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Last year I wrote about April Fool’s Day. A lot of countries around the world enjoy this holiday, even though there is usually no time off for it. Because it is already April 1 in Australia, Japan, etc., you can already read about this year’s April Fool’s Day Jokes at Wikipedia. Which one do you think is funniest? I’m going to wait until I can read all of them.

No one is sure how April Fool’s Day got started. Some people say it’s because the European calendar was changed in the 1500s, and people who didn’t change their calendar to the new way were “April fools.” Other people think it comes from even older holidays or traditions. It’s probably related to the vernal equinox (the first day of spring, in late March). This day was a joyful holiday in many ancient cultures. We’ll probably never know exactly where it comes from, but it will probably be popular for a long time. People love to play jokes on each other.

The main Wikipedia page about April Fool’s Day tells us about some actual events that caused problems on April Fool’s Day. In 1946, there was a big earthquake on April Fool’s Day. It affected Hawaii and Alaska. More than 150 people died. Some say that people didn’t listen to the tsunami warnings because it was April 1.

If you hear anything shocking on April 1, be careful: you can’t be sure if it’s true or not.

(P. S. Did you read the Harry Potter books? The twins, Fred and George Weasley, have their birthdays on April 1.)

After the last post about Valentine’s Day, maybe you’d like to learn more about how it’s celebrated in the US.

Here are three websites that describe Valentine’s Day. Each site is very different, but all of them are interesting.

1. This ESL Valentine’s Day Lesson is a great place to start. It has three pages, with pictures, and it’s a good introduction to Valentine’s Day. It’s easy to read.

2. For an interesting look at the business side of the holiday, the big card company American Greetings has posted an article called The Business of Valentine’s Day, which includes statistics and other information. The level of this article is advanced, written in a news-media style.

3. Finally, the History Channel (an American cable TV channel) has a huge Valentine’s Day site, including history, videos, quizzes, and more. (Watch out! If you click on the Valentine Videos page, it’ll start to play the video–with sound–right away. So don’t try it at work…) This website is also mostly at an advanced level. Some of the content here is written in an academic style, but other parts are casual and full of slang.

I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is coming up this Thursday! Are you ready?

Valentine’s Day is celebrated differently around the world. What do you know about Valentine’s Day in the US? Check yourself by taking this quiz!

Regarding Valentine’s Day in America …

1. … do men receive most of the chocolate?

2. … do people often give presents to their significant other?
3. … do couples often go out to dinner together?
4. … do many elementary school students give cards to all of their classmates?
5. … do people only give cards to their significant others, and not to friends and family?
6. … do restaurants offer special dinner menus?
7. … do most people make their own chocolate to give as gifts?
8. … does your boss expect you to give him or her a present?
9. … do you get the day off?
10. … is it the number one day for flower sales?
11. … is chocolate the most popular candy?
12. … is there another holiday in March called White Day, where men give gifts to women?

Okay, ready?







Here are the answers!

1. NO! Men can both give and receive chocolate, but women probably get more chocolate than men.

2. YES! Jewelry is common, but it can be anything–books, plants, games, or anything that your loved one will enjoy.
3. YES! I’m planning to go to dinner with my husband.
4. YES! In my school, each student decorated a box for receiving valentines. Then, on Valentine’s Day, we had to bring a card for each classmate (so that no one would be sad). Some students also give out candy. Stores carry special cheap cards, which come in a box of 20 more. These cards have images of cartoon characters, pop stars, sports, etc. Children sometimes make valentines using colored paper, stickers, etc.
5. NO! Many people give cards to significant others and to their children, friends, etc. It depends on the person.
6. YES! These dinners are often very expensive, but might include special extras like champagne, roses, and a special dessert.
7. NO! Some people do, but most people just buy their candy. Popular brands include See’s, Joseph Schmidt, and Godiva.
8. NO! Your boss will probably be very surprised if you give him or her a gift, since this day is mostly for romance.
9. NO! Almost no one has this day off, because it’s not a national holiday.
10. YES! It’s considered a romantic gift. Traditionally, men give roses to women, but anybody can give anything to anybody.
11. YES! A lot of chocolate is sold for Valentine’s Day, and you can buy special chocolates at all kinds of stores.
12. NO! White Day was invented in Japan. It is not known or celebrated in American culture–there’s no need for it here since Valentine’s Day is for both men and women to give and receive presents.

How did you score? Did you learn anything new, or did you already know everything? Actually, there’s a lot more to know about Valentine’s Day, because it’s a very old holiday in Europe (where it comes from). In a few days, I’ll post some websites where you can learn more about Valentine’s Day.

P. S. Significant other is a way to refer to “wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, partner,” etc., without making any guesses about the relationship or the gender of the person. (After all, you often can’t tell by looking if someone is married, gay, etc.) For example, let’s imagine that I have two co-workers, Alice and Scott. If Alice works late every day and never takes a vacation, I might ask Scott this question: “Does Alice have a significant other? It seems like she’s always working.”

Christmas is a huge holiday in the United States. For many people, it’s the most important holiday of the year. (It’s much more important than Thanksgiving for most people who celebrate both.)

