National Sovereignty and Children’s Day

The Grand National Assembly founded in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, on the 23^rd of April, 1920, during the Independence War. The founder of Turkish Republic, Ataturk, dedicated this day to Turkish children. April 23 has been celebrated as National Sovereignty and Children’s Day in Turkey since that day. It was one of the biggest national festivals in Turkey. UNICEF has also decided to recognize this day as the International Children's Day.

April 23 is one of the national cornerstones in the history of Turkish Republic. It was on the 23^rd of April that Turkish intellectual people declared that Turkish people had always been independent and opened National Assembly. Ataturk dedicated this sovereignty day to the children as he thought that the protection of sovereignty and independence were in the hands of the youth and children.

Every year, the children in Turkey celebrate thisday as a national holiday. Students, governors and soldiers participate in ceremonies in schools and stadiums.  In theGrand National Assembly, children represent the president, the prime minister and other cabinet ministers for one day.

 During festival, the foreign children are housed in Turkey  and interact with Turkish children and learn about each other's cultures. The foreign children groups also participate in ceremonies. Through these activities, it is aimed to show the importance of international peace and brotherhood.

We have foreign guests from Holland and Croatia in our school for this year’s Children’s Day Festival nowadays. We are participating in a lot of activities together and share our cultures. They are also performing in our ceremonies (see the pictures).  We want to see you as well in Turkey next year to interact and SHARE!

Written by Turkish Students

Carnation Revolution

25^th of April 1974 is the date of a Portuguese revolution, known by “carnation revolution”, whose main responsibility belongs to the Portuguese people and military forces.
The Portuguese people were indignant with the dictatorship that Salazar* had imposed on their country, since the years of 1930, and that Marcelo Caetano* continued. Therefore, the population fought for democracy.
The end of the dictatorship regime began at 25^th of April's dawn, with the action and leadership of the “armed forces movement” (AFM or MFA, in Portuguese).
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was the army man who coordinated the military preparation for it. Things were made easy because he had the Army support, around all the country, and the Air Force and Navy decided to stay neutral.
Besides that, the Government yielded peacefully to the Army’s desires and, since then, was created a democratic regime in Portugal.

* – Portuguese politicians.

Authors

Diogo Gomes

Diogo Fonseca

Carnival

Carnival is a traditional feast from eastern cultures (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy…) that has its roots in Christian traditions. It involves a public parade and street party where people wear dresses or masks, dance and have fun.

It is usually celebrated during three days just before Lent starts. In Christian tradition, Lent is a period of the liturgical year that starts on Ash Wednesday and lasts forty days. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for the annual commemoration of Jesus’ death and resurrection during the Holy Week. Therefore people pray and fast.

According to some experts, the name Carnival comes from the Latin expression carne vale, which means farewell to meat, signifying that those were the last days when one could eat meat before Lent.

Other scholars think that the name Carnival existed before Lent's creation. In there opinion the word would come from carrus navalis, wich is navy car, referring to the spring festivities where adorned wooden boats were used in parades.

Carnival is a feast of fun that we enjoy a lot!

On the picture you can see a mask made at school this year and pubblished by school library's blog.

Authoresses
Mariana Maximiano
Mariana Talefe