Wouldn’t it be interesting to read a bit about how Easter is celebrated in the USA? Elisabeth Knittel , our language assistant , has written this interesting article about Easter in the USA. Thank you Liz!

In the United States Easter is celebrated in the spring months of March or April. It is a time of church services, family gatherings, eggs, bunnies and lots of fun. Families make the most of the opportunity to spend time together and perhaps spend time outdoors to welcome spring. Easter is a celebration of religious significance with many Americans attending church on Easter Sunday; others only celebrate with the non religious traditions.

Chocolate bunnies and eggs of all sizes in colorful foil wrappings are a favorite part of Easter in the US. Early on Easter Sunday morning, while the children are sleeping the Easter Bunny delivers Easter baskets. Each child receives an Easter basket filled with chocolate treats usually in the form of bunnies, chicks, and eggs. Sometimes children receive small toys, books, or stuffed animals in their Easter baskets. Sometimes the basket is hidden and children need to look for them. Other families have Easter egg hunts where hardboiled eggs, chocolate eggs or plastic eggs filled with chocolates are hidden in the house or garden for excited children to run around and find.

The Easter Bunny is a huge part of Easter in the United States. The Easter Bunny is usually shown as a big, white, rabbit wearing clothes. During Easter time, there are tons of decorations with the Easter Bunny, sometimes breakfasts where children can meet the Easter Bunny and often times you can go to the mall and have your picture taken with him. Another popular tradition is decorating Easter Eggs. Many families boil eggs and use dye to make them beautiful colors. Sometimes people even put designs on them with crayons, stickers, or different colors of dye.

Hot cross buns are also another Easter treat popular with Americans. They are sweet, spiced buns made with dried fruit. A cross, (the symbol of Christ) usually made from a mixture of flour and water is put on top of the buns. The buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday and taste best hot with plenty of butter.

Easter is also a time of various events with the most well known held on the White House lawn in Washington DC. The President and his family host the Easter Egg Roll on Easter Monday (the day after Easter.) This is a game where kids have to race use a spoon to move an egg from one point to another. Many celebrities are invited to the event. Many singers give concerts and actors as well as the President himself read stories to the kids.

Thank you again , Liz, for this wondeful post about your hometown.

Buffalo is a city located in western New York. It is located on the shore of Lake Erie and the Niagara River and only a short drive to Ontario, Canada. It is the 2nd largest city in the state of New York after New York City; because of this Buffalo’s nickname is The Queen City. There are a little more than 260,000 people living in the city.

 Why Buffalo?

When you hear the word “buffalo” people often think of an animal, the bison. However, if you have ever been to Buffalo NY, you can see that there are no bison to be found. Many people believe that the name Buffalo comes from the French words “beau fleuve” or “beautiful river,” which was probably given to the area when French explorers found it on the Niagara River.

History

For centuries, the Iroquois and Seneca Native American tribes lived in the area that is now called Buffalo. After colonization and industry became popular in the 1700s Buffalo became an important city for trading because of its location on the water and extensive railroad system. Many steel mills and other factories were located in Buffalo, so by 1900 it was the 8th largest city in the USA. Nowadays, Buffalo is considered a small city and its main industries are education and health care. Buffalo is home to many universities and people come from all around New York, Pennsylvania, and southern Canada to attend the colleges in Buffalo.
Things to do in Buffalo

Buffalo has many things to do both inside and outside. In the winter Buffalo is cold and snowy, with average winter temperatures at about -5 degrees Celsius and about 250cm of snow each winter. Therefore, there are many resorts where people can go skiing, snowboarding, sledding, and ice skating. You can also go to the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Shea’s Performing Arts Center to see a play, or Kleinhans Music Hall to see a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert. There are also many malls, movie theaters, and restaurants to go to.

In the summer Buffalo is warm and humid, with average temperatures at about 25 degrees. Buffalo has a beautiful waterfront, where you can walk in the park by the marina, go to the beach, or go to Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls are the world famous waterfalls that form the border between the United States and Canada. The Horseshoe Falls (Canadian part) are the most powerful waterfalls in North America. While at Niagara Falls you can ride on the Maid of the Mist boat and look up at the falls or walk on a wooden path on the rocks below the American Falls which is called Cave of the Winds.

 Sports

Buffalo residents are passionate sports fans. They “eat, sleep, and breathe” Buffalo sports. Buffalo has 2 major league sports teams, an American football team, the Buffalo Bills, and an ice hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres. All the games of both teams can be seen on TV. The majority of the games are sold-out, which means all of the tickets to see the game played have been sold. The Bills went to the Super Bowl 4 times in a row, but have lost all four times. The Sabres went to the Stanley Cup finals twice, but also lost both times. Even though Buffalo teams have never won a major title, their fans never give up, always thinking “there’s always next year,” and remain positive and hopeful that the following year will be a luckier one for the Buffalo teams.

