DIPPY THE DIPLODOCUS ROARS INTO CARDIFF!
DIPPY THE DIPLODOCUS ROARS INTO CARDIFF!
DIPPY THE DIPLODOCUS ROARS INTO CARDIFF!
‘Dippy’ the Diplodocus has arrived at the National Museum in Cardiff as part of its United Kingdom (UK) tour. The famous skeleton had lived in London’s Natural History Museum since 1905 but is now staying in Wales until the 26th January.
Dippy is a cast (or copy) of a Diplodocus skeleton that was
discovered in Wyoming, United States of America in
1898. It consists of 292 bones and is 21.3m long, 4.3m
wide and 4.25m tall.
As Dippy tours around the UK the hope is that it will
encourage adults and children to take an interest in
natural history and inspire them to look at collections in
their local area. The National Museum Cardiff will be
holding an exciting programme of events as part of
Dippy on Tour. Visitors will be able to marvel at Dippy
himself, visit the various natural history exhibits and
come face to face with dinosaurs and creatures of all
sorts.
Entrance to the museum is FREE to all!
A CHRISTMAS ELECTION 
A CHRISTMAS ELECTION
A CHRISTMAS ELECTION
Traditionally, general elections are held during the spring or summer months. The weather is better, and more people go to the polling stations to vote. But parliament has announced that a general election will take place on Thursday, 12th December. This election will be the first winter election in almost a 100 years.
But what is a General Election?
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have
been divided into 650 areas - these areas are called
constituencies. Each constituency has a person - a
Member of Parliament, who represents that area in the
House of Commons, the parliament in London.
Everyone who is 18 or over, has the right to vote to say
who they think should be their Member of Parliament.
Putting an x on the ballot paper.
At the polling station, a paper will be issued - this is the
ballot paper. On it will be a list of all the candidates,
and a box opposite the candidate's name. To vote, a
cross must be put in the box opposite the candidate
which you wish to vote for.
This is done secretly, no one will know who you vote
for. This is very important, it means that everyone is
free to vote as they wish.
What happens next?
When polling day is over, all the ballot boxes are taken to the same building, then the important work of counting votes happens. The candidate with the most votes wins, and that candidate will take his or her seat in the House of Commons.
NEW STORY!
Just an old sock?
PAGE 3
HIBERNATION
Let's stay under the duvet!
PAGE 6
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
When did some of the Christmas traditions begin?
PAGE 7
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DATES FOR THE DIARY
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World Toilet DayThe purpose of this day is to raise awareness about worldwide sanitation and aim for having toilet facilities for all by 2030. Today 4.2 billion people live without toilets, which causes sadness, suffering and endangers lives. |
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS:
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Advent1st December is the beginning of ADVENT, which is a time of ‘waiting’ for Christmas in churches. This can mean opening the doors of advent calendars, lighting candles and holding special services in church. During this time many children attend the Christingle service. In this service children receive a specially decorated orange with a candle in it. |
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Hanukkah 2019Hanukkah is the Jewish ‘Festival of Lights’ and people of the Jewish faith all over the world celebrate by lighting candles on the menorah (one every night), eating special food, singing special songs and holding parties. This year Hanukah begins at sundown on Sunday, 22nd December and ends at sundown on Monday, 30th December .
Menorah candlestick |
FANTASTIC FACTS ABOUT THE TURKEY:
FANTASTIC FACTS ABOUT THE TURKEY:
FANTASTIC FACTS ABOUT THE TURKEY:
- Only the male (boy) turkey makes the ‘gobble-gobble’ sound.
- The piece of skin at the bottom of a turkey’s neck turns red when the bird is stressed or looking for a mate.
- A turkey has excellent eyesight but a very poor sense of smell
- Turkeys have two stomachs.
- Americans eat 45 million turkeys at Thanksgiving every year
- Every year the American President is presented with a turkey, who is then given a ‘pardon’ by him. This means the turkey gets to live the rest of its life on a farm rather than ending up on a Thanksgiving dinner plate.
