Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The holiday is also commonly celebrated by non-Christian and non-religious people. The Muslim holiday Ramadan, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, and the African American holiday Kwanzaa are also celebrated in December.

Christmas Day falls on the 25th of December, around the same time as the winter solstice, when we have the longest night and the shortest day.

Captions 11-13, Holidays and Seasons with Sigrid: Sights and Scents at Christmastime

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The timing of many December holidays has roots in pagan winter solstice festivals.

Melchior took gold, Gaspar, frankincense, and Balthazar, myrrh.

Caption 13, Children's Books Read Aloud: The Story of the Three Wise Kings

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Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar were kings who, according to the Christian Bible, visited the infant Christ with gifts. Frankincense and myrrh are aromatic wood resins that can be used in the making of perfumes. Today, these may not seem as valuable as gold, but in the ancient world, they were considered to be treasures worthy of royalty.

You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Caption 17, A Charlie Brown Christmas: True Meaning

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"Swaddling" is an antiquated word meaning strips of cloth, which in the old days were used to keep babies warm and restrict their movements. Today, it's almost exclusively used when referring to clothes worn by the infant Jesus. A "manger" is a box used in a stable to feed animals, but in the case of Jesus, his parents Mary and Joseph were so poor that they used a manger as a crib.

So just keep kissing me under the mistletoe...

Caption 20, Ed Sheeran: Merry Christmas ft. Elton John

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To get to some less religious Christmas traditions: Mistletoe is a plant with green leaves and berries, which is often found hanging above doorways at Christmas parties. Couples who find themselves standing under it are encouraged to kiss. Apparently, mistletoe was a fertility symbol in ancient times!

This is a traditional milk-based holiday drink. -What is eggnog? -Correct!

Caption 83, Delta's Holiday: In-Flight Safety Video

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Eggnog is indeed a milk-based drink that is traditionally offered during the Christmas holiday, but best beware: it tastes deceptively mild but may contain more alcohol than you expected!

And every mother's child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly.

Captions 12-13, Clean Bandit: Christmas Special

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The legendary figure of Santa Claus soars through the night skies in a sleigh powered by magical flying reindeer, delivering presents to children around the world. A reindeer is a type of deer found in the far northern regions of Europe, Russia, and the Americas. Sorry to have to say this, but  reindeer can't actually fly!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose.

Captions 4-5, Minidisco: Cartoons

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Rudolph is the most famous of Santa's reindeer, and he has the extra special magical power of a bright red glowing nose, which according to Christmas lore, helps light the way for Santa's sled on dark and stormy nights. This story first originated in a book in 1939.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Further Learning
Watch the videos above and search Yabla English for "Christmas" to find some more vocabulary related to the holiday. And regardless of your beliefs or non-beliefs, we at Yabla wish you all happy holidays!

Father's Day always falls on the third Sunday in June in the United States and the United Kingdom. This holiday was established in 1910 in the US state of Washington, and remains the most popular Father's Day date in the world. This year, Father's Day is on June 18th.

Most countries in the world celebrate Father's Day, as you can see on this map on Wikipedia Commons. In many places like the US and the UK, the date falls on a particular Sunday of the month. But in some countries, the date is fixed and the same every year. In some Hindu, Islamic, and Burmese cultures, it falls on a date that varies each year according to the lunar calendar.

Let's take a look today at some typical Father's Day traditions in the US and the UK. These might be the same as you do in your home country, but maybe they'll help give you some ideas for Father's Day this year anyway!

But it later became a permanent federal holiday.

Caption 34, Spotlight: Why Columbus Day?

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A federal holiday (called a "bank holiday" in the UK) is a holiday where most people have the day off from work and where, depending on the local laws, many shops, offices, and institutions are closed. Father's Day in the US and the UK, however, is just a regular holiday, and not a federal or bank holiday. The fact that it always falls on a Sunday means that most people take the day off from work anyway!

My father yells, "What are you going do with your life?"

Caption 7, Cyndi Lauper: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

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Relationships with our fathers are sometimes problematic, but hopefully we've been able to forgive and forget, and maintain a healthy relationship with our dads.

This Mother's Day you might want to make her a card.

Caption 70, World's Toughest Job: Official Video

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It's also part of the holiday's tradition to send your dad a Father's Day card.