However, not everyone celebrates Christmas. For many people, Christmas is a Christian religious holiday. People from other religions often have other winter holidays that they celebrate in November and December, including Yule, Diwali, Hanukkah, etc. Some people celebrate more than one holiday. Other people don’t celebrate any holidays. Some people celebrate in a non-religious way–many people follow Christmas traditions (Christmas trees, presents, etc.) but don’t consider themselves Christians. Because the United States is ethnically and religiously diverse, most people have friends, family, and co-workers who celebrate differently from themselves. That’s why many Americans who do celebrate Christmas feel it is more polite to sometimes say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” If you don’t know what holiday someone celebrates, it’s more considerate to say “Happy holidays” instead of assuming that the person celebrates Christmas. For the same reason, a lot of Americans (including me) send holiday cards that say “Season’s Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas,” or send different cards depending on the recipient.

There are regional differences in how Christmas is celebrated around the world. Different countries have very different traditions. In the USA, different areas sometimes have regional traditions based on where the local people’s ancestors come from. Different Christian groups also celebrate Christmas differently. Some groups, including Catholics, observe a four-week period called Advent, while most other Christian denominations don’t. Many Americans have backgrounds that include a variety of religions and ethnicities, so they may have a variety of different traditions. That’s true in my family. Our Christmas traditions include gelt, Christmas stockings, mistletoe, eggnog, Christmas crackers, holiday cards, and advent calendars. (You can look up all of these topics on Wikipedia, or just explore the many Christmas-related articles there.)

In countries where Christmas arrived more recently, such as Japan, other traditions have become popular. In Japan, it’s considered a good day for a romantic date, whereas in the USA it’s kept as a day for families and children. Fried chicken is popular for Christmas dinner in Japan, whereas Americans often prepare ham or beef at home, and British people often eat turkey, goose, or duck. Americans often have desserts such as pie or fruitcake (a spiced bread with dried fruit), while in Britain you can buy an iced fruitcake called a Christmas cake–but in Japan, a Christmas cake is a sponge cake that is beautifully iced and topped with fruit or Christmas decorations.

Anyway, I really enjoy Christmas because I like picking out presents for my friends and family, decorating the tree, seeing all of the lit-up houses in town, etc. This year, my husband and I flew to Arkansas to visit our families, so we’re doing lots of Christmas things with them. If we had stayed in California, we would have gone to our friend’s Yule party. What do you enjoy doing in December and January?

Whatever you do or don’t celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful month and a happy new year! Happy holidays!

Oh no, I didn’t post since Halloween! I’m sorry. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. You can read about Thanksgiving in the United States at Wikipedia (and also in Simple English). An interesting note in the main article is that many Americans associate the day after Thanksgiving with shopping. It’s the day sometimes called Black Friday. A lot of people read the newspaper ads on Thanksgiving (or check various websites) and find special discounts that they want to get. Sometimes people line up for hours to get a very cheap TV, videogame system, etc. Some of the stores can get really crazy.

Because of all the emphasis on buying things, some people think this day reflects the negative materialistic parts of our society. Instead, they promote thoughtfulness and lack of wastefulness through Buy Nothing Day, when they don’t buy anything. I don’t know if I’ll buy stuff on Friday or not!

Anyway, we’ll have four guests tomorrow for Thanksgiving, so the eight of us will eat turkey, pie, mashed potatoes, etc. Tomorrow, you should be able to see lots of Thanksgiving dinner photos on Flickr. Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I’m still waiting for your comments. Please comment! I need to know that you are reading, so that I will be encouraged to keep writing.

October 31, tomorrow, is my favorite holiday: Halloween! I wanted to write a long post about Halloween, but my life is a little stressful right now. However, I noticed this today: Ten Tales of Terror, by several excellent authors including Neil Gaiman, who is one of my favorite writers. Each story is very short–only a paragraph or two long. In addition, there is a sound file of each story, read aloud by the author.

Some might be a little hard to understand, such as the next to last one (which is about politics). However, I think you’ll be able to understand and enjoy most of them–at least, if you like scary stories!

Several friends from other countries have asked me this week about the origins of Halloween. It’s a little hard to explain because Halloween is so old that it began before Christianity was common in Europe, and before things were regularly written down. As a result, we don’t really know much about the beginnings of the ancient cultural or religious celebration that is now Halloween. Halloween originated in the British Isles (Ireland, England, etc.), but is probably most popular now in North America. You can read about the history and customs of Halloween at Wikipedia in the Simple English article, the main English article, or in several other languages. Just look on the left side of the main article for explanations in other languages.

In the USA, Halloween is popular with most ages and ethnic groups, although some groups of conservative Christians don’t like it. Every year, they protest Halloween celebrations. However, for most people, it is a fun day to celebrate the imagination. Many adults and families have Halloween parties, where the guests often come in costume. After sunset, children dress up and are taken trick-or-treating in their neighborhood or at a shopping center. Adults may also go to themed events such as Halloween dances at nightclubs, costume contests with big cash prizes, and concerts. You can see a lot of Halloween party photos and other Halloween photos at Flickr (or you can also view more artistic Halloween 2007 photos).

Usually several horror movies are released near Halloween. This year, “30 Days of Night” has been popular. It’s about a group of vampires who go to Alaska. The movie I want to see is the 3-D version of “Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Because I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Halloween season is extended from October 31 through November 2. November 1 and 2 are the Dias de los Muertos, or Day(s) of the Dead. This holiday from Mexico and Latin America has many themes in common with Halloween. In the Bay Area, there are various events such as concerts and neighborhood street festivals. At Mexican bakeries, you can buy special bread and sugar skulls. I recommend going to a Dias de los Muertos event if there is one near you!

If I can find my camera, I’ll post photos from our party tomorrow.