Each country can write the newsletters about culture (inform about each culture issue). You can use a newsletter template or you can write a Word document or ppt.
Cultural topics:
- - traditions (traditions of each month)
- - traditional cuisine
- - traditional art (decorative art, folk costumes)
- - folk crafts
- - folklore (songs and dances)
- - cultural personalities
Romania
Romanian tradition of March
Martisorul, unique tradition in Romania
Martisorul, Romanian’s tradition that fills our heart with happiness. Martisorul is a trinket with red and white thread worn like an amulet for luck.On the 1st of March, people are happy to meet Spring giving and receiving Martisoare. In most of towns, girls are receive Martisoare from boys, but there are some exceptions, like Banat, where girls give Martisoare to boys.
Martisorul is a tradition that came from legends. The best known of them is about the sun, which converted itself in a beautiful girl and came on the Earth. She was kidnapped by a dragon that closed her in his palace. Seeing that everyone was upset and moody, a lad went to dragon’s palace to save the girl. He searched the palace for one year, but finally he found and saved the girl. The boy won the battle with the dragon, but he was hurt. Staying in snow, his hot blood started to bleed. From here we took the Martisorul tradition. The white thread is the snow and the red one is the hero’s blood on the snow.
Martisorul is the symbol that heralds the Spring, practical the begginng of a New Year.
Other traditions of March: Babele ( March 1 - 9) and Martyrs (March 9)
SLOVENIA
A typical Slovenian family
In this text I am going to write about how families in Slovenia live and what is the typical Slovenian family.
Slovenian families are very similar to families in Britain, because in both countries in a typical family home there are two parents and one or two children. But I have to say that Slovenia is still a little bit old-fashioned and traditional because it’s not very often here, like in Britain, that a child lives in a single – parent family or in a family with a step-parent and step-sisters and brothers.
Most of the people in Slovenia live in houses with a big garden. In our capital city – Ljubljana and in our second biggest city in Slovenia – Maribor there are also a lot of people that live in flats.
Because Slovenia is not a country of opportunities a lot of young people leave to other countries to go to university and get a job. Because of that they live a long way from their parents, sisters, brothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts. They leave home when they are eighteen so they can go to university to another country or when they have a young family and they move to another country to get a job.
When young people go to university they normally live in a flat, in dorms or they share a house with some friends.
In Slovenia it is very often that grandparents live in the same house as their children with families. Not a lot of old people in our country live alone in their houses and apartments. Some live in an old people´s home.
Most families in Slovenia have got a pet. Dogs are the most common pets. In most cases a child wants a pet, a parent buys him or her one – a child plays with the pet for some time and in the end parents have to take care of this pet.
So this is something about families in Slovenia. I hope you enjoyed reading this text and that you found out something new.
Written by Taja Berič, 8.a
November 2015
Poland- Silesia Region (Ruda Śląska) and its culture
Polish Silesia as a region, usually divided into three sub-regions - Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia and Opole Silesia. It is no different in the case of division ethnographic Silesia is in fact the richest ethnographic region of Polish. Many customs and rituals fell into oblivion, others lost their meaning, but there were also new traditions that have survived to this day. The richness of costumes, interesting rituals, delicious cuisine and distinct dialect make Silesia a unique region of our country.
Silesian dialect - a separate language or a dialect of Polish?
Silesian dialect thrives in Upper Silesia and Opole region and to a lesser extent, on the outskirts of Lower Silesia. In 2011, the Silesian dialect spoken by almost 600,000 Silesians. The biggest problem of contemporary ethnologists, is the classification of Silesian language. Currently Silesian language was considered a dialect of Polish, which also confirmed the Silesian Cultural Heritage Centre. Every now and then it comes back on the Silesian dialect as a separate language. Without going into these animosities, we should thank Silesians for such a wonderful part of the native folk culture.
Holidays, customs and traditions - old Polish traditions and the cult of saints
Of great importance in the tradition of the Silesian had conifers, which are often accompanied to various rites. On the first day of spring after burning or drowning of Marzanna. Bosket were brought to the village - a small decked iglak for example. Spruce, pine or fir. Conifers decorated with bunches of tissue, called mojami, also used on the night of April 30 to May 1. Then the young bachelors would leave them under the windows of their chosen one. The most popular holiday in the Silesian tradition of the Day of Saint Barbara .