And what do you hope to get for a present this year?

Caption 15, Christmas in London: People

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This video caption is referring to Christmas presents, but you can also consider getting your dad a present for Father's Day. Then the question remains: What would he like to have?

We went out to dinner.

Caption 17, Sigrid: The New Normal

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If you live near your father, it's also a nice gesture to invite him out to dinner. It's also a nice gesture make dinner at your home and invite him over.

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the videos above. Maybe there are some Father's Day traditions in your native country that aren't discussed here. Try writing a paragraph in English about Father's Day traditions where you came from.

Happy Women's History Month in March! Many countries celebrate International Women's Day every year on March 8th, some as official public holidays, and some less formally. Unfortunately, none of the major English-speaking countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada—observe the holiday officially. The United States has, however, made Women's History Month a "proclaimed" one-month observance since 1987. Every year, the White House makes an official proclamation about it.

This experience has convinced me that we all need to focus on the issues that afflict women around the world, and we need to do it now.

Captions 9-10, A Message from Prince Harry - At the CHIME for Change Concert

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What are some of the issues that affect, or as Prince Harry puts it, afflict women around the world?

You're disrespectful, bullying, sexist, and I hate to say it, misogynistic.

Caption 14, Madonna - The Glee Club

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You probably know what the first three words above mean, but do you know what is meant by "misogyny"? This unpleasant word comes from the ancient Greek words for "hate" and "women."

Women's liberation has made us not have to be slaves to our anatomy.

Captions 57-58, Mayim Bialik - Open Relationships

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"Women's liberation" is a term for the women's rights movement. And while it is true that women's rights have advanced a lot in some countries, there is still a long way to go for women to truly have equal rights under the law and in real practice around the world.

By investing in education and women's rights, and raising people out of poverty, we could bring about "peak human" even sooner.

Captions 12-14, WWF International - How to Save Our Planet

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In this video, the speakers believe that better women's rights are essential in improving the evolution of humanity.

Thank you for showing your support for women's rights.

Caption 4, A Message from Prince Harry  - At the CHIME for Change Concert

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You are very welcome, Prince Harry.

Further Learning
But seriously—and this goes for everyone, not just the males of the species: When is the last time you had a good talk about women's rights? Watch the videos above on Yabla English and write down some questions that come to mind in English. Then, either in small groups or in tandems, talk about your views on some of the issues. How we can improve our support for women's rights in our own lives?

For those of you reading this lesson on the day it was published, today is the Fourth of July. In many countries, it's just another day of the month, but in the United States it is a federal holiday. The date is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, when the American colonies declared that they were no longer under the control of Great Britain.

One of the most important holidays in the United States is Independence Day or the Fourth of July. We can also say "July fourth," but when we're talking about that holiday we traditionally say "the Fourth of July."

Captions 30-33, Sigrid explains: Numbers - Part 3

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Many people in the United States celebrate this holiday with a variety of traditional activities. Let's take a look at a few of these today.

It's high summer with warm weather on the Fourth of July, so people often celebrate the holiday by going picnicking and even boating, if there is a lake nearby.

You can have a picnic, there's a lake to take boats out on.

Caption 26, Jessica: Brooklyn Sites

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Cold beer in a cooler and meat cooked on a barbecue are also Fourth of July holiday traditions, but some iced tea or lemonade for the kids and teetotalers, and some vegan sausages for the vegetarians have become traditional too!

Not to mention a cooler for the beer, and the meat for the evening barbecue.

Caption 39, The Last Paradises: America's National Parks

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Traditional Fourth of July picnic salads include potato salad, pasta salad, and a variety of fruit salads.

Then, I'm going to prepare a little salad of cherry tomatoes.

Caption 23, Food Talk with Sigrid: Simple Summer Vegetables

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But even more for its amazing flavor, no Fourth of July picnic would be complete without a fresh, ripe watermelon!

Watermelon, for its beautiful color...

Caption 14, Tara's Recipes: Delicious Fruit Salad with Greek Yoghurt

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The highlight and grand finale of a good Fourth of July is, however, the inevitable fireworks:

It started at seven and ended at one with an amazing fireworks display!

