Animations a2z

Singles' Day- November 11

November 11 is Singles' Day- the Chinese bachelor day. The reason for choosing this date is that on this day the digit "1", which is of course the single digit, appears four times.

This day is dedicated to all bachelors and bachelorettes in China, and is celebrated mainly in shopping with huge discounts, in fact it is the biggest shopping day on the Internet.

We can enjoy Chinese singles day from shopping at the major websites that do special offers.

The Aliexpress website concluded the Chinese Singles Day, November 11, 2016, in some interesting and fun anecdotes:

On 11/11/16, buyers from 207 different countries bought in the site. The most northerly country bought was Greenland, and the southernmost one was Chile.

During the day, 6,800,000 parcels were bought. If we put all the packages on each other, we will reach a height of 136 times Mount Everest, or 1,449 times Burj Khalifa Building, 3,692 times the Eiffel Tower or 26,087 times the Statue of Liberty.

The countries that spent the most money - first place Russia, second place the US and third place Brazil.

The countries that bought products from the most categories - in first place Israel, second place Russia and third place Belarus.

The most sexy country, the one that bought the most lingerie and swimwear bikini - Russia.

The most musical country, the one that bought the most musical instruments is Brazil.

The beauty queen, the country where they bought the most beauty and care products is the United States.

Lovers of cell phones, those who bought the most products related to mobile phones - Russia.

The sportiest country, the one that bought the most sports accessories - Spain.

The land of water, the country where they bought the most water sports and diving suits - Australia.

Country of chefs, the country where they bought the most kitchen and cooking accessories - Russia.

And last but not least, the country that likes to celebrate, the one that bought the most costumes ... Israel.

November 11 is also Origami Day and Veterans Day

Origami Day - November 11

Do you also have the childhood memories of making small paper boats that sail on puddles, creating a hat to wear on your head or a paper airplane flying home from the living room to the kitchen and back? This nice childhood hobby is called origami and is part of a whole art where amazing things are made from paper folds.

Origami, the famous Japanese art of folding paper, began to develop in the 1600s (or earlier) and became popular around the world in the mid-twentieth century. Origami traditionally does not involve any cutting or gluing, it is simply folds that create a variety of shapes, simple and complex. The art of cutting paper is called Kirigami.

Although there are only a few basic origami folds, they can be combined to create lots of things, like birds and flowers, dragons and dinosaurs, elephants, castles, steamers and even spaceships! Papers can be combined in different colors to make the origami creation colorful and rich.

The origin of the name "origami" is from the Japanese phrase "uri", folding 折り and "gami", a piece of paper 紙.

Origami began in Japanese and Chinese culture, as part of various rituals in the Shinto religion common in Japan. From there it spread to the whole world and became part of the leisure culture.

In Japanese culture paper symbolizes purity. In the Shinto religion, people especially like to fold crane-shaped paper. The crane symbolizes health, success and fulfillment of wishes. Folding 1000 cranes allows fulfillment of a wish.

In 1955, Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year-old girl from Hiroshima who survived the U.S.-led atomic bombing of World War II, contracted leukemia and decided to fold 1,000 cranes to fulfill a wish for world peace. Of peace movements around the world.

Origami crane

Over the years, origami began to be used not only in art but also in other fields.

At the end of the 20th century origami also began to be used in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. The complexity of the paper folds allowed for the learning and development of various technological and nanotechnological models.

Origami is used as a tool for occupational therapy in psychiatric hospitals, special education and as a tool for the rehabilitation of fine motor skills among accident victims, because it combines planning and thinking and gentle work with the hands.

How to celebrate Origami Day?

There are lots of origami projects that you can see and learn how to make them, for example on the Origami Club website where there are animations and charts of traditional paper folds.

If you already know or have just learned how to make origami, today is the time to upload your creations to the social network so that everyone can enjoy the delicate beauty of this art!

