Memorial Day - USA

Today is a National Holiday in the U.S.A.

Memorial Day, a federal holiday which falls on the last Monday in May, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in military service for the United States. It was originally called Decoration Day.

The first celebration was on May 30th 1868, under proclamation by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. It involved placing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Since the late 1950s, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, small American flags are placed on each of more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery and there is a 24-hour patrol during the long weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.
Since 1998, on the Saturday before Memorial Day, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of more than 15,000 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

On this national holiday, schools, libraries and postal services are closed, as are most federal and state offices.

I hope all residents of the U.S. are enjoying their long weekend!!

:)

Spring Bank Holiday Weekend!

This weekend is a  long weekend, known as Spring Bank Holiday or Late May Bank Holiday, in the U.K. (Monday May 30th)!

It became a holiday in 1967, replacing Whit Monday.
Whit Monday was never celebrated in Scotland and in the U.K. it often coincided with school exam schedules.

Whit Monday or Whitsuntide, also known as Pentecost, is observed 50 days (around 7 weeks) after Easter. It marks the end of the Easter cycle that began with Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent.
It has been replaced by the Spring Bank Holiday, which is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Bank Holidays, usually fall on Mondays, they are public holidays where public services and postal services are closed.
Some shops and banks are closed and public transport operate on a reduced schedule.

Have a great Spring Bank Holiday Long Weekend people of England!!

:) :)

Article time! Taking State Governments to court over Climate Change issues!

Today's article is VERY interesting!

Go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/massachusetts-teens-climate-change_us_573f1bf5e4b045cc9a70b23c?utm_content=buffer0a273&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer and read all about how a group of teenagers sued the Massachusetts state government over its failure to adequately address the threat of climate change and won a major court case this week, adding to a string of victories for young activists!!

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of the four young plaintiffs on Tuesday, agreeing that the state Department of Environmental Protection was not making good on its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The above is from the article.

What do you think?

:) :) 

All together vs. Altogether

It's Word Wars Tuesday!!

Today we've got all together vs altogether.
These actually DO have a difference.

All together = everybody

Altogether = totally / completely

For example:

Let's sing this song all together. (everybody sing!)
This was altogether a bad idea. (totally bad idea...)

They were all huddled together to plan their escape. (you can separate the two words) = everyone was huddled in a circle together.

Their situation is altogether different from ours. = completely different situations

They danced all together all night long!

It was altogether an awesome night out!

NOW, DON'T confuse all together and altogether with all right and alright!

all right and alright mean the SAME thing.

All right = alright = everything is okay / fine.

Have a great day!!

:)

Happy Victoria Day!

Today is a national holiday in Canada!

Victoria Day celebrates the birth of Queen Victoria (May 24 1919 - January 22 1901), who was the ruler of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from June 20th 1837 until her death.
Following her death, May 24th was decreed as Empire Day across the British Empire, but only Canada has a holiday on the day with the exception of Nova Scotia.
In Quebec, National Patriots Day is celebrated on the same day as Victoria Day.

The holiday is also called May-Two-Four which refers to the date around which the holiday falls. It always falls on a Monday -whichever Monday is before May 25th- hence today, May 23rd is Victoria Day. It is always a long weekend, which may also be known as May Long or May Run and for many Canadians it marks the beginning of summer!

On Victoria Day all city, state and government offices are closed, as are schools, libraries, post offices and banks. Public transport are on a reduced holiday schedule.

Have a great holiday Canadians! Enjoy your long weekend!
:) :)

Baby Boxes!

Hi Everybody!!

It's ARTICLE time!!!

This article also has a video!! It's from the on-line magazine Country Living and it's about how hospitals have started giving new mothers baby boxes for their newborn babies.

What are baby boxes? Read the article and find out!!

http://www.countryliving.com/life/a38474/temple-university-baby-boxes/?mag=clg&list=nl_ccr_news&src=nl&date=051116

Some vocabulary first...

bundle of joy = baby
infant = baby
co-sleeping = sleeping together in same bed
crib = bed for a baby
bassinet = small bed for baby, like a big basket
onesie = clothing that covers entire body, all in one.
essential = necessary
mortality = death

So, what do you think? Do you agree that baby boxes are a good idea?

:) :)

Adverse vs. Averse

WORD WARS!!

adverse...averse... aren't these words the same??

Nope!! They are indeed very different!!

Two adjectives that are almost identical in spelling are actually very different!

Let's see...

What does ADVERSE mean??

Adverse = 1. not favourable, contrary, 2. harmful

e.g. 1. adverse weather conditions (=unfavourable weather conditions)
       2. adverse effects of drugs (=harmful effects)

Whereas AVERSE means...
Averse = not liking (something), opposed to (something)

If you remember that averse means opposed to, you'll also remember that you always use to with it as well.

--->  averse to=opposed to

e.g. a. She is averse to travelling on business. (=she doesn't like it)
 b. The celebrity stated that she is not averse to publicity. (=she's fine with it)

It is true that we confuse words that are written similarly many times... so BEWARE!!

:) :)