Captions 13-14, The Olympics: Interesting facts by Zara

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and study the captions in the videos above to get a better idea of the contexts in which they are used. Happy Fourth of July to all of you, wherever you may be!

Yabla published a Happy Valentine's Day lesson some years ago, but we've added a lot of new videos since back then that discuss the holiday, so here is Part II of the series! You may have heard about Valentine's Day, but you may not know that much about it if it wasn't celebrated where you grew up. In primarily English-speaking countries, Valentine's Day is often celebrated by giving your loved one a valentine's card, flowers, or chocolates. In the United States and the United Kingdom, it takes place on February 14th every year, but is not an official public holiday.

I hope people will be around to watch even though it's Valentine's Day.

Caption 14, Dr. Sheldon Cooper: Fun with Flags

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We too hope that you will read this lesson, even though today is Valentine's Day. (Sorry if you are late in reading this!)

Every woman wants a date on Valentine's Day.

Caption 17, How I Met Your Mother: Desperation Day

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That is simply not true: some people prefer to be alone. And besides, just as many men want dates too. The above video is actually a comedy, and it's against Valentine's Day, preferring to call it "Desperation Day." Anyway, it's okay to feel any way you want to about it!

And today is Valentine's Day here. -Today is Valentine's Day. That is true. Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

Captions 41-42, Luana and Austin: How They Got Married

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Indeed, happy Valentine's Day to you, too. Celebrate it any way you like or not at all. That's the great thing about this holiday, it's strictly optional. Unless, of course, you're in a relationship, and then it's best if both of you agree!

And what's your plan for Saint Valentine's Day?

Caption 1, NorthEasternTV: What Are Northeastern Students Doing for Valentine's Day?

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Yes, that can be a troubling question if you are single and worrying about it. Best not to worry about things though, just have a good time with some similarly single friends or just ignore the holiday altogether! Note that sometimes, as above, the holiday has the saint's name included in it, which you occasionally see. If you choose to be critical of Valentine's Day, it's reassuring to know that there were three Saint Valentines, and nobody is even really sure which saint the holiday was named for!

Note that "Valentine" is written with the first letter capitalized when it's a proper noun, such as "Valentine's Day," a person's name like "St. Valentine," or a band name like "My Bloody Valentine." But when you write about the type of card known as  "a valentine" or ask somebody to "be your valentine," then it's always written lowercase.

Further Learning
If you're a bit skeptical about the holiday, watch the How I Met Your Mother episode on Yabla English. But if you're feeling more supportive, watch the Valentine's Day movie trailer. Either way, we at Yabla wish you all a happy Valentine's Day!

Happy New Year! A New Year's resolution is a tradition that, according to Wikipedia, is common in the Western World. People make promises to themselves to "continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their life at the start of a new year."

It's the first day of 2019.  -We should do New Year's resolutions.

Caption 2, New Year's Resolutions: Lele Pons & Hannah Stocking

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Often friends and family will discuss their resolutions for the upcoming year.

My New Year's resolution is to just keep going at the gym.

Caption 7, Ashley Tisdale: Happy New Year!

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This resolution will probably be easier to keep, since she has been going to the gym already and it´s just a matter of continuing to go.

Every day, I am gonna do one thing I have never done before. That, my friends, is my New Year's resolution.

Captions 9-11, New Year's Resolutions: Friends

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This, on the other hand, might prove difficult. It may be hard to even think up practical things that you've never done before. Even more likely, you'll just forget your resolution because of regular routines!

All right, my New Year's resolution is to learn how to play guitar.

Caption 29, New Year's Resolutions: Friends

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This too may prove to be difficult, since learning to play a musical instrument requires a lot of time and patience.

I don't really make any New Year's resolutions anymore because I learned early on that when I did, I never really followed through with the resolution.

Captions 2-4, Ashley Tisdale: Happy New Year!

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According to statistics, most people fail in their resolutions. Apparently, you are more likely to achieve your goal if you take smaller steps towards achieving it, rather than trying to make a large change in one go.

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the "New Year's Resolutions" episode of Friends, it's pretty funny! And if you have made a New Year's resolution (or plan to), be sure you try to accomplish it in small steps rather than all at once— you'll be more likely to attain your goal. Best wishes in the new year from all of us at Yabla!