Language and culture are complex, fascinating and eye-opening. Christmas provides some lovely examples of this.
Santa Claus, for instance, has different names around the world, and may be male or female, jolly or serious, portly or thin, come down the chimney or through the front door, arrive on different days, and travel alone or accompanied.
Check out the following for starters - Père Noël and his sinister sidekick Le Père Fouettard in France, the female Befana in Italy, the pagan Jultomte in Sweden, the diminutive Ded Moroz in Russia, and the 13 Santas or ‘Yule Lads’ in Iceland.
And what about the food!
All kinds of delicious and not so delicious fare graces tables around the world. Here are some traditional Christmas Sweets from around Europe to try out this year:
France: Buche de Noel (a large sponge roll)
Spain: Nougat (made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts)
Italy: Panettone (sweet bread loaf originally from Milan)
Sweden: Pepparkakor (heart-star and goat-shaped gingerbread biscuit)
Germany: Lebkuchen (large cookies made of honey)
And let’s not forget the good old British Christmas pud of course!
Learn More on our 2013 Courses
Language cannot be taught without culture. On International House courses, our native speaker teachers will introduce you to lots of wonderful cultural insights throughout the courses they teach. Not only will you communicate in the language, but you will get inside the language too.
So, why not learn a language in 2013? Our next evening and Saturday courses begin on January 7th – book your course today.
Merry Christmas!
And that’s it for this year. All that’s left for us to say is…
IH London was founded in 1959, and is a world leader in language teaching and teacher training. We stand for quality, integrity and innovation, with over 8,000 students learning with us every year.
We know you need the very best teaching, the most inspirational environment, and the most enjoyable experience.
You want to learn in a place where you really belong.