Barbórka Miner's Day - a traditional feast mining, celebrated in Poland on December 4, the day of St. Barbara of Nicomedia, patroness of good death and difficult work [Besides the miners BARBORKA also celebrate geologists and other professionals of the search for fossil fuels.
In the tradition of mining Barbórka morning begins with a solemn Mass in the church or at the pithead, with the figure of St. Barbara. Then the miners marching band playing, among others, its anthem in the settlements inhabited by miners and their families (eg. familok) and under management houses. Solemn commemorations are held and meetings. On the occasion of the day there are also organized concerts, performances, games and balls, involving whole families Mining.
Silesian dresses - many varieties of Polish folk costumes
Silesia is famous not only coal mine, or you can specify it as "mines folklore". Practically every town in Upper Silesia and Opole region could boast their own folk costumes. To this day several varieties of costumes Silesia, among other Rozbarskie costume, dress Cieszyn, Lower Silesia costume, dress pszczyński and many others. Without a doubt this is the most colorful region of Polish.
Kitchen Silesia - a taste of the region on Polish tables
There's no denying that this Silesian cuisine had the greatest impact on the shape of the current Polish cuisine. The work of the miners was hard, which is why they had to eat meals calorie and filling, for this reason Silesian cuisine is rich in meat and potato dishes. The most famous dish is potato dumplings and red cabbage rolls with. Silesian cuisine are also different kinds of roasts, chops and meatballs and potato pies and casseroles. Anyone who chooses to Silesia definitely something for everyone.
Folk music
The original name of the band is State Folk Song and Dance "Silesia" and - after the "Mazowsze" - was the second national team of this kind in Poland. In the years 1953 - 1957 the team consisted of more than a hundred choristers and dancers.
Stanislaw Hadyna was officially appointed artistic director of the band back in March 1953. The accompanying him for several years Elvira Kaminska received the position of choreographer. The texts of many songs were written while by Zdzislaw Pyzik. The premiere took place on 16 October 1954 in the Silesian Theatre in Katowice. The first official performance of Song and Dance "Silesia" was held on November 6, 1954 in Warsaw Mirowskiej Hall to celebrate the 37 anniversary of the October Revolution. Previously he held an informal concert in Katowice, Kosciuszko Park, and before that held two closed concerts for delegates Stalinogrodzkiej Conference of the Communist Party and the Song and Dance Ensemble of China Army of National Liberation.
The team initially presented folklore of Silesia, in particular, dances and songs relating to Upper Silesia, Cieszyn and the Beskidy Mountains. Then he performs other Polish songs and dances, including those related to folklore Lesser or Kujawski. Currently repertoire also includes songs and dances of all Polish regions, and even operas, oratorios and sacred music.
During the summer the team is organized summer school dance. Every year, also at the beginning of the summer the Feast of Silesia, during which the band is celebrating their next birthday and beyond present themselves as other folk groups, as well as rock and pop. The event, which lasts for three days accompanied by a picnic in the park koszęcińskiego.
The team "Silesia" also fulfills the role of culture-including through the implementation of a project created in 2010, Silesia Garden Arts, whose intention is to establish a headquarters unit active cultural center
With the band also collaborated people like Wojciech Kilar, Ireneusz Łojewski, Czeslaw Płaczek or Richard Pierzchała. Since 2001, when team work Silesian Regional Education Centre, which since 2005 publishes a quarterly "Closer Silesia". In February 2010 release Hey, near Cieszyn she received a nomination for the Polish phonographic industry Fryderyk Awards: Album of the Year folk / world music
In 1976 the band received a diploma Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Olszowski People's Republic.
Attractions of Upper Silesia
Ogrodzieniec Castle
Ogrodzieniec Castle - castle ruins lying on the Krakow-Czestochowa Jura, built in the so-called system. Nests, in the village Podzamcze in the Silesian province, in the district Zawiercie, about 2 km east of Ogrodzieńca. The castle was built in the fourteenth and fifteenth in. By the family Włodków Sulimczyków.
Jasna Góra - Częstochowa
Jasna Gora (lat. Clarus Mons) - Sanctuary Pauline Order monastery in Czestochowa, located on the hill of Jasna Gora, whose name comes from the name of the monastery.
