O Holy Night

We just learned about the Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Another famous Christmas song is O Holy Night.

The words for this song were first written in 1843 by a French poet named Placide Cappeau.
In Roquemare France the church organ had been fixed, and the priest asked Placide to write a poem to celebrate.
In French the poem started with the words "Minuit, chrétiens! c'est l'heure solennelle" which means "Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour".

In 1847 a musician named Adolphe Adam wrote the music to go with the poem.
After it became famous in France, it was later written in English by John Sullivan Dwight in 1855.

The song was very popular in parts of America during the Civil War with people who thought slavery was bad,
because of the words from the song: "Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,"

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices! O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming; With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand:
So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here come the wise men from Orient land,
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our friend;
He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger! Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King! before him bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, And in his name all oppression shall cease,
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we; Let all within us praise his Holy name!
Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we! His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!


(from: wikipedia - o holy night)



Josh Groban - O Holy Night [with lyrics] - Worship Videos


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Michelangelo

We just learned about the Anatomical Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Another one of the most famous artists of all time is Michelangelo.

His full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, and he was born in Italy in the area now called Tuscany.
The family moved to another town called Settignano right after he was born, where his father owned a farm and a marble quarry.
When he was only 6 years old his mother died, so he was raised by his father, a nanny, and the nanny's husband.
Michelangelo said that part of the reason he was good at sculpting was because he grew up learning to use a chisel and hammer at the marble quarry.

When he was about 13 he moved to Florence for school, but was only interested in art, and was given a job as an apprentice to Domenico Ghirlandaio, the artist who painted the walls of the Sistine Chapel.
Many years later Michelangelo would be hired to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

After making some sculptures Michelangelo later made the very famous sculpture of Pietà with Jesus being held by his mother Mary.
That sculpture helped people see how good of an artist he was, and helped him get people to hire him so he could become one of the greatest artists of all time.


(from: wikipedia - michelangelo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Richard Yates - Albin Polasek

Swahili - Fruits

We just learned how to say some things to drink in Swahili.

Let's learn how to say some fruits.

apple tufaha - sounds like too-fah-hah 文A

orange machungwa - sounds like mah-ch-un-g-wah 文A

banana ndizi - sounds like n-dee-zee 文A



(from: wikipedia - swahili language)

Russian: яблоко (yabloko), апельсин (apel'sin), банан (banan)

Norwegian: eple, appelsin, banan

Greek: μήλο (mílo), πορτοκάλι (portokáli), μπανάνα (banána)

ASL: apple, orange, banana

Italian: mela, orange, banana

German: Apfel, Orange, Banane

Spanish: manzana, naranja, banana

French: pomme, orange, banane

Pixel

We just learned about the Computer Monitor.

Another part of a computer monitor is a Pixel.

The picture that you see on a computer monitor is made up of thousands or millions of little dots that can change color to show different pictures.
Each one of these tiny dots is called a pixel, which is short for "picture element".

On some old computers monitors, the pixels were big and looked like little squares or blocks used to make pictures.
Now the pixels are so tiny they can show pictures on computer monitors showing people and places that look just like the real thing.


(from: wikipedia - pixel)


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Bald Uakari

We just learned about the Azara's Night Monkey.

Another type of new world monkey is the Bald Uakari.

This type of monkey has a bright red face and a bald head.
It lives in South America, spending most of its life in the trees.

Bald Uakari monkeys grow to be about 7 pounds and 18 inches long, and eat mostly fruits, nuts and bugs.
Even though their red face and bald head look weird, a healthy red face means that this type of monkey is healthy!



(from: wikipedia - bald uakari)



Red-Faced, Hairless and Handsome: Meet the Bald Uakari Monkey - Great Big Story

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Napolean Cat

Ear Hair Cells

We just learned about the Cochlea.

Another part of the ear is the Hair Cells.

Inside the Cochlea are tiny microscopic hairs that move when sound hits them.
When these hairs move, the part of the body they are attached to lets out some chemicals.
Those chemicals then touch some other cells in the body which let out electricity.
That electricity sends the message to the brain that the body heard a sound.

Depending on how loud, soft, high or low the sound is, the hairs will wiggle differently,
and that will send different chemicals and different electricity to the brain to tell you what sounds you are hearing.


(from: wikipedia - hair cell)


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Vietnam

We just learned about the country of Turkmenistan

Let's learn a little about the country of Vietnam, also called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Vietnam is a small country in Asia, about 128,000 square miles, with about 96 million people liveing there.
It borders China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Phillippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and the South China Sea.


(from: wikipedia - vietnam)

The flag of Vietnam is a red background with a yellow star.
The red is for battle, and the yellow is for the different types of workers in Vietnam.


(from: wikipedia - flag of vietnam)

To eat in Vietnam you might have bún chả, which is pork with noodles served over rice noodles and dipping sauce.
The word bún means noodles and chả means pork.


(from: wikipedia - bun cha)

Visiting Vietnam you might go see Ban Gioc-Detian Falls, some big waterfalls in the country.

(from: wikipedia - ban gioc–detian falls)

Rice farming is a very important business in Vietnam, and rice is grown there in what are called terraces, that look like stairs.

(from: wikipedia - sa pa)


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