Introducing Santa Claus (and the relative clause! Ho ho ho!)

The Traditional American Santa Claus
Do you know this man? He wears red and white clothes. He has a long white beard. He carries a bag of toys.  He travels by sleigh. And he only works one day a year!

This is Santa Claus of of course. He is a mythical character who delivers toys to children the night before Christmas. In the Christmas story that people tell in the United States Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. He and his elves make toys there. On Christmas Eve night be brings toys to children. He rides through the sky in a magic sleigh which is pulled by reindeer. He comes into houses through the chimney and puts presents under the Christmas tree.


Santa Claus in Other Countries
But other countries have their own stories about Santa Claus. In the Netherlands, "Sinterklass" comes from Spain. According to the legend he rides over the rooftops on a magic horse and his helper, "Zwarte Piet." Zwarte Piet goes down the chimney and leaves presents. Children that have been bad don't get presents. Zwarte Piet puts them in a bag and takes them to Spain. The name Sana Claus comes from the Dutch name Sinterklass.





"Ded Moroz" is the Russian Santa Claus. His name means "Grandfather Frost." Ded Moroz delivers toys to children on New Year's Day. He always travels with a young girl who wears a blue robe and a crown that looks like a snow-flake. She is the Snow Maiden, his granddaughter and helper. Ded Moroz travels in a troika. A troika is a sleigh which is pulled by three horses.

In Italy there is no Santa Claus. Children who live in Italy get presents from "Befana", an old woman who rides throught the air on a broomstick. Like Santa Claus and Zarte Piet she comes into the house through the chimney. She leaves presents and candy in the stockings of children who have been good. Children who have been bad get lumps of coal.






Can you find all the relative clauses in the story?

Click on Read More for the Grammar Breakdown and some exercises.

Food from Around the World

The Philippines                                   

Balut

People eat eggs all over the world. Scrambled, fried, poached, soft-boiled and hard-boiled eggs are a popular food. One of the ways eggs are eaten in the Philippines is the food called balut. Balut is a hard-boiled duck egg. But, in middle of a balut egg you will find a duck!






The USA

BBQ Alligator

Barbecue is a traditional way of cooking meat in the United States. In many countries meat is cooked on a grill over an open fire. Real barbecue, on the other hand, is a way of cooking meat that requires long cooking times in a closed barbecue cooker. Any kind of meat can be barbecued. Most people know about barbecued pork, chicken or beef. In the state of Florida some people also barbecue alligator.


      Mexico

Chicken Mole

Do you want to eat chocolate chicken? If you eat the dish called Chicken mole in Mexico you are eating chocolate chicken. Mole is a sauce made with cocoa and chili peppers. Because sugar and milk are not used the dish doesn't taste like chocolate. It does taste delicious.







Korea

Beondegi

In Korean restuarants and  you can order beondegi. If you don't know what it is you might think it is beans. But beondegi is baby bugs! A baby bug is called a larva (the plural is larvae) , and the Korean dish beondegi is boiled or roasted silkworm larvae. Beondegi has little fat, so it is thought to be a health food.





Italy

Look close to see the maggots!

The Korean dish beondegi is silkworm larvae. But larvae are also eaten in Europe. Cazu Marzu is a sheep milk cheese. It is eaten in Italy on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. The cheese is  famous because it contains live maggots (fly larvae). The cheese is usually eaten spread on bread. When the cheese is eaten the maggots are still alive. The maggots can jump up to 15 centimeters, so people cover it with their free hand when they eat it.

Click on Read More for the Grammar Breakdown and some exercises.

What Are You Interested In?

We want to know what you want to know.

What are your interests?
World Religions? World Hot Spots? News about (fill in the blank).
Use the comment feature to give our editors (me!) suggestions for future stories.

Sports Around the World

Different sports are popular in different countries. In Japan people love baseball and soccer. In The United States football is one of the most popular sports. Cricket is popular in The United Kingdom. Let's look at different sports from around the world. We can learn about some new ones.

Sepak Takraw

This sport is from Indonesia. It is a cross between volleyball and soccer. Like soccer, the players aren't allowed to use their hands. And like volleyball they have to kick the ball over a net. The ball is made from dried banana leaves.

Fencing
Fencing started in Europe but now it is popular all over the world. Fencing is an Olympic event. Fencing is done with three kinds of swords; the foil, the epee and the saber. Fencers who use the foil are only allowed to strike at their opponent's torso. Those who use the eppe are allowed to strike anywhere on their opponent's body to make a point. The target for fencers using the saber is the torso above the waist, and the arms and head.

Dog-sled racing

This sport is from the United States and Canada. The racers ride a sled that is pulled by a team of 12 to 16 dogs. The longest dog-sled race is called the Ididerod. It is 1609 kilometers (1000 miles) long and takes from 9 to 16 days to finish, depending on the speed of the racers. The men and women who race on dog sleds are called "mushers." The race is very grueling.It's sad but sometimes there are dogs that don't survive the race. Dogs have been known to die of exhaustion.

Yagli Gures (Oil Wrestling)

This is the national sport of Turkey. It is also popular in Greece and Macedonian. In this sport the players cover themselves with olive oil and wrestle. The annual oil wrestling contest held in Turkey is the oldest continuous sporting event in the world. It has been held once a year since 1362. The Olympics are older but there are years when they have not been held.

Here's some more about the three kinds of swords used in fencing.

And some fencing action.

Think about it.

1. Which of these sports would you like to try? Is there some other sport you would like to try.

2. Do you think the Olympics are important.

3. What do you think about sports that use animals? ( polo, dog-sleding, horse racing)

4. How important are sports in your life?

Click on Read More for some vocabulary questions.

Government

Governments make the laws that people use in their everyday lives. Governments collect taxes and print money. They enforce the laws that people must obey. Governments are the systems people use to regulate their lives. There are three basic types of governments.

Monarchy

The King of Sweden

Monarchy is the oldest form of government. In this type of government decisions are made by a monarch, a king or queen. There are not many monarchies left in the world. In many countries that once had powerful monarchs the powers of the king or queen have been reduced and the monarch functions only as a symbol of the country.

Parliamentary Government

The Parliament of Canada

In a parliamentary form of government there are two or more political parties that compete to form the government. The United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are examples of countries that have parliamentary systems. The citizens of the country cast their votes for the party that they think can best run the country. The party that gets the most votes gets control of the government.

Presidential Government          

Barack Obama, President of the United States

The United States has a presidential form of government. In this form of government two or more political parties compete by having a nominee from the parties run for president. The nominee who gets the most votes becomes the president.

Some Differences Between the Parliamentary and Presidential Governments

In a parliamentary form of government the leader is called a prime minister. In this system citizens vote for the party they want to be the government. All the important positions in the government are people from the same party. This makes it easy for the party in power to make the policies it wants.

The leader of a presidential form of government is called a president. In this form of government the citizens vote for the person they want to be president. However, a president is not free to make the policies he or she wants. In the US the president shares power with legislators called Senators and Representatives.  The  president, can't make new policies without the agreement of a majority of the Senators and Representatives.

In a parliamentary system the prime minister can easily be removed from the government if he is a bad leader or if members of his party lose confidence in him. In the presidential system it is much harder to remove the president from office. So much so it almost never happens and the president stays in office until the next election.

Click on Read More for some vocabulary exercises.