 Buffalo’s claim to fame

Buffalo is a city rich in culture. There are many different people with various heritages from all over the world such as Italian, German, Irish, Polish, Greek, Hispanic, Jewish, Indian, and African American. Buffalo’s cuisine reflects the mixture of cultures it has. There are many restaurants devoted to each type of food as well as many restaurants that serve a mixture of all types.

Buffalo is also famous for many “American” foods such as chicken wings. Chicken wings were 1st served in Anchor Bar in 1964 and are now served in restaurants around the world. There is even the National Buffalo Wing Festival in which all the local restaurants cook their wings so everyone can try a little bit of each type. When you come visit Buffalo make sure to taste our pizza, Sahlen’s hot dogs, beef on weck sandwiches, sponge candy, and pastry hearts, foods that you can only find in Buffalo.

I want to thank  Elisabeth Knittel for her contribution to this blog . This article is hers and I can only hope it is not the only post she writes in this blog.

Time to wake up! Time for school! Today is the first day of high school, the first day of ninth grade. This will be my school for the next four years until I am 18 years old. Oh, how I miss middle school where I went everyday for the past 2 years, from 7th grade to 8th grade. Today I have to hurry so I don´t miss the school bus.

When I arrive, I go to my locker to get my books and supplies for my classes.

Then, I go to my homeroom,which is where the teacher takes attendance everyday and we listen to the school announcements and news over the loudspeaker.  After the principal talks about the upcoming school activities and events we all stand, face the flag, (there is one in every classroom) put our hands over our hearts and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

After the Pledge, we all go to our first class.  I will miss my friend, Mary, because we have different schedules and I will not see her until lunch.  I have 9 classes that are 40 minutes each every day and because I am a freshman, I have to take math, science, history, art, English, gym (physical education), and foreign language.  I also have a study hall, which is one free period to do homework, study, or chat with my friends.  However, when I am a sophomore, junior, and senior, I will take history, English, and gym and choose if I would like to continue the other subjects or even pick if I would like to take classes that will help me become things such as a hair stylist, accountant, hotel manager, or mechanic.

My favorite part of the day is lunch.  It is usually half way through the day and I get to see my friend Mary and many other people.  We can either bring our lunch from home or buy it in the school cafeteria for $2 and it includes the main course, fruit, vegetable, potato, dessert and milk…what a bargain!

After lunch we go back to class until 2:30.  We might even have a fire drill.  This is when we practice what to do and where to go if there is a fire in our school.  Then some of the students go home, some of them even have jobs so they have to go to work.
When school ends, I will stay after for volleyball practice.  There are many different school sports teams that students are a part of including basketball, football, soccer, and cheerleading.  Many students also stay after for choir practice or play practice.  We will probably be at school until 6:00 and then I will go home for dinner.  Well, that´s all for now!  I can´t wait for my high school career to begin!

Homeroom-group of students
Pledge of Allegiance-speech American students say everyday stating their nation’s beliefs
study hall–free time to do homework and study
freshman-1^st year of high school
sophomore-2^nd year of high school
junior–3^rd year of high school
senior-4^th year of high school
bargain-great price
fire drill-practice for a fire

I would like ,once more, to thank  Beth Reddish for agreeing to guest post in this blog  and let us have a glimpse  of what she knows so well. I’m quite sure that by the time you finish reading her article you’d wish to be holidaying in Cape Cod.

MAY “beginning of tourist season”

Memorial Day is a US federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May, and is the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, known on-cape as tourist season. Memorial Day honors the memory of the many Americans who died fighting in wars for their country, and because of this, many people visit cemeteries and memorials on this day. Since it is a three-day weekend, or long weekend, many people travel or have parties.

-JUNE-

School usually ends during the third week in June. On the Cape, kids and young adults spend their summer working odd jobs at restaurants, ice cream shops, in retail, as beach guards or lifeguards, on fishing boats, and more. They spend their free time at the swimming, surfing, skimboarding, or sunbathing at the beach, having barbecues or “cook-outs,” going to bonfires, at summer camp, at sports camp, and hanging out with friends. While tourist season starts in May, most people start coming to the Cape in June. Cape Cod’s economy is based highly on tourism and fishing, so the summer months are very important.

– JULY-  “high-season”

Independence Day, or the Fourth of July, is a very important holiday in the United States. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, declaring US independence from Great Britain. On July 4th and the weekends that surround it, people celebrate with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies. Many people choose to wear red, white, and blue.
♥ Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on the 4th of July.

Fourth of July fireworks, Northside Marina, Dennis, MA

– AUGUST –
August is the month when the tourists start to pack up and leave for their homes. The people that stay through September are generally rich couples without children, as the children have to start preparing to return to school.

– SEPTEMBER -“end of season”

Labor Day is a holiday that is celebrated on the first Monday in September. Labor Day is considered “the end of summer” by most people, who use the long weekend to enjoy their last days of summer. People have picnics, barbecues, set off fireworks, and play water sports.
♥In high-society, Labor Day is considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable for women to wear white.
♥Nauset Regional High School in Eastham, MA always starts on the Thursday after Labor Day, as do many schools.