December is a busy month in Colombia. Many schools close early in the month, and everyone gets ready to celebrate “la Navidad” with friends and family. Everything starts on December 7th with “La Noche de la Velitas,”a night for everyone to celebrate la Inmaculada Concepcion. You will find candles in many houses, and they will stay lit all, night and the celebration continues until December 8th.
From December 16 to the 24th, many families gather to recite prayers and sing Christmas songs next to the Nativity scence. This is called “Las Novenas” because it lasts nine days.
December 24th is a family night, when everyone awaits with joy the rebirth of “El Niño Jesús.” People share Colombian treats such as natilla, brevas, and manjar blanco to celebrate. The children that attended all the novenas without missing a might will get presents from the family hosting the celebration. This is the most important night when people stay up waiting for Niños Dios to arrive. Children have to go to bed before midnight to be able to receive their presents.
December 25th is the day when the children celebrate opening the presents “El Niño Jesús” left next to the Nativity scene, the Christmas tree, or under the bed.
All these celebrations lead to December 28th, “El Día de los Inocentes,”a day that is similar to April Fools in the United States. It is a day filled with jokes and fun.
And on December 31st everyone gets excited about the New Year and the resolutions it brings. Año Viejosare built in many places to leave the bad things from the previous year behind and make a new start. They are be burned at 12:00am. The five minutes before the year ends are crucial and frantic, withyellow underwear for good luck, suitcases filled to go around the block (to ensure you travel much), a dollar bill in your pocket (you probably get the reason for this one), 12 grapes with 12 wishes or resolutions, and many other exciting and fun thing for a new start to a new year.
January 6th is usually not a big day in Colombia, but it is in other countries like Spain. In Colombia, it’s the date that marks the end of the Christmas season which means it’s time to put away the pesebre for next year!
Every year on December 7th, Colombia celebrates “La Noche de las Velitas” (also known as El Día de las Velitas), a night filled with candles and joy to celebrate Virgin Mary. This night also marks the beginning of all Christmas activities in Colombia.
What a good opportunity to bring some culture to your Spanish classes. Use a map and invite your students to find Colombia. You can also use Google Earth to make the trip more interactive and use a play passport for the trip. Share with them some information about this important celebration. Here are some useful resources for teachers to learn about the celebration:
Teaching about zoo animals is one of my favorite units. This time, I visited the zoo in Cali, Colombia, and I collected a few videos of animals native to Colombia and South America. Comparing the various zoos that I have visited in different countries and cities in the US, the Cali zoo is by far my favorite. Not that I’m biased or anything! But, seriously, it is first rate. First of all, the weather is great and makes it possible for the zoo to have species from all over the world. The zoo is very well organized and has plenty of information for visitors to learn about each species. Any self-respecting zoo has a lion, a jaguar, and a bear, but this zoo also has Andean condors, Andean spectacled bears, and monkeys that are endemic to, or can only be found in, Colombia.
To use these videos and pictures, I advise you to first take a virtual trip to Cali, Colombia, using Google Earth. Then, download the map of the zoo and plan your visit with your students. On the zoo’s website you can find some pictures and videos of some of their animals.
Here are a few videos I took during my recent visit to the zoo. Feel free to share them with your students! Teaching with authentic resources always gets the children excited about the language and different cultures.
el cóndor de los Andes
la guacamaya
la llama
el mono
el oso de anteojos
Have fun visiting the zoo!
Carolina
All the videos and pictures here are property of Fun for Spanish Teachers and are available for classroom use only. Please contact me directly if you wish to use them in a different way. If you use them in a blog post you must give credit to my site www.FunforSpanishTeachers.com
Every year when I travel to Colombia to visit my family, I try to take as many pictures and short videos as I can to share with my students in my classes. They are always curious to know about Colombia and always get very excited to see what I have to share with them. I’ve taken a few of those videos and pictures and am sharing them with you here so you can share them with your students too!
The supermarket is always a very fun and interesting unit, especially because I love teaching about a variety of fruits that are common in Colombia but not so well-known in most of North America. It is also an opportunity for students to compare the markets in their own cultural settings and that of Colombia. We have traditional markets where small, family farmers travel to the big cities to bring fresh products, but we also have supermarkets like Carrefour, Exito, and La 14. On this trip, I took a video in a Carrefour supermarket in Cali, Colombia. I am always very excited about the amounts of fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables I can find at great prices. You can find everything you need in a supermarket here – fresh food, clothes, everything you need for school, refrigetators, iPads, computers, etc. You don’t need to go to different places, you will find everything in one place!
A Mall in Cali, Colombia
Picture: los tomates
Picture: los bananos y los aguacates
Picture: la piña
Picture: la sandia y la guanabana
Picture: el mango
Picture: la papaya
Have fun teaching in Spanish!
Carolina
The pictures here are property of Fun for Spanish Teachers and are available for classroom use only. Please contact me directly if you wish to use them in a different way. If you use them in a blog post you must give credit to my site www.FunforSpanishTeachers.com
At this time of the school year we are looking for fun and quick lessons to use in our classrooms. This is very simple and provides you and your students with a window on a small piece of a very diverse culture.
Many towns and cities in Colombia have their own celebrations during the year. The last celebration of the year happens in Cali, the city where I grew up. Every year from December 25th to 30th the city hosts “La Feria de Cali“, a big celebration – like a carnival – that attracts people from different parts of the world. It is a celebration where the Caleño culture is on exhibit. From Salsa singers to horse lovers, there are many types of people and activities to celebrate, and it appeals to people of all ages. The city is decorated with big and beautiful lights, and every neighborhood gets ready to party and celebrate before the year ends. The first day of the Feria opens with a big Cabalgata (horseback parade). When the Cabalgata ends, people fan out to different spots in the city to dance and be with friends.