It is one of the most important places of Marian devotion and hundreds of years, the most important center of pilgrimage in Poland. On the Jasna Gora is the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, and a collection of many other works of art, the most sacred, representing the majority of votive offerings of the faithful. 16 September 1994 it was included on the list of monuments of history
Zamek w Pszczynie
Pszczyna Castle - the former baronial mansion in Pless (Ger. Pless) in Upper Silesia, was founded in the eleventh or twelfth century. Since then repeatedly rebuilt. In the Middle Ages owned by, among others, the princes of Opole and Racibórz, Opava princes and dukes of Cieszyn. In the years 1548-1765 belonged to the Silesian house Promnitzs, 1765-1847 princes of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless and since 1847 the princes Hochberg Pless with the prince. In the years 1870-1876 they carried out the reconstruction of the castle, as a result of which he obtained his present shape of the neo-baroque architectural style.
Along with the historic landscape park in the English style with an area of 156 hectares creates a palace and park. In 1946 he turned into a museum, now operating under the name Castle Museum in Pszczyna. Unlike many other castles and palaces in Silesia, damaged as a result of World War II and immediately thereafter, in the Castle in Pszczyna preserved original equipment and furniture, which makes it today one of the most valuable monuments of residential architecture in Poland.
Mine Guido
Guido is unique on a global scale, because retained excavation has no equivalent in other centers, museums in the world. Skansen create corridors at levels of 170 and 320 meters and a surface building complex with technical equipment. The mines can be seen, among others, layered geological structure of rocks with symptoms tectonics.
Level 170 presents a method of extracting coal miner and work of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and the history of this industry in the area of Silesia. Level 170 is characterized by an interactive formula of exploring, supplemented with sound and light effects. According to the foundation, visit the mine has left an unforgettable impression on tourists. This task will facilitate the use of audiovisual effects - people goers will hear the creaking floors, squeaking rats and conversation miners. In Level 170, you can see the exhibition which is maintained by the Group Powen-Wafapomp SA. Guides visitors guide. At the level of 170 is also a chapel.
Level 320
Workings at this level are kept in a state as close as possible to the original, when the miners last finished their work and left the mine. Part chambers at this level is already used for service activities and dining, held numerous concerts, meetings and theatrical performances. In other chambers will be inter alia displayed images from the life of the mine. In addition, one of the chambers will be enabled to play talks during a rescue (eg. Sending messages to the dispatcher) in the next and you will be able to listen to the song a few minutes of classical music only on a few lights point.
Czantoria - Ustroń
The summit is characterized by steep slopes on the east and west - the difference in height between, located at the foot of Ustroń, and the peak is 630 m. Čantoria is mostly covered with forests of beech and spruce-fir in places with the participation of sycamores, ash, larch and others. On both sides of the border in batches podszczytowych forest are nature reserves on the Polish reserve "Czantoria" and on the Czech side reserve "Čantoryje". On the slopes and summit Czantorii United they are also grassy clearing.
The name "Czantoria" was mentioned in records for the first time in a diploma Duke of Cieszyn, Adam Wenceslas dated 3 October 1615, in which that demarcates their possessions from the goods of Adam Goczałkowskiego of Goczałkowice (Archive States. Cieszyn Team chamber Cieszyn, Ref. 85).
For located below the top of the clearing Stokłosica reaches cableway chair of the Retreat Glade built in 1967 and modernized in 2007. Thanks to this Čantoria is very popular among tourists and skiers. Next to the upper station is a relay mast. Čantoryje is also a good vantage point. Can be observed from the Beskid Slaski and Beskid Moravian-Silesian Vistula River and the foothills Silesia and Upper Silesia - when the weather is visible tank Goczałkowickie and further gradually towards the west - Power Plant, the city Zory and Hawks-Zdroj, power Rybnik, heap in Rydułtowy, the city Wodzislaw Slaski.
Góra Żar
Żar (761 m) - the peak in the Beskid Andrychowskim (the western part of Beskid Maly), located on Lake Międzybrodzkie.
In 1936 [1] on the initiative of the League of Air Defense and absorber at the foot of Mount Zar was established glider airport. There is an active mountain Gliding School "Zar" and is practiced paragliding.
