AUSTRALIA DAY

Today is also a celebration day, specially for Australians, since on January, 26th they celebrate 'Australia Day' or better, today is a celebration day for just some Australians since those who do not use this label for this day would rather call it 'Invasion Day' instead. Evidently, I am referring to the Aborigines, who have full rights and reasons to think this way. Let's bring our minds back to History in order to recall what really happened some centuries ago.

Well, before the arrival of several settlers to the island, the first inhabitants of this ginormous country and continent, which is 'down under', were the Aborigines who lived peacefully in the island. However, that peace was soon destroyed by some people who decided to own the land without asking the Aborigines about that concern. One of these people was Captain Cook, who went to Australia around the 1770s and sentenced the island was now part of Britain's properties. From then on, a miserable life was just to start for the Aborigines. 

Moreover, only a few years after Cook's visit to the island, the population in Australia began to increase, although this population was somehow especial. Most of these new settlers were convicts who had been previously sent to the USA prisons before they declared themselves independent from British power at the end of the 18th century. After this fact, the deteriorating relationship with USA obliged Britain to find a place where to be able to relocate these convicts who did not have a space in British prisons. 

Today Australia is an independent island, though part of the Commonwealth ruled by the Queen, but  with a small proportion of its population comprised by Aborigines. This huge island (even much bigger in size than the whole Europe) shares many features with its neighbouring island: New Zealand. In fact, they are mistakingly considered as the same island and it is somehow logical because of their geographical proximity, their shared language or even their flags, which little differ from each other. 

So, today is a celebration day for only some Australians, a day to eat quite a lot of local products like kangaroo meat, among others. Now well, taken from granted the information provided, do you still think it is an enjoyment day? 

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BURNS NIGHT

Every January 25th is a special night in Scotland. His most laureate poet, Robert Burns, celebrates his birthday on this date. But, anyone reading this post can ask herself, who is really this individual? 

Well, from a poor family, Burns spent his time working in the countryside while devoting his spare time to his favourite hobby: writing literature and more explicitely, poems. People are specially sensitive to this writer because he always defended Scotland's honour- in a time when it was completely neglected- through his most powerful tool: the words on the paper. And the way to pay him a worthy homage is by reproducing his most well known poem: Auld Lang Syne, which means 'the old times'.

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https://www.elblogalternativo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/auld-lang-syne.jpg

Blue Monday

Just a few days we have probably been in the sales to shop some bargains. Undoubtedly, marketing is always fighting for people to buy, buy and buy and it seems Anglo-Saxon concepts where a colour name plus a noun are far contributing to this all-out 'war'.  So to speak, we have just to go back to only some months ago, where the store windows or websites percolated in our eyes and credit cards... Do you remember Black Friday? Well, today is Blue Monday.

It is widely known that the concept of 'blue' has a nostalgic hint in English. Thus, for instance, we have some concepts like 'feeling blue' denoting 'feeling sad'. Evidently, this concept is also found in some other expressions where this meaning is not depicted like 'blue ribbon' (the king-standing award in a competition) or 'blue blood' (belonging to the monarchy), among others.

However, the topic under study today is Blue Monday and its meaning is, as I pointed just a few lines before, the concept of melancholy. What is the reason for choosing such a name? It's simple: after a long vacation period, after the copious Christmas gifts, we are precisely in the middle of January, the cold weather of these days coupled with the frustration of not having fulfilled our New Year Resolutions, the outcome is simple: Blue Monday.

And again, many online enterprises take advantage of this fact to promote their sales by giving the customers the chance to buy items on their webs by avoiding the shipping costs... The essence of this, after all, is that any opportunity is valid to sell.

Pic credit: http://www.borax.es/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/monday1.jpg

EPIPHANY OR TWELFTH NIGHT

Today is a magic night. Today, for those who really believe in magic, the miracle of the Chosen's birth and the visit of the Three Wise Men, today is a big night. I still remember how anxious my beloved twin sister and I felt the night before the Three Wise Men came into our house, drank the water inside the plastic buckets my parents had filled with and, why not? (we were children!) our desperation and impatience to open our gifts (a couple of white rollerblades, if possible!). Nowadays when they say 'Twelfth Night', my mind thinks about a completely different thing: Shakespeare and his play Twelfth Night, where pirates and a shipwreck are the main plot.

But, far from these personal reflections, what the sixth of January really commemorates is precisely this: the visit of these three men on top of three camels, to Jesus Christ. Curiously, though, it is not celebrated in all parts of the world since Anglo-Saxon countries substitute them for the figure of Dear Santa on December, 25th. Other countries like Spain or Latin America do enjoy this celebration. And you, what do you prefer? 

Once children receive presents from their parents and relatives alike on January 6th, one can say that Christmas is over, but no shopping since on January 7th, sale time is just about to start. Now we have ahead 2 months of discounts in all kinds of items. And, of course, ready for the next festivities: Carnival.

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JANUARY 1ST

The first day of the year announces a new start. After a ‘crazy’ night out with friends and family, people spend January, 1 sometimes sleeping, others having a walk and some others eating the extra food of the New Year’s Eve supper, with the family again!

However, the New Year’s Day is not the same in all corners of the world.

Thus, for example, while in the Western world, people celebrate it on the first of January (Times Square in New York, Trafalgar Square in London or Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, where they call it ‘HOGMANAY’ and practise the famous print-footing); in other places, it is hold in other periods of the year, like in March (Muslim countries and India) or September (Jewish culture). By the way, a Scottish celebrity, Robert Burns, made up an old song ‘Auld Long Syne’ which people sing along while standing in a circle and holding their hands.

Some particular ways of celebrating the New Year occur in the Fast East, in China. There, they usually carry it out in January or February and, surprisingly, every year has a different sign, which is repeated every 12 years. The animal symbol of the year is taken by people in the street processions and they are so sacred that no animal can be killed on that day. In Río de Janeiro, people go to the beach and welcome the New Year with fireworks, fires and candles. 

Curious though, especially if we contrast it to Spain, they do not eat 12 grapes before the coming of the midnight, but they rather count the last ten seconds before the New Year arrives.