Roast Chestnut Day - December 14

What's more fun at the height of winter, in mid-December, than to eat roasted chestnuts on the fire warm and pampering? December 14th is a special day in honor of the roasted chestnuts.

The taste of the chestnuts is somewhat reminiscent of the taste of a sweet potato. Chestnuts can be bought in the country before roasting in markets and shops for fruits, vegetables and spices. But the most fun is buying them roasted at a market stall that sells them hot and fresh and then they crack easily.

Some interesting facts about chestnuts:

The chestnut grows on a large tree that can reach a height of 20-25 meters. The tree trunk is very thick and can reach a diameter of two meters. The chestnut tree prolongs life and in Europe there are chestnut trees that are a thousand years old.

In the Bible the name "chestnut" is mentioned, but apparently the reference is to the plane tree.

The chestnut is a nut that grows inside a hard, thorny brown bark. The peel gradually opens before the fruit ripens and the completion of ripening occurs in mid-October.

Chestnut is a healthy candy from nature: it contains protein, calcium, iron, potassium and B vitamins and has no cholesterol at all.

To prepare the chestnuts for eating, the most popular way is to light them on fire.

Before roasting, make a chestnut between one and four grooves. In Morocco it is customary to make two grooves, in Tunisia one long, in Europe four grooves and in Russia only one groove.

From the chestnuts you can make a spread, cream or puree (puree).

During the First World War, the chestnut fruit was used in Britain to produce acetone from which they made gunpowder (according to advice they received from Chaim Weizmann). Children across the UK would enlist in the war effort and go out into the woods to pick chestnut fruit.

Historians estimate that chestnut fruit began to be popular in the 16th century, when street vendors began selling them as a quick and warm snack in the winter.

Portugal has a tradition of eating roasted chestnuts on St. Martin's Day. In Tuscany, Italy the tradition exists on St. Simon's Day.

How to raost chestnuts?

There are several ways to make roasted chestnuts:

1. In the oven

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. The chestnuts are X-shaped grooved on their flat side. Place the chestnuts on a baking sheet or on the grill, with the cut side up. Spray some water. Bake for 15-20 minutes. During baking, move them occasionally so that they do not burn. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 2-3 minutes. Wrap them in a towel and give a blow to crumble the shell. If they are still difficult to peel, you can put them in the hot oven for another minute.

2. On the fire

Rinse the chestnuts in cold water. Make an X-shape on the flat side. Place in a heavy iron skillet or plancha on the flat side. Turn on the heat and simmer for five minutes. Occasionally shake the pan to dissipate the heat. Turn the chestnuts and sauté for another five minutes. Remove from the heat, wait for a few minutes to cool and peel.

3. Cooking in a pot

Make an X on the flat side of the chestnuts. Put the chestnuts in a pot and boil for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the pot, let them cool and peel.

4. The easiest method: in the microwave

Take five or six chestnuts. Slice them and heat in the microwave at the highest intensity for about 4 minutes, until the shell explodes and separates from them.

 

December 14 is also Monkey Day

Worksheets for Christmas

Christmas worksheets - English reading and writing - Suitable for beginning reading, CVC words

Christmas Sudoku for kids -Cut and Glue

Christmas Math Worksheets - count and color 0-10

PS- To save paper and help our planet, you can print on used pages, on the blank side ♥

Monkey Day- December 14

Monkey Day is an informal day celebrating the existence of monkeys and raising awareness of the theory of evolution and the scientific experiments done in monkeys.

It began in 2000, when an art student at the University of Michigan named Casey Sorrow wrote to his friend about the December 14 calendar that is Monkey Day. Then they decided to celebrate this day in works of art and comics on monkeys. They passed it on to other artists and started promoting this day on the Internet. Since then, Monkey Day has become an international holiday day celebrated in countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany and the UK.

Monkey Day is also celebrated at monkey parties, eating Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream, stories about monkeys, thoughts about our ancestors from the monkey and more.

In honor of Monkey Day, get some facts about monkeys you probably didn't know:

Monkeys can count.

Male Capuchin monkeys urinate on themselves to attract partners.

The Bonobo monkey, which is the closest relative to humans, is bisexual by nature.

Scientists have discovered that monkeys are sensitive to optical illusions, just like humans.

In 2011, Monkey was arrested in Pakistan because of crossing the border with India.

Sad fact: farmers in Malaysia and Thailand use monkeys trained in picking large coconut plantations.

