23rd of April

23rd of April

1.    What do we celebrate on 23^rd April? Choose from the list

a.       St George’s Day

b.      Easter Monday

c.       The death of Miguel de Cervantes

d.      St Patrick’s Day

e.       The Patron Saint of England

f.       The death of William Shakespeare

g.       Bank holiday

h.      International Day of the Book

i.        Boxing Day

2.    St. George’s Day. True or False?

a.    In 1222 the Council of London declared April 23rd to be St George’s Day.

b.    It was not until 1348 that St George became the Patron Saint of Scotland.

c.    In 1415, St George’s Day was declared a national feast day and holiday in England.

d.    However, after the union with Scotland at the end of the 18th Century, the tradition diminished. Since then, it has not been widely acknowledged and is no longer a national holiday.

e.    Traditional customs were to fly the St George’s dragon and wear a red rose in one’s lapel.

3.    Complete the following text with the following words

St George and the Dragon

Christianity • however • knight • nest • pagan • people • sheep • town • years

The medieval legend of St George and the dragon is over a thousand ...............old. The tale goes that the dragon made its ................ by the fresh water spring near the ................. of Silene in Libya. When ................ came to collect water, they inadvertently disturbed the dragon and so offered ................ as a distraction.

After time, there were no sheep left to offer the dragon and so the people of Silene decided to offer the dragon a maiden. They would choose her by draw. When the results were read, it was revealed that the princess was going to be the dragon’s next victim. Despite the Monarch’s protest his daughter Cleolinda was offered to the dragon...

...................., at the moment of offering, a .................. from the Crusades came riding by on his white stallion. St George dismounted and drew his sword, protecting himself with the sign of the cross. He fought the dragon on foot and managed to slay the beast and saved the princess. The people of Silene were exceptionally grateful and abandoned their .................. beliefs to convert to ...................................

4.    Read the following text and answer the questions using your own words

World Book Day

World Book Day is celebrated every year on April 23^rd. UNESCO undertakes the responsibility of the event. UNESCO aims to inculcate reading habits among people, especially the youth and highlight the various issues surrounding authors, publishers and other related parties. Since Copyright is a big issue in the world of books and writing, there is always a focus on the issue on the World Book Day. That's why, in many parts of the world, this day is also known as the World Book and Copyright Day.

The first ever World Book Day was celebrated on April 23, 1995. The date was decided by UNESCO as it was also the death and birth anniversary of William Shakespeare, a world famous author. The date also coincided with the death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes, who was a noted Spanish author. Some other well known authors whose birth or death anniversary falls on this day are Maurice Druon, Josep Pla and Halldor Laxness.

The idea of the day was taken from a Spanish tradition. April 

23^rd has always been celebrated as "The Rose Day" in Spain. On this day, people exchanged roses for showing their love and support, much like the Valentine's Day. However, in 1926, when Miguel de Cervantes dies on the day, people exchanged books instead of roses in order to commemorate the death of the great author. The tradition continues to this day in Spain and that's from where the idea of the World Book Day came about.

a.    Who is responsible of the celebration of World Book Day?

b.    Why do we celebrate it?

c.    Why is it celebrated on the 23^rd April?

d.    How did people celebrate “The Rose Day” in Spain before 1926?

KEY

1.    a, c, e, f, h

2.  

a.  In Oxford

b.  England

c. True

d.True

e. St George’s flag

3.

1.    Years

2.    nest

3.    town

4.    people

5.    sheep

6.    However

7.    knight

8.    pagan

9.    Christianity

4.

a. UNESCO

b. UNESCO wants to encourage reading habits among people, especially young people and it also wants to highlight different issues about writers, publishers and other people related to books.

c. It was the death and birth anniversary of William Shakespeare and the death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes

d. People used to give roses as a proof of love