Solemn Christmas Greetings from Toronto

Click below to see what it looks like:

Listening Exercise: The Original X'mas Story

What is Christmas about? This well-loved holiday in Canada has long roots in history. How long? Well, some people think it goes back to Santa Claus at his H0H 0H0 (Ho Ho Ho!) postal code in the North Pole. Others trace it back to Saint Nicholas of Myra (in today's Turkey), a generous church leader whose name later became "Santa Claus." Or does that history trace yet further back?

Fortunately, we still have hundreds of historical documents of the event, and they have been translated into English. Following are excerpts from a couple of those documents. Do the listening exercises, record your answers under Comments, and discuss them with your instructor.

Listen to this reading (right click and click on Open in New Tab) and take dictation on the following blanks:

1 Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, ___  ____  _______  ___  ___  ___  ____  ____. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.

 Listen to this narration (right click and click on Open in New Tab) and fill in the ten blanks:

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be (1) _____________. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own (2) _____________.

4 And Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was (3) _____________. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give (4) _____________. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging (5) _____________.

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were (6) _____________. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be (7) _____________, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the (8) _____________: 11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.12 This will be the (9) _____________ for you: You will find a (10) _____________ wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,and peace on earth to people He favors!
15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told.

Check your answers in Hebrews 1 and Luke 2.

Are You Going to a Remembrance Day Service on November 11?

Here are a couple of exercises online for some background information on Remembrance Day (what else is it called?):

1. Take dictation from the following Vocaroo audio, check it with a partner, and post it on your blog:

Audio recording and upload >>
2. Listen to the following WWI diary entry, following along with the text with blanks below, and post the missing words on your blog:

Audio and voice recording >>


Sunday, December 19
No words can adequately describe the conditions. It’s not the (1) _____________ we’re fighting, but the weather. Within an hour of moving off, we were up to our knees in mud and (2) _____________.
The mud gradually got deeper as we advanced along the trench.
We hadn’t gone far before we had to duck; the enemy were sending over their evening salute of shells.



Pals battalion: Harry (centre left, marked in blue ink) joined the Second Birmingham Battalion alongside friends from home. Most of them died by the end of the war


To move forward, I had to use both elbows for leverage, one each side of the trench. After about one and a half hours of this, we reached the firing line. Later, I groped my way to our dugout. What a (3) _____________.
Imagine a (4) _____________ underneath the ground, whose walls are slimy with moisture. The floor is a foot or more (5) _____________ in rancid-smelling mud.*
3. Check out on Youtube.com, and perhaps learn to sing Canada's Royal and National Anthems; O God Our Help in Ages Past; Eternal Father, Strong to Save; and O Valiant Hearts, Who to Your Glory Came.
4. Watch the following video of the most famous poem of Remembrance Day. What is its title? Google for it. Discuss your thoughts with a partner.

* You can check your answers below:

Congratulations, Adelfa, Lorelei, and Luanne

Your classmates Luanne, Lorelei, and Adelfa have done it again--gotten published in the fall edition of LINC Home Study's student newsletter, NewsLINC!

Be sure to read their stories and many others.

And then spiff up your stories on your blog, and remind your instructor to submit them for the winter edition.

Which Halloween?

October 31, 2010 - "Halloween 1517" - Pastor Neil Franks from FBC Branson on Vimeo.

Watch this Video (focus on 1:08 - 2:09): Can you list 3 modern approaches to Halloween and 1 historical one that's affected the nation of Canada? Write the answers on your blog.

Listen again, following along with the transcript:

We just kind of embraced (1) Halloween, and sometimes churches do that. 

Then there are *(indistinct)* churches. They kind of attack everything Halloween. You shouldn't (2) trick-or-treat, couldn't do anything with the celebration. You need to get rid of all the black cats. So whatever this kind of thing, they kind of come out and take major stand against Halloween. It's of the (3) devil; we want to have nothing to do with it.

And then there are those churches, in most of the responses, we just try to (4) ignore Halloween, and we just try to pretend it doesn't happen, and we'll come back next year, and we'll think about it again, and we'll try to do any one of those things.

Well, today, instead of telling you my opinion of what the church ought to do of those three and cause controversy within our congregation, what I want to do is not to talk about a modern Halloween Day. But I want to take you back hundreds of years ago. In fact, I want to take you back and talk about a Halloween almost 500 years ago, and to come to a certain day, on Halloween October 31, in (5) 1517.

Doubleclick on the blank to reveal the answer.

Thanksgiving Meditations 2013

John A. MacDonald, then Attorney General

The Ecclesiastical Gazette, Nov. 8, 1859
Courtesy of research at York University in 1999.

O give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his name; tell the people what things he hath done. Psalm cv 1
O let your songs be of him, and praise him: and let your talking be of all his wondrous works. Ver 2
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all that have pleasure therein. Psalm cxi 2
His work is worthy to be praised, and had in honour: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Ver 4
He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he shall ever be mindful of his covenant. Ver 5

Rather than offering largely random, undirected thanksgiving, the original framers of the Thanksgiving Day petition to Queen Victoria clearly knew who they were giving thanks to: "Almighty God." Their choice of quotations from the Bible reflects that.

They also remembered those who were in need, asking for:

grace that we may learn alike from Thy mercies and from Thy judgments our entire dependence on Thee for the supply of our daily bread and that being fully persuaded that whatever blessing we receive at Thy hands is designed for our trial as well as for our comfort, we may impart a share of Thy bounty, in dutiful accordance with Thy holy will to the afflicted and indigent, the widow, the orphan, and the aged, and thus obtain for ourselves that mercy which Thou in Thy word hast promised to the merciful: through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 

This Canadian Thanksgiving, 150 years on, can you think of anything better than to give thanks to this same Almighty God who still vouchsafes (gives) to "Canada the blessings of an abundant harvest" and gives "meat (food) unto them that fear him."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2013!

Why Learning English Is So Crazy

The ancient Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics, a secret language written by priests using pictures. The Sumerians used a stick to write on wet clay in a writing called cuneiform. Some languages today write from right to left, or up or down. There are languages that have thousands of unique characters to memorize or have an alphabet of over 100 letters. Yet, even though English has just 26 letters, it's not as easy to learn as some might think.

Why's that?

Well, for one thing, English is an international language and borrows from all other languages. So the vocabulary is nuts. Also, since the vocabulary comes from all over, the grammar is affected, too!

Consider this poem:

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,But the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and showed you my feet,When I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this, and the plural is these,Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be kese?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.So plurals in English, I think you'll agree,Are indeed very tricky--singularly.

So the plural of an English word may be +s, +es, or something way out! The good news, of course, is that there are more regular plurals (those that use +s or +es) than irregular plurals. Can you google for more examples?

I found some on google images: