Welcome to languageadvantage.com. Learn to speak a language! » saint http://languageadvantage.com Language Advantage - Learn to speak a language. Language courses in over 100 languages from French and Spanish to Chinese and Arabic. Fri, 18 May 2012 16:00:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 A Celebration Of All That Is English On St George’s Day! http://languageadvantage.com/2012/04/23/a-celebration-of-all-that-is-english-on-st-georges-day/ http://languageadvantage.com/2012/04/23/a-celebration-of-all-that-is-english-on-st-georges-day/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:00:46 +0000 la-andrea http://languageadvantage.com/?p=5806 St George’s Day falls annually on the 23rd April and is England’s national day, with St George being the patron saint of England, even though he wasn’t even English! St George was a Roman soldier and is infamous for slaying a dragon.

In reality, St George’s Day is not fully celebrated in England, but merely acknowledged – a far cry from the festivities surrounding St Patrick’s Day or St David’s Day – or even the Scottish Burns Night. There is no national holiday nor many festivities to mark this day. During recent years however, there are several societies and celebrities who have been trying to revive St George’s Day and promote all things English. Several government buildings in central London now display the St George’s flag – the red cross on a white background (also the flag of England). Efforts have also been made to make St George’s Day a National Holiday.

But St George is not just an English saint. There are also several other European countries and  regions who observe St George’s Day on the 23rd April, including Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, Serbia and Russia. St George even appears on the city arms of Moscow. However, his reach is far and wide and St George’s Day celebrations can be found as far afield as Lebanon and Newfoundland in Canada. This day is celebrated in different ways in these countries. For example, in Catalonia (Spain), this day is known as La Diada de Sant Jordi (The Day of Saint George) and also as El Dia del Libre (The Day of the Book). It is a national holiday in Catalonia with women traditionally giving a book to male loved ones and men giving roses to female loved ones.

Let us know if you celebrate St George’s Day in your country! Write a comment in the Comments Box below.

]]> http://languageadvantage.com/2012/04/23/a-celebration-of-all-that-is-english-on-st-georges-day/feed/ 0 Give The Language Of Love! http://languageadvantage.com/2012/02/14/give-the-language-of-love/ http://languageadvantage.com/2012/02/14/give-the-language-of-love/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:16:08 +0000 la-andrea http://languageadvantage.com/?p=1970 cup-of-loveFebruary 14 is Valentine’s Day (also known as Saint Valentine’s Day). This is the day when, traditionally in the West, people send ‘Valentines’ or love poems and cards, as an expression of their love for each other.   The origins of this day can be traced to the Roman festival of Lupercus, the god of fertility.   Much later, it is thought that a Bishop Valentine was beheaded for carrying out marriage ceremonies against the will of the Emporer.   St. Valentine became the patron saint for lovers.   Even during Victorian times, and certainly since the 19 th century, the day  has grown into a massive event and is very commercial with people  giving flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, jewellery and other special gifts – in fact, anything to do with love hearts and cupids!

Valentine’s Day is also celebrated around the world. In Wales, you can give your loved one a beautiful carved wooden love spoon.   In Finland and Estonia, this day marks the day that you remember all your friends more than just your loved ones. In Japan and South Korea for instance, women give hand-made chocolates to men!

If you want to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day with a more unusual gift, then give the language of love!   The gift will last all year long – well past 14 February!    It would be very romantic to hear your loved one talking to you in French or Italian next Valentine’s Day.   We have a great selection of gifts – language courses, DVDs,  music CDs and even magnetic poetry so you can leave messages of love all over the house.

Take a look at our  Language Advantage Gift Shop and give a very different gift to your Valentine>>

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