- King Henry VIII was the first to eat turkey for Christmas dinner
- It was only in the 1950’s that turkey became more popular than goose for Christmas dinner.
- Around 10 million turkeys are eaten in the UK over Christmas.
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Christmas EveTuesday |
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Christmas DayWednesday |
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Boxing DayThursday |
A Dip in the Sea?
On Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day it’s traditional in many locations to take a dip in the sea or in a Lake. One of the most famous of these events is the annual swim in the Serpentine lake in London on Christmas Day, where swimmers sometimes have to break the ice on the surface of the
lake before going in! There are many of these types of events throughout Wales, including in Porthcawl on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day in Tenby, Llandudno and Penbrey and on New Year’s Day in Abersoch. The aim of many of these events is to raise money for charity and wearing fancy dress adds to the fun!
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Guto Nyth Brân Race (New Year’s Eve)This race has been run in the town of Mountain Ash since 1958. The race is held to remember the famous Welsh runner ‘Guto Nyth Brân’ who lived in the area in the early 1700’s. Before the race begins a service is held at Llanwynno church and a wreath is laid on the grave of Guto Nyth Brân in the cemetery. The race finish is in the town centre near the statue of Guto himself. Every year a ‘mystery runner’ competes in the race and in past years has included Linford Christie, Iwan Thomas and Lillian Board! 
Statue of Guto Nyth Brân in Mountain Ash. |
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Epiphany5th or 6th January. This is the 12th day after Christmas and the end of the festivities. Traditionally this is the day when Christmas decorations are taken down. This day is also associated with old Welsh customs and traditions such as Hela Dryw Bach (Hunting the Little Wren) the Mari Lwyd and the Winter Solstice celebrations. |
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JUST AN
OLD SOCK?
JUST AN OLD SOCK?
JUST AN OLD SOCK?
Tom loved Christmas and everything was almost as usual. The Christmas lights twinkled on the tree, colourful patterns reflected onto the window panes. Outside in the front garden, the model deer was illuminated. However, this year,
all was not exactly how it should be. The space near the fireplace, still looked bare without the basket. Every Christmas Eve, Tom would hang an old sock on the hook above the basket. Father Christmas would always leave something in it - a ball
perhaps, or a biscuit or a soft toy. The space was empty, the basket was gone, and Tom couldn't find the old grey sock. Dad had probably thrown it out. Tom had rummaged through the Christmas box that Dad had carried down from the attic. He took out the tinsel and put it on the tree, he then took each delicate bauble out, and carefully balanced them on the branches. Then he took out the Father Christmas soft toy, he examined it, and smiled sadly. Its cap was riddled with tiny holes, teeth marks. Tom put the last decorations up and went off to bed. He lay there, thinking. Of course, he was excited, he loved Christmas, but this year something was missing. 'The following morning Tom got up and opened the curtain. He could just make out a shape underneath the apple tree in the
garden. Dad had helped him plant snowdrops there to remind them of a special friend. Today Tom could see that one snowdrop had already managed to poke its white head out of the earth. Downstairs his breakfast was waiting. Behind the cereal box, something grey and tatty hid. 'Shall we put it on the tree?' asked Dad. Tom hung the old sock there on one of the branches, and stroked the small, red stitches that spelled the name 'GELERT'. Dad hugged Tom and said, 'I thought it best to put it up as usual.'
You will need:
- Paper plate or white card
- Red card or paper
- Paint, crayons or felt pens
to colour with - White paper
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Paper plate or white card
- Red card or paper
- Paint, crayons
or felt pens
to colour with - White paper
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Paper plate or white card
- Red card or paper
- Paint, crayons
or felt pens
to colour with - White paper
- Scissors
- Stapler
ADVENT SANTA
This is a fun way of marking the time of ADVENT and counting down to Christmas using Santa’s beard. His beard is formed of 25 circles, so on December the 1st you snip one circle off and keep cutting another one off every day. By 25th December Santa’s beard will have all gone!