Japan Origami Museum, Narita Airport, Tokyo

Want to learn how to make paper rings? Link to tutorial

November 11 is also Singles' Day and Veterans Day

Vanilla Cupcake Day - November 10th

Vanilla Cupcake Day is a special day for cupcake lovers with a vanilla flavor designed to cherish the little cake and celebrate its existence.

The cupcake was invented in the United States in 1796 when the recipe for a cake baked in small cups was written in the cookbook - American Cookery (by Emilia Simmons).

The earliest documentation of the term cupcake was in 1828 in the book "Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" by Eliza Leslie, a popular recipe writer from Philadelphia who lived in the 19th century.

The cupcakes got their name because of their baking in a cup-shaped mold. In the UK they are called Fairy Cakes and in Australia Patty Cakes. The vanilla cupcakes are made by adding vanilla extract to the cake batter and icing or any topping.

Did you know? Vanilla is considered one of the most expensive spices in the world, second only to saffron.

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The vanilla plant is first cultivated by the people of the Totonak on the east coast of Mexico. The spice came to Europe by the Spaniards in the 16th century by the conqueror Hernan Cortes, the man who also brought the chocolate to Europe. Rumor has it that Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is the one who brought vanilla from France to America in the late 19th century, after tasting vanilla-flavored cream ice cream in Paris.

By the end of the 19th century, Mexico had produced almost all of the vanilla in the world. Today, however, it produces only about 10% of the world's total production of the spice. Madagascar and Indonesia now produce most of the vanilla in the world.

Despite the expense involved, vanilla is one of the most sought after flavors in the world. Today, it is used in a variety of food items, including cakes, ice creams and beverages; And products like perfumes and candles.

The reason for choosing the date of November 10 today is the vanilla cupcake is unknown.

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How to celebrate Vanilla Cupcake Day?

Make vanilla cupcakes and serve them to family, friends and co-workers as well. If you do not have someone to eat with you, not the end of the world. You can eat alone and keep the rest in the freezer.

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November 10 is also World Science Day for Peace and Development and Sesame Street Day

Sesame Street's birthday- November 10

Who does not know the Sesame Street series? Almost no one has grown up on the old series that came on the air for the first time on November 10, 1969.

The impact of the series is so huge that, beginning in 2009, they began to celebrate the "Sesame Street Day" every year around the world.

In honor of Sesame Street Day, get some interesting facts about the series:

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the series, on November 10, 2009, part of 64th Street in New York, near Broadway, was renamed "Sesame Street."

The series Sesame Street has won more than 100 Emmy Awards.

Ernie wears horizontal stripes on his sweater to make him look calmer; And Bert wears vertical stripes on his sweater to make him look more stressed.

Ernie and Bert

Originally Sesame Street series was written for children whose families are in the army. For example, Elmo's father was stationed abroad.

In 2005, Cookie Monster became interested in eating correctly, in fruits and vegetables, and gave up some of the cookies. But he soon returned to his old habbits and claimed that his interest in healthy eating was merely a hoax.

In 2004, Natalie Portman appeared as a character named Natalie. Natalie was Hopper's store manager, who was supposed to appear for three episodes while Alan was on holiday. After recording one episode, Portman began to lose her voice and was unable to continue.

How can you celebrate Sesame Street Day? Look at the episodes of Sesame Street, buy a doll of one of the characters from Sesame Street and say hi to Bid Bird.

November 10 is also World Science Day for Peace and Development and Vanilla Cupcake Day

World Science Day for Peace and Development- November 10

Science is one of the best tools we have for improving life.

Unfortunately, humanity has used many scientific discoveries and technological inventions in ways that have exacerbated the state of the environment and made the world a less safe place. Thousands of nuclear bombs sit around us waiting ... oil spills at a rate ... burning fossil fuels creates smog and global climate change ... and that's just a small part of how humanity is negatively impacting the world.