At the top of the mountain is a body of water pumped-storage (Power Porabka-Zar) in the shape of the deltoid, inaugurated in 1979, which completely changed its appearance. It is 650 meters long and 250 meters wide at its widest point and has 2 310 000 m³ of water whose maximum depth is 28 m. The tank is sealed with several layers of asphalt, reinforced concrete superiors. Embankments have more than 30 m in height.
Since 2003 on top of the mountain can be reached by a funicular railway belonging to the Polish Cableways. In the winter there are two ski lifts and slopes along them. From the top of the mountain offers a panorama of Lake Żywieckie, the band Magurka Wilkowicka and Hrobaczą Meadow.
Since 1979, the top can be reached by asphalt road, but since the release of funicular can be used only in authorized vehicles.
Museum Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in Chorzow
Museum Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in Chorzow - open-air museum located in the Park of Silesia (formerly Provincial Park of Culture and Recreation. Gen. George Ziętka), near the Silesian Stadium and the shopping center AKS. Ethnographic park has nearly 70 historic wooden architecture of rural and small-town. The museum area is 22 hectares.
The collected folk architecture monuments come from the five sub-regions of Upper Silesia (the Beskidy Mountains, piedmont, pszczyńsko-Rybnik, industrial and Lubliniec) and Dabrowski Basin region.
The object of integrating different parts of the exhibition is the church. St. Joseph the Worker dating from the eighteenth century. Like granaries court and some buildings of the Silesian Beskid, most of the other monuments from the mid-nineteenth century.
Romania and its culture
Italian Culture and society
Italy is famous all over the world for its culture and old traditions. Our culture has influenced , in fact , not only the European culture but also the world one. In each field: art,music,fashion,food… Italians have reached high levels.
Folk music
Folk musicians use the dialect of their own regional tradition and different musical instruments.The central, northern and southern part of the peninsula has its own musical characteristics. Italian folk songs include ballads, lyrical songs, lullabies and children's songs, seasonal songs based around holidays such as Christmas.
Folk Dances
Dance is an integral part of folk traditions in Italy. Some of the dances are ancient and persist today.A folk dance called the tarantella is still performed.
Perhaps it is the most iconic of Italian dances, the tarantella is part of a folk ritual intended to cure the poison caused by tarantula bites. Many of these dances are group activities, the group dances in rows or circles as in the picture below.
Regional costumes
You can’t miss a performance by Italian folk musicians or dancers ! Their rich costumes will definitely catch your eye. Women wear colourful skirts and hand-embroidered chemises or blouses, with elaborate headdresses decorated with flowers or fruit. Men's traditional clothing tends to be simpler, but doesn't lack of attention to details, with metal buttons and pins.
Decorative art and folk crafts
Each region of Italy has its traditional arts and crafts. Florence, for example, is famous for its high-quality leather goods and fine jewelry, Venice and Murano for fine glassware.
The central and southern regions of our country are famous, above all, for ceramics and pottery, majolica and terracotta . Small towns such as Deruta Faenza,Caltagirone, Vietri, Seminara are famous for their precious production.
Written by
Art and architecture in Italy
Italy has given rise to a number of architectural styles, including classical Roman, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. Italy is home to some of the most famous structures in the world, including "Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In Florence, Venice and Rome there are a lot of museums, but art can be viewed in churches and public buildings. Most notable is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, painted by the famous Italian artist Michelangelo .
The Colosseum The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Sistine Chapel
Religion in Italy
The major religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism. The 10% of the population is composed of Protestant, Jewish and a growing Muslim immigrant community.
Music
In Italy, traditional music differs from region to region and is heavily influenced by its historical past. In the northern region of Italy, for example, music has strong Celtic influences, while the southern half of the country has hints of Greek and Arabic influences.
Opera has its roots in Italy and the most famous operas are "Aida" and "La Traviata," both by Giuseppe Verdi, and "Pagliacci" by Ruggero Leoncavallo
AIDA by Giuseppe Verdi
Family
"Family" is one of the most important values within the Italian culture. The family is the center of the social structure and provides a stabilizing influence for its members.
ITALIAN DIALECTS AND LINGUISTIC MINORITIES
The official language of the country is Italian but Italy is rich in dialects. The most famous are: Milanese, Roman, Neapolitan and Sicilian.The Milanese dialect has Latin origins. It belongs to the dialects of Northern Italy. The Roman dialect and Italian have similar origins. The Roman belongs to the dialects of Central Italy.One of the particularities of the Neapolitan dialect is that people speak aloud, they shout and they gesticulate widely. The Sicilian dialect derives from the Latin and changes widely from city to city. The Calabrian dialect has very ancient roots, it comes from the Latin and Greek. When people speak this dialect they usually double some letters.