ADVENT SANTA
This is a fun way of marking the time of ADVENT and counting down to Christmas using Santa’s beard. His beard is formed of 25 circles, so on December the 1st you snip one circle off and keep cutting another one off every day. By 25th December Santa’s beard will have all gone!
ADVENT SANTA
This is a fun way of marking the time of ADVENT and counting down to Christmas using Santa’s beard. His beard is formed of 25 circles, so on December the 1st you snip one circle off and keep cutting another one off every day. By 25th December Santa’s beard will have all gone!
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NATIONAL LIBRARY BUYS ‘SALEM’ PAINTING
NATIONAL LIBRARY BUYS ‘SALEM’ PAINTING
NATIONAL LIBRARY BUYS ‘SALEM’ PAINTING
The painting ‘Salem’ by the artist Sydney Curnow Vosper is very famous. But Vosper also painted another version of the painting which is very, very similar to
the first one. This second version has been recently bought by the National Library of Wales. The first 'Salem' is exhibited in the
Lever Art Gallery near Liverpool but the second one will now be exhibited in Wales for the first time. This is very good news according to to Pedr ap Llwyd,
Chief Executive of the National Library:'
“…this is one of our national
treasures and I’m looking
forward to the opportunity of
sharing it with Wales and
beyond. It will be a pleasure to
be able to exhibit it and take it
out into the community, as part
of our Masterpiece in Schools
programme.”
The Painting’s History
The first ‘Salem’ was painted in 1908 and shows Sian Owen, Tyn-y-Fawnog arriving at the service in Salem Chapel, near Cwm Nantcol in Gwynedd. The original painting was bought by William Hesketh Lever, owner of the company ‘Sunlight Soap’. To help him sell more soap, Lever included special vouchers in his soap packets and people were able to collect the vouchers and receive a copy of the painting for their homes. As a result of this there were copies of ‘Salem’ to be seen in homes up and down the country.
The Devil in the Shawl
The painting became even more famous when some people noticed that you could see the face of the devil in the folds of Sian Owen’s shawl. According to the artist Curnow Vosper, he hadn’t intended to paint it at all.
The Traditional Welsh Black Hat:
The Traditional Welsh Black Hat:
The Traditional Welsh Black Hat:
The three women in the ‘Salem’ painting are all wearing the traditional Welsh black hat. Vosper painted the picture at the end of the Victorian era when
women did not actually wear this kind of hat in real life. Why do you think the artist has chosen to do this? Many modern Welsh artists have also chosen to show the traditional ‘Welsh Lady’ hat. Here is the work of Ruth Jên and Lowri Davies:
What do you think: a silly old-fashioned stereotype or an important tradition?
Name: Sara Davies
Job: Scarlets Rugby Team Manager
Work place: Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli
Typical Day:
We begin the day with a staff meeting, then I catch up with the players and check that they're ok. Then it's following up on e-mails, there are always travel
arrangements and schedules to organise, and calendar updates to do. I watch the training and help with the analysis. It's a long day, I work from 7:00a.m. to 6:00p.m.
Best things about your work:
• Working with a group of self
driven athletes
• Match day excitement
• Pressure
• Winning
Not so good:
• Seeing players get injured
• Losing
Why did you go into this work?
I've played rugby from the age of 8, and I always loved the game. I
was brought up going to watch Whitland RFC. When I went to university I played rugby for Cardiff Met and became involved in the off-field administration of the team, I really enjoyed it. When the job as a Rugby Administrator came up at the WRU, I applied, and was lucky enough to get the job. I love it
Tips:
• Work hard
• Be friendly
• Go the extra mile
• Get as much volunteering
experience as you can.
