Jardín botánico de La Adrada. Vocabulary.

http://www.theyellowpencil.com/lasplantas.html

apple tree (ápl tríi) - manzano
ash tree (ásh tríi) - fresno
bark (báark) - corteza
beech tree (bich tríi) - haya

birch (béerch) - abedul
branch (branch) - rama
branches (bránchis) - ramas
bush (búsh) - arbusto

cactus (káctos) - cactus
cedar (sídar) - cedro
clover (klóuver) - trébol
coconut tree (koukonát tríi) - cocotero

creeper (kríiper) - enredadera
cypress (sáipres) - ciprés
elm (élm) - olmo
fir tree (fér tríi) - abeto

foliage (fóulidsh) - foliage
ivy (áivi) - hiedra
leaf (líif) - hoja
leaves (líivs) - hojas

lemon tree (lémon tríi) - limonero
mahogany (mahógani) - caoba
maple (méipl) - arce
oak (óuk) - roble

olive tree (óliv tríi) - olivo
orange tree (órendch tríi) - naranjo
palm tree (pálm tríi) - palmera
pine (páin) - pino

plane tree (pléin tríi) - plátano
poplar (póplar) - álamo
roots (rúuts) - raíces
shrub (shráb) - arbusto

trunk (tránk) - tronco
twig (tuíg) - ramita
vine (váin) - vid, parra
vineyard (vín iard) - viñedo

walnut tree (wólnat tríi) - nogal
weeds (wíds) - malezas
weeping willow (wíiping uílou) - sauce llorón

SAINT VALENTINE GAMES

http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/valentines/valentines.php

HISTORY SAINT VALENTINE

Valentine’s Day History

Have you ever wondered how Valentine’s Day originated? Read the accounts of how this ritual began and has progressed throughout the ages.

Valentine’s Day, February 14^th of every year, sees old and young alike exchange cards and letters, flowers and gifts with their loved ones all in the name of St. Valentine. The custom of exchanging greetings on Valentine’s Day dates back hundreds of years. Scholars have found records of Valentine notes dating back to the early 1400’s. But why do we celebrate this holiday and who is this mysterious Saint named “Valentine?” There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day.

Some historians connect the Valentine’s Day event with one or more saints of the early Christian church. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When the ancient ruler, Emperor Claudius II (A.D. 268 – 270), decided that single men made better soldiers than those committed to wives and families, he outlawed marriage for all young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of this decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Many stories say that Valentine was executed on February 14^th in A.D. 269.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself while in prison. It is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been his jailor’s daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter which he signed, ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still used today.

Another legend has it that St. Valentine was an early Christian who made friends with many children. The Romans imprisoned him because he refused to worship their gods. The children missed Valentine and tossed loving notes to him between the bars of his cell window. Yet other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

The history of Valentine’s Day, and its patron saint, is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been the month of romance. St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains remnants of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
Other experts say Valentine’s Day origins has little to do with a “saint” but instead, originated on the eve of the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia, an annual festival held on February 15^th. The ancients viewed the Lupercalia festival as a purification and fertility rite. Some of the very first ceremonies were said to have occurred in a cave called “Lupercal,” where Romulus and Remus, Rome’s legendary founders were said to have been suckled by a she-wolf as infants. The annual ritual involved the sacrifice of goats and a dog in the cave by priests.

Blood from the sacrificed animals would be smeared on the foreheads of two noble young men and then the priests would jog around Rome’s seven hills, naked but for a loincloth, wielding several strips of leather from the sacrificed goats. Swinging this improvised whip, a priest purified anything and anyone in his path. Women lined the streets in advance of the running priest, extending hands or baring their body to be briefly and symbolically whipped, as he passed by. Young wives were particularly eager to receive these blows, because it was believed that the ritual promoted fertility and easy childbirth.

It is on the eve of this ancient festival that Valentine’s Day allegedly originated. On February 14^th, the eve of the Lupercalia festival, eligible young women of the town would write their names on slips of paper, put them in an earthen jar and then young men would pick out a name at random. The pair would then be partners for the remainder of the festival. Sometimes these pairs stayed together for an entire year and often fell in love and married.

Valentine’s Day for the birds? In England, it is said that half way through the month of February, being the 14^th, marks the time when birds began to pair. Hence, the reason why the day was sanctified for lovers. It was also looked upon as an occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers tokens. French and English literature of the 14^th and 15^th centuries contain references to this practice. The earliest can be found in the 34^th and 35^th Ballads of the poet, John Gower

Learn the pronunciation

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