Today’s
session of the English Speaking club was dedicated to the introduction of the
some unknown in this part of the world details of Christmas celebration.
The club
members read and translated an article about such element of Christmas
decoration as nativity scene. The article
revealed some historic facts about this phenomenon.
A nativity scene is
a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in
the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
The term "nativity scene" typically implies
a two dimensional depictions in film, painting, printmaking, and other media. However, in the history of art and culture, as well as
in popular use, this term often refers
to static, three dimensional, artistic, commercial or folk art dioramas, or pantomimes called "living nativity scenes" in which
real humans and animals participate.
Nativity scenes
exhibit figures representing the infant
Jesus, his mother Mary, and Joseph.
Other characters
from the nativity story such as shepherds, the Magi, and angels may be displayed near the manger
in a barn intended to
accommodate farm animals. A donkey and an ox are typically
depicted in the scene, as well as camels belonging to the
Magi.
For today’s session
the Club’s speaker Tamara created our own nativity scene which turned out to be
a very unusual artifact, especially for the younger generation of the club
members.
To better
understand what is depicted in the nativity scene the club members were offered
to read and translates the Christmas story in English. After that we have
tested our knowledge of the Xmas story in the on-line quiz. The score was quite
good – 13 correct answers out of 15.
To further
challenge the club member’s knowledge of the Xmas topic they were asked to
divide into 2 teams and solve a word search puzzle and a crossword in 15
minutes. In each team the beginners tried to solve the word search puzzle,
while the advanced users completed the crossword. The right hand side team has
coped with the task earlier and was proclaimed a winner of the Xmas completion.
At this moment
Santa Clause appeared in the room, wished the audience Merry Christmas and
distributed nice mementos of the Club’s Xmas session - replica’s of US dollar
bills with funny inscriptions.
The fun continued
with a traditional Xmas tea ceremony - with assortment of cookies which
included the famous American chocolate chip cookies. A multitude of world
musical hits about Christmas was checked on YouTube. Big screen projection of
the favorite clips created unforgettable atmosphere!
The last session of
the year turned out to be a great success!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
The number of participants – 20 persons.
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