Literature Wales has announced that popular Pembrokeshire -based children’s author Eloise Williams is the first Children’s Laureate Wales. Her role will involve trying to engage and inspire the children of Wales (primarily ages 5-13) through literature;
Apply for a Children’s Laureate Wales visit here.
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What's your opinion?
It's Christmas time and many
people buy Christmas crackers.
However, many crackers use
plastic as packaging and the small
gifts inside are often made of
plastic. Should we then keep on
buying crackers?
What do you think?
BRAIN TWISTER
WISE WORDS FROM AUNTY DOT
The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter and the evenings are dark. Here are a few safety tips from Aunty Dot.
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It's cold, damp, and winter is here.
Do you sometimes feel like staying in bed and curling up
under the duvet? Well, it's not just you!
Hibernation
Some animals will sleep over the winter months. This is because food will be hard to find as green vegetation dies down and insects are scarce over winter. Some animals go into a deep sleep. They hibernate in order to conserve energy, so they will need less food.
Preparation
Some animals will prepare for their long sleep by feeding well during the weeks before they hibernate. Others will collect food and store it near where they will make their winter bed. They may wake, take some food and go back to sleep.
What happens during hibernation?
- body temperature drops
- breathing slows down
- heart rate drops
- the animals metabolism slows down (it needs less energy)
Animals which hibernate in Wales:
Dormice
Dormice hibernate underground in small nests. Before hibernating, they will feed until they are almost double their usual weight.
Bats
All the species found in Wales hibernate, this is because they feed on insects. They will snuggle up in tree hollows, caves or they might be dreaming under rafters in your home! Their heart rate will drop to around 20 per minute when deep in sleep.
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs need to hibernate as their main source of food is scarce in winter. They feed on beetles, worms and insects. Before hibernating they will feast on whatever food is available in order to get an extra layer of fat to help them keep alive over the cold months. Then the hedgehog will nestle down in its bed of leaves, or underneath a hedge.
If you come across a hibernating hedgehog - don't disturb it!
Clic-it Cymru has been able to interview one of Santa's helpers. What a star!
Name: Colin Corn
Age: Hmm - no comment!
School: Left school a long time ago.
Favourite subject at school?: Geography.
What is a typical day's
work?
I help Santa with all the lists –
there are so many to read. Then
we must find all the presents.
Following that we must make
sure that all the gifts go to the
correct destination. That's the
difficult part, because there are
so many presents to be
delivered, and Santa's store-room is full to the brim.
Then we must load
everything onto the sled, and lastly, we must make sure that the reindeer are ready – happy and healthy!
Hobbies:
Map reading. Sometimes the
Sat. Nav. freezes and stops
working. That's a huge problem
for us, so I plan every journey
and follow the map. That's how
Santa gets to the correct
locations every time.
How do you relax?
Where I live is very cold, so I like I've heard that the beaches of
Where will
you be in 10
years time?
Somewhere
between the
North and
South Poles!
HERE ARE SOME OF CHILDREN’S LAUREATE ELOISE WILLIAMS’ BOOKS.
IDEAL FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS STOCKING!
Lark struggles to settle when her family moves to a new site on the coast. Her mother is ill, her little sister has stopped speaking and she has fallen out with her best friend. Is a girl in a green dress following her in the fog? Or is her sister playing tricks on her? When a local woman tells her 'the girl' comes to take sisters, Lark knows only she can save her family.
When her parents send her to stay with a grandmother she hardly knows for the summer, Elen is furious. Gran lives on a tiny island and doesn't want her either - it's not an easy start. But after saving Gran in a storm, Elen finds a picture that she's sure is a clue to hidden treasure...
1899. Nansi's mother disappeared on the day she was fished out of Cardiff docks. She can't remember anything else. Now, with no family to turn to, she works for Sid at the Empire Theatre, trying to earn enough money to hire a detective to find her mother. Everything changes when Constance and Violet join the theatre company.