In Japan there is a restaurant where Macao monkeys serve as waiters. Maybe it looks cute or funny, but I'm not sure they enjoy it :(

In the picture: Macao monkey as a waiter in a restaurant in Japan (link)

Capuchin monkeys show aggressive behavior towards people who don't help other people.

Because of its size and its threatening appearance, Gorilla has the image of a cruel and dangerous animal, and the film King Kong, which described the gorilla as a very aggressive creature, has increased its character, but in fact it is a calm creature that feeds mainly from plants (leaves, roots and fruits).

In Star Wars, they almost let the monkey play Yoda.

A woman from Colombia was raised by monkeys after she was abducted and abandoned in the jungle when she was a child.



A monkey's mind is considered a delicacy in some countries of South Asia, Africa and China.

Monkeys can pretend.






Monkeys clean their teeth with the strings they find in nature.



Research has found that the strongest screaming monkeys have the smallest testicles.

December 14 is also Roast Chestnuts day

Hot Cocoa Day - December 13

December 13th is Hot Cocoa day and really - there is nothing better on such a cold day than a pampering and warming cocoa cup!

The chocolate drink is prepared from cocoa powder and hot milk, or a vegetable substitute for milk - a soy drink or a hot almond drink.

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Cocoa powder is a dark brown powder extracted from drying and grinding the cocoa beans. The powder is rich in nutritional values - it has almost twice the amount of antioxidants than red wine, and three times as much green tea.

The cocoa trees originate in the foothills of the Andes near the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America. Cocoa came to Central America in the first century by the Maya. The Toltecs and then the Aztecs cultivated its seeds and gave it the name "cacahuatl" in their language, the Navatl language.

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The hot cocoa drink was a hit as early as the 10th century. Documents of the Spanish conquest of Mexico say that the emperor of the Aztec Empire, Mokatsuma II, used to drink only Cocoa, which was served to him in a bowl of gold and eaten with a golden spoon. The chocolate was mixed with vanilla spices until it became a melted cut. Every day 50 such bowls were prepared for him and another 2000 bowls for the nobles of his court.

In 1502 Columbus became acquainted with cocoa during his fourth voyage to America but did not discover its commercial potential. In 1519, the Spanish conquerors who came to Mexico under the leadership of Hernan Cortez, found in the palace of the Aztec king Montezuma a huge treasure of cocoa beans instead of silver and gold. Cortez brought the cocoa beans to Spain in 1528 and the Spaniards did not expose them to the rest of Europe for 100 years.

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The cocoa drink first came out of Spain in 1615, when Princess Anne, daughter of King Philip II of Spain, married King Louis XII of France and brought the drink with her to the royal court. The French were enthusiastic about cocoa and it gained a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

By 1700 the cocoa drink had become popular throughout Western Europe. He also came to western India and the Philippines by the Spaniards.

Today cocoa trees are grown mainly in Equatorial Africa, Ivory Coast and Ghana, Indonesia and Latin America, especially in Brazil. The cocoa is ground mainly in Europe, the Netherlands and Germany.

How to celebrate Hot Cocoa Day?

It is easy. Today is the day to make hot chocolate in a cup, marble cocoa powder at home and hot milk. There are lots of cocoa drink recipes that creatively combine other things like cinnamon sticks, vanilla, dark chocolate, marshmallows, whipped cream and more.

If you can, drink hot chocolate, listen and watch the rain - is there anything more perfect than that?

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December 13th is also Horse Day

National Horse Day in US - 13 December

National Horse Day is a holiday celebrated in the United States each year, on December 13, aims to raise awareness of the importance of horses and their enormous contribution to our lives over the centuries in different areas and that we should take care of them and treat them well.

In honor of National horse, here some interesting facts about horses:

Horses can sleep standing up.

The world's smallest horse born at a height of 35 inches and a weight of 2.7 pounds. He was born on a farm in New Hampshire on April 22, 2010 and was called Einstein. 

Watch the video of Einstein world's smallest horse walking around inside the house

The Roman emperor Gaius Caligula appointed his horse a senator.

In Britain, all horses, ponies, zebras and donkeys must have a passport.

Source

Horses have eight blood types, while dogs have 13, cows have 9 and humans have only four.

Horsehead appeared in the film "The Godfather" from 1972 was real.

The practice of eating horse meat is called Hypophagia.

Horses can not vomit.

In many parts of Europe, for centuries, animals, including pigs, horses and even insects, could be judged and convicted of committing acts of crime.

British Army has more horses than tanks.

The staff of McDrive in McDonald's restaurants don't serve people if they come riding on horses.

In 1923, riding a horse race suffered a fatal heart attack while riding, but his horse finished and won the race, making him the first rider who won the race after.

