρομακτικά ή άλλα όμορφα κουστούμια. Σκαλίζουμε πρόσωπα σε κολοκύθες, και βάζουμε μέσα κεριά. Παίρνουμε σακούλες, μαξιλαροθήκες ή κουβάδες, πηγαίνουμε γύρω στη γειτονιά μας, χτυπάμε το κουδούνι σε κάθε σπίτι και λέμε «Φάρσα ή Κέρασμα;» Αν οι άνθρωποι του σπιτιού δεν θέλουν να τους κάνουμε φάρσα, μας δίνουν γλυκά! Κάποιοι άνθρωποι κρατούν μαζί τους και κουτιά της Unicef, για δωρεές. Βλέπουμε τρομακτικές ταινίες και λέμε  τρομακτικές ιστορίες. Πηγαίνουμε σε πάρτυ  μεταμφιεσμένων  και στοιχειωμένα σπίτια. 
Ianna
 

Friday 8 October 2010

Saint Andrew in Romania


Romanians believe that Saint Andrew (named Sfântul Apostol Andrei) was the first who preached Christianity in Scythia Minor, modern Dobrogea, to the native people of the Dacians (ancestors of the Romanians). This is the official standpoint of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Hippolyte of Antioch, (died c. 250 C.E.) in his On Apostles, Origen in the third book of his Commentaries on the Genesis (254 C.E.), Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History (340 C.E.), and other different sources, like the Usaard's Martyrdom written between 845-865,Jacobus de Voragine in Golden Legend (c. 1260), mention that Saint Andrew preached in Scythia Minor. There are toponyms and numerous very old traditions (like carols) related to Saint Andrew, many of them having probably a pre-Christian substratum. There exists a cave where he supposedly preached. There are many traditions without religious meaning connected to this day.
               St. Andrew's Eve, also known as "Night of the Vampires," is an important night on the folk calendar. It is the night that the barrier between the visible and the invisible world disappears, allowing ghosts and spirits — both good and bad — to come through.
Special care should be taken to protect yourself and your house from vampires. One of the chief defenses against vampires, of course, is garlic. On St. Andrew's Eve, people eat a lot of garlic, being eaten during almost every meal.
         In addition to vampires, people have to watch out for living ghosts that often come disguised as wolves.Between sunset and midnight of St. Andrew's Eve, these living ghosts come out of their graves and tombs to harrass the people.  In some parts of Moldavia and Bucovina, people join together in a party known as "The Night of the Ghosts." According to folklore, wolves often search for demonic hosts on this night, leading to the alternate name of "The Night of Wolves."
         In other place, people in the villages claim that ghosts are free to walk the earth on this night. If they are malevolent beings, they steal fruit from the orchards and milk from the cows. And if they are particularly mean, they steal people's minds.
       In Romania, it is usual for young women to deposit 41 grains of wheat under their pillow prior to they fall asleep, and if they vision that somebody is coming to lift their grains that represents that they are intended for marry next year. And in some components of country the young women light a candle from Easter, and carry it, at midnight, to a fountain. And when the water is shimmering lit, they speak a prayer to St. Andrew requesting them to allow them to get a glance of the look of their potential husband. When prayer is over, frequently the water stirs and young women can make out the look of their darling.

Wednesday 6 October 2010

Estonian traditions are various


In Estonia we celebrate 3 days:
1) Mardipäev on the 10th of November - day, when we wear masks, costumes and ask food for performances
2) Day of spirits on the 1st of November - the oldest Estonian tradition
3) Halloween - estonians started celebrate recently

Tuesday 5 October 2010

History of Halloween

Most holidays commemorate or celebrate something. But what about Halloween? What is Halloween actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual where folks get together for parties, dress up in Halloween costumes and bob for apples?
The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily parade around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films.