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Christmas is coming and we at Clic-it Cymru are getting into the festive spirit! The tree will be in its place by the beginning of December, the letter to Father Christmas written and posted. The traditional Christmas is a busy time. Some of these traditions come from pre-Christian times, but most of the present traditions come from the Victorian Era.
THE BEGINNING
OF MODERN
CHRISTMAS
THE BEGINNING
OF MODERN
CHRISTMAS
THE BEGINNING
OF MODERN
CHRISTMAS
Before the Victorian Era, Christmas was very
different. The New Year would be celebrated
by the giving and receiving of small gifts,
and children would go from house to house
singing good wishes for the year to come.
During the 1800s, life changed for many
people. Many young Welsh people worked
in the cities and towns, and with the coming
of the railway, they were able to return home
for Christmas. For their families, that was a
great reason to celebrate.
During the Victorian Era, industries
developed and machinery was able to
produce decorations, cards and other
merchandise for selling. Production for the
Christmas market had begun.
Did you know?
Back in the 4th century, Pope Julius I decided on 25th of December as Christmas Day..
Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria came from Germany. In Germany it was a tradition to bring an evergreen tree into the house on Christmas Eve. A drawing of the Royal Family was published in 1848, showing the family standing beside a decorated tree. That started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree. It was then decorated with ribbons, nuts, fruit and candles.
MIDWINTER
CELEBRATIONS
MIDWINTER
CELEBRATIONS
MIDWINTER
CELEBRATIONS
Before Christian times, people would celebrate midwinter by feasting. Evergreen branches would be used to decorate homes and dwellings. Once the shortest day had passed (21st of December) everyone would be relieved to see the days getting longer again. In the middle of a bleak winter, it was good to see that spring would follow soon. We still use evergreen plants to decorate our homes.
SAINT NICHOLAS
Saint Nicholas came from Turkey. According to tradition, he was a kind-hearted man, especially towards children. One story tells of him dropping a small bag of gold down the chimney of a poor family. Could this be the first Father Christmas?
CHRISTMAS CARDS
- 1840 - Penny Post, the first postage stamp to be used
- 1843 - Sir Henry Cole, a businessman from London sent the first Christmas card to his friends
- 1850s - post boxes were first seen on our streets
- 1880s - 5 million Christmas cards were sent
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A tradition held during the time of advent (the 24 days before Christmas) is the Christmas Market, or the *Christkindlmarkt as it’s known in Germany. This tradition began in Germany during the Middle Ages but is by now popular in all parts of Europe, including here in Wales. In a traditional market there are wooden stalls selling all sorts of things, such as ginger biscuits called Lebkuchen, hot mulled
wine called Glüwein and wooden Nussknacker toys. The most popular Christmas markets are in large German cities such as Frankfurt, Dortmund and Cologne and attract millions of visitors every year.
*Christkindlmarkt
Meaning ‘Christ Child
Market’
Here are some Christmas markets held here in Wales, how about visiting one near you?
FOOD BANKS
FOOD BANKS
FOOD BANKS
THINKING OF OTHERS OVER CHRISTMAS TIME
According to the charity Save the Children, around 200,000 children in Wales live in poverty, that’s I child in every 3.
The Trussell Trust is a charity that supports over 1,200 food banks throughout Britain. Food banks provide food for people in crisis and who need help to have enough to eat. It’s possible to donate to a Food Bank at your local supermarket, so if you’re shopping over the Christmas period why not buy one thing extra to give to the food bank?
FOOTBALL EURO 2020
FOOTBALL EURO 2020
FOOTBALL EURO 2020
With victories against Azerbaijan and Hungary in the last two games, Wales have secured their place in the Euro 2020 championship finals next year. This is the second time in four years for Wales to qualify for a major tournament - and the first for Ryan Giggs as manager in hist first full campaign. Well done Wales! The championship will start on 12th June, 2020.
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