In the early years of the 20th century, horses caused so much pollution with their poop cars were seen as an alternative "green".

Horses are one of the most popular animals among kids. Here are some horses coloring pages.

Jamhuri - 12 December

Jamhuri Day which takes place every year on December 12 is a national holiday in Kenya. Jomhuri is a Swahili word meaning "republic" and is an official holiday day score of Kenya's founding as a republic on December 12, 1964. However, the country also gained independence from Britain a year before on December 12, 1963, the day Jamhuri is double event and is generally considered the most important holiday shopping, many cultural celebrations mark the country's cultural heritage.

Fun facts about Kenya:

Kenya is located in East Africa, on the equator.

In 2017, Kenya's population was estimated at 47 million.

The official name of Kenya is the Republic of Kenya.

The capital and largest city in Kenya is Nairobi. Mombasa is the second largest city.

The two official languages in Canada are Swahili English, although there are dozens of other languages spoken in different parts of the country.

Kenya is on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. More border with Lake Tanzania and Uganda.

Kenya has many national wildlife parks and an active safari, making it a very popular tourist destination.

The main agriculture of the Kenya economy is tea, coffee and flowers.

In Kenya there are large animals such as lions, buffalo, tigers, elephants and rhinos.

Kenya has a hotel where giraffes roam freely in its territory.

In Kenya they drive on the left side of the road.

Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in the country (5,199 meters, 17,057 feet), and the second highest in Africa.

Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Kenya is a developing country and half of its population lives in poverty.

In terms of sports, Kenya is best known for running medium and long distance and often produces Olympic champions.

Mountain Day- 11 December

Mountains cover about 27 percent of the total area of ​​the earth, and they play a critical role in the development of the world and its economic growth.

Mount consists of a soil and rock, which rises to a height of several hundred meters. So on the one hand, it is difficult to build a house on the mountain, but on the other hand the mountain has advantages such as beautiful scenery and fresh air.

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Acceptable to hold the mountain sports like skiing, trekking and mountaineering.

The mountain is a place with an unusual view so many resorts in the mountains or slopes.

The mountains there are different animals than on the plain, like mountain goats, leopards, hyraxes and more.

The highest mountain in the world is Mount Everest, which its peak is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level.

The UN declared a day of mountain on December 11, to promote awareness and debate about the importance of mountains and dealing with the life of communities around the world on the mountain as its ecological conservation.

International Shareware Day - Second Saturday in December

What would we do without the programmers and software engineers? What would our world look like? Almost everything we use in the 21st century is powered by some kind of computer chip that runs on a computer program that one or more computer programmers spent whole days and nights programming it and making sure it works well.

Remember the days when car windows were manual and non-electric? And what would our life look like without a microwave or an innovative food processor? Remember that in order to see what programs are on TV we had to buy a newspaper? Almost every little thing in our lives involves the use of computer software.

The quiet heroes of our generation are computer programmers. Although they are anonymous and we are not aware of them, they spend hours and hours in front of their computers, looking at screens full of literature and our letters mean nothing but to them a lot.

Software sharing day, Shareware, is a day dedicated to all those responsible for software that makes our lives easier and more comfortable.

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History of shareware

The first software that was freeware was PC-Talk, a communication program created by Andrew Flogelman in 1982. Then came the first collaborative software called PC-Write, which was a word processing tool created by Bob Wallace in 1983. He released it for use The public and because he did not demand money for it, he could not get rich from it, which is a shame, because the production of this software led to the development of lots of wonderful software like virus protection software, audio and video file players and much more.

Because it is difficult to make a living from collaborative software, many projects are abandoned instead of updated, because after all, even programmers have to eat and pay rent and if they fail to make a living from the software they develop, they cannot continue.

The purpose of International Software Sharing Day

International Shareware Day was created to remind us, users of shared software, the value we have gained from using the programs, which we have often downloaded for free, and to encourage us to transfer payment to the writers. We all want to download software for free and are not willing to pay even a few dollars. Is this justified? When you are in a restaurant you pay the bill for the food you ordered and give a tip to the waiters generously and without batting an eyelid, so why not pay the person who developed the software that saved your computer from a malicious virus? Or someone who lets you watch videos or listen to your favorite music? We must remember not to take anything for granted, because we need a lot more of it, a lot more software that will surprise us and we will not understand how we have managed without them so far, we need to be updated on the software we already use because everything changes so fast. For this they need to make a living, and just as we support everyone who gives us a service we are happy with, they deserve it too!