Some people look at these grim results of science and technology and blame science itself. They blame inventions and technology rather than humanity itself for the overpopulated population, the urge to control lands and resources, and short-term profit-driven thinking.

The solution to bad use of science is not to remove responsibility from ourselves and blame science, but to use science in a better, more responsible and more mature way, with long-term thinking.

The UN has created Science Day for Peace to urge people to use science in the name of peace and find innovative technologies to make the future sustainable!

The field of sustainable development is extremely important for the environment. The damage done to the environment not only harms vegetation and wildlife but also humans and endangers the present and future of us all. If we continue to live the way we live today, we will already in this century need three planets to survive, instead of one Earth.

Ways to live sustainably

Every day the choices we make in our lives affect the environment, the climate and other species besides us. From what we eat to how many children we decide to give birth to. We can do a lot to “choose sustainability” and reduce our environmental footprint to leave more room for animals and wild plants that are important to our continued existence in the world and advanced science and technologies have an important contribution to make to enable us to do so.

Think twice before you go shopping. Every product we buy has an environmental footprint, from the materials used to make it to the pollution emitted during its production and the packaging that ends its days in landfills. Think about the amount of space we need for the garbage we produce! To get rid of this much garbage one has to bury it in the soil, which pollutes it and our water sources, or burn it, which pollutes the air. Both options are bad for the environment. If you are already buying something, try to buy something recycled or second hand that has minimal packaging.

Make sure your large purchases have great environmental benefits. If you are buying appliances, make sure they are energy efficient. Buying a car? Buy cars that are as fuel efficient as possible. If you are buying a house or apartment, make sure they are built with a standard of green construction. All of these benefits will also reduce your electricity bill and fuel expenses.

Stop using plastic. The plastic is not biodegradable. It fills in vast quantities about 40 percent of the world's oceans. Every year thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed by trapping or suffocating in plastic. You can reduce your use of plastic in a few simple steps: use reusable bags when shopping, use reusable water bottles, use bags as little as possible. Give up the hardships of drinking and avoid products made of plastic or packaged in them if possible (choose products that are not wrapped when you shop in the grocery store or stores, reduce the online shopping that uses a lot of plastic packaging materials).

Reduce the consumption of animal products. Food engineers are developing meat substitutes and substitutes for milk and eggs from plants. Leather and fur products also have synthetic substitutes. The industrial farms for animal husbandry are among the main causes of the environmental crisis. This is according to a detailed UN report examining the impact of the meat, dairy and egg industries on the environment. According to the report, the animal food industries are a major cause of global warming and are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activity (more than all transportation combined: by air, sea and land).

Avoid products that endanger wildlife. Some products contain ingredients that threaten the living environment of animals, because of deforestation or the use of their water they need. One of the elements that threaten the livelihoods of animals is the palm oil whose production is responsible for the extinction of tropical forests, which are home to a huge variety of organisms, threaten the ecology and contribute to the extinction of wildlife such as the orangutan, sumetra tiger and Asian rhino.

Drive less, drive green. Ride less in cars and walk more or ride a bike. If you are traveling, try to travel with more people to reduce the number of cars on the road, use more public transportation.

November 10 is also Sesame Street Day and Vanilla Cupcake Day

Chaos Never Dies Day - November 9

Most of us feel almost every day that the world is full of chaos, mess and that everything is mixed up, full of connections and confused. There are many days dedicated to relieving tension and calm, to breaking peace from the mess of the world, and the day of Chaos Never Dies that falls on November 9 is one of them.

Chaos Never Dies Day is meant to tell us that the perfect and quiet world we all aspire to simply does not exist, has never existed and will never exist. There are too many creatures and objects and energy forces in the world and everyone turns to their side and everything mixes and binds to each other so the chance of a bit of silence is completely unlikely. Instead of fighting this fact, this special day has come to tell us that we must accept it. We need to understand it but make the most of the day, the chaos and the world as it is and just take a relaxing break.