There are also several minority languages that belong to other Indo- European branches, such as Cimbrian (an outlying dialect of Bavarian), spoken in Trentino; Arbëresh (an outlying dialect of Albanian) spoken in Apulia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria (even very close to us, in Vena di Maida); the Slavomolisano dialect of Serbo-croatian and Griko (Hellenic) spoken in southern Calabria and in Apulia.
Other non-indigenous languages are spoken by a substantial percentage of the population due to immigration.
Traditional Italian and Calabrian Cuisine
Italy is very famous for its food. Every country offers something delicious and typical. To begin, Campania can’t exist without its pizza. All tourists of the world want to taste pizza made in Naples. The lovers of pasta want Italian tortellini or lasagna. 
All people know pesto ALLA GENOVESE with our aromatic basil. Not to mention our enviable cheese: PARMIGGIANO REGGIANO. Every one want to taste a slice of
Parmigiano Reggiano
CAPOCOLLO with a slice of Altamura bread. 
Pesto alla Genovese
The Italian food is very good and also its wines: for example Chianti and Cirò Librandi.
Calabria, our region, offers many specialties: the spicy ‘NDUJA, SOPRESSATA (a soft spreadable cured meat made with pork meat, herbs, spices and the famous Calabrian chili ), the ice-cream TARTUFO OF PIZZO, STOCCO FISH OF MAMMOLA, the OLIVE SCHIACCIATE (smashed olives), the GIARDINIERA and PECORINO CHEESE OF CROTONE and many other products.
Nduja Tartufo Giardiniera
A traditional dish prepared for religious festivity or special days is the “pasta chijna” (filled pasta) based on layers of homemade pasta (lasagne) topped with small fried meatballs, slices of hard-boiled eggs, slices of spicy "salami", caciocavallo cheese and grated pecorino cheese (baked). The Spiral Fileja is served with a chilli-falvoured sauce of tomatoes and pecorino.
There are also good local foods based on offal such as “the morzeddu” in the Catanzaro province! It is lamb or kid (young goat) offal cooked with tomato, hot pepper in a pie-like bread container.
Along the coast we find a large use of fresh fish. Tuna and Swordfish are on the menu! Tuna is seasoned with “ la cipollata” (onions), the famous red sweet onions of Tropea.
The baby fish that we call “neonata ”is used to make small fritters or utilized to make a paste known as “rosamarina” with hot red pepper.
Other specialties are Eggplant Parmigiana, Mushrooms picked in the woods and cooked in different ways, dried tomatoes; "Patati e Pipi", fried potatoes and red peppers.
Calabria is rich in Citrus Fruit such as the Clementines of Calabria, the chestnuts, the figs especially those from Cosenza which are covered with chocolate or worked with spices and dried fruit (almonds, walnuts) to make the famous “crocette” (cross-shaped).
Some traditional desserts of Calabria are:
Nougat (Torrone), "giurgiulene", small nougat made with honey, almonds, candied orange, pistachio nut or sesame seeds. Pitta 'mpigliata (or pitta' nchiusa) based on dried fruit and honey. Mostaccioli (Mostazzoli, 'Nzuddha, Mastazzuolu or Mustazzuali) are typical sweets from Soriano Calabro, made with natural ingredients, flour, Calabrian honey and mulled wine. They are in various shapes. Turdiddri or Cannarìculi , Nacatole, Pignolata and Susamelle are traditional Christmas sweets . Chiacchiere (Gossips) - Sweets prepared to celebrate Carnival (Mardi-Gras), in the shape of a strip, sometimes modeled in various forms, made with a mixture of flour that is fried or baked, then dusted with powdered sugar. Cuzzupe, Easter sweets,
On a Calabrian table you can always find a good glass of wine produced in our region, especially the red one. One of the best wines produced is white and red Cirò wine. Our typical homemade liqueurs are bergamot, made with an extraordinary and prided citrus fruit exclusive of our region, and “limoncello” made with lemon.
WRITTEN BY Asia, Beatrice, Chiara, Giulia, Michaela.
(Class 2H)