The history of Chaos Never Dies Day

Chaos is a state of disorder or confusion, and it appears in every aspect of human experience even before the term is even created.

In Greek mythology, chaos is the source of all that exists, the formless primordial matter made of a jumble of the four basic elements of the world: earth, air, water and fire, from which the first gods and the first world division were formed. In fact, chaos, confusion and disorder existed even before our universe was created, making them an integral part of our lives. If it reminds you of anything, it is the chaos described in the book of Genesis, before the creation of the world.

Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics, weather forecasting, physics, economics and philosophy, which describes many systems, which even when all the laws governing them are known, cannot be predicted to develop in the long run. These systems are called dynamic systems, and are highly sensitive to minimal changes in starting conditions. This phenomenon is known in pictorial language as the "butterfly effect".

The origin of "Chaos Never Dies Day" is unknown. Apparently got lost in the mess. But many people are spreading this idea that is reconcile with the fact and slowing down, taking a break and enjoying quiet time with themselves.

There is a whole industry of products designed to release stress. Spa treatments, meditations, yoga and more. All of these things help relieve stress, but that does not mean that the chaos in our lives has stopped if we have fallen asleep in the bath with oils and soap bombs or put a mask on our face. The chaos never dies.

Chaos can have different meanings for different people: for some it's a busy day on the work schedule, for some it's navigating a big, bustling city. For others, the chaos is a noisy family dinner. No matter what your specific chaos, the key to enjoying life is to embrace the confusion and face it head on. Here comes the day of chaos never dies - it is completely dedicated to complete and enjoy the chaos in the world around us.

November 9 is also World Freedom Day

World Freedom Day- November 9

In many parts of the world, freedom is something taken for granted - the freedom to choose a religious or secular way of life, the freedom to be in relationships with the person you love, the freedom to dress, to travel from one place to another ... and the list goes on. Unfortunately, there are many places in the world where these freedoms are not available to most people, who are forced to live empty, frustrating and inadequate lives because the authorities do not allow them to choose.

If you do not know the fear of expressing your opinion, you are considered lucky people who live in a place where freedom is a basic human right. Like every good thing, the existence of freedom must be celebrated and for this to mark the World Day of Freedom.

The reason for choosing this day as World Freedom Day is to mark the event of the fall of the Berlin Wall on that date in 1989.

The Berlin Wall was a fortified wall that surrounded the western Berlin enclave between 1961-1989. The wall divided Berlin into two parts: East Berlin controlled by East Germany and Western Berlin under the control of West Germany, and the separation between West Berlin and East Germany.

The Berlin Wall in 1963, a view from the western side of East Berlin (Source: Roger Wollstadt - Flickr)

On August 13, 1961, the East Germans began building the wall, which almost completely severed the connection between East and West and dramatically affected the lives of Berliners on both sides. The wall was considered one of the main symbols of the Cold War for more than twenty-eight years. Its opponents sometimes called the wall "the wall of shame" (Schandmauer).

The wall became overnight a barrier that prevented East Berliners from exercising freedom of movement in their city, and those who tried to cross it found themselves at high risk of dying from the bullets of East German border guards. Over the years, the wall was fortified and reinforced by other means, to the extent that it became an almost insurmountable barrier, and as a result, escape attempts were rare in recent years.

The fall of the wall on November 9, 1989 was a formative event, symbolizing more than anything else the fall of the Communist regimes in those years and the end of the Cold War. Following its overthrow, Germany was reunified in 1990, and reunited Berlin became the capital of Germany.

November 9 is also Chaos Never Dies Day

Hanukkah worksheets

Worksheets and coloring pages for Hanukkah. The pages are suitable for children in pre-school kindergarten and for children in the lower grades. The theme that the worksheets focus on is Hanukkah and they practice reading and writing the most prominent symbols of Hanukkah and winter, Hanukkah customs and food.

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. It is also known as the Festival of Lights.

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