Hola mis queridos amigos, el mes de mayo se acerca y por eso hoy vamos a ver un destino para ir, donde Arte y Naturaleza se unen. El destino y la Naturaleza es el Condado de Derbyshire (Reino Unido) y el Arte, sus artísticos "Pozos".
Info from: Speak Up magazine.
Photos: welldressing.com / derbyshire-peakdistrict.com / megalithic.co.uk
THE WELLS OF DERBYSHIRE / ART AND NATURE
The county of Derbyshire in the English Midlands has some interesting customs. One of these is well dressing. Well dressing is an old tradition that the people of Derbyshire still enjoy today.
We don't know the exact reason for decorating wells, but some people believe that it started as a pagan tradition. Others think that it was a way of saying thank you for clean water supplies during the Black Death. The Black Death spread throughout Derbyshire very quickly and it was difficult to find uncontaminated water.
CHRISTIANITY
When Chirstianity came to Derbyshire, people stopped well dressing because it was probably a pagan tradition, but in 1349 the villages wanted to revive it.
Tissington was the first village to start decorating its wells again. Well dressing in Tissington is very important and on the first day there is a service outside St Mary's church. After the service the vicar and the congregation walk round the village and bless each well.
In Etwall, well dressing day is a festival and there are lots of fun things to do, like a children's art competition and various food stalls.
DESIGN
Today most villages in the Midlands follow the well dressing custom and they still use traditional methods during the preparation. First, an artist draws a picture on clay, then the people in the village colour it in. They use petals and flowers but also seeds, pieces of coloured glass and plastic.
The pictures are usually of important events that have happened in England. Because the villages are jealous of their designs, they plan them months before and keep them a secret for as long as possible.
In 2012, a lot of the designs were of the Olympic Games and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It takes five or six days to complete a well dressing, but you can only see it for about a week, while the flowers stay fresh.
IN SEASON
The best time to visit Derbyshire and the wells is from May to August, but some villages decorate their wells in September and even in December.
For more information about the well dressings, go to www.welldressing.com
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VOCABULARY
-MIDLANDS: región central.
-WELL: pozo.
-DRESSING: decoración.
-STILL: todavía.
-SUPLY: abastecimiento.
-BLACK DEATH: la Peste Negra.
-TO SPREAD: extenderse.
-TO BLESS: bendecir.
-STALL: puesto, tenderete.
-CLAY: arcilla.
-SEED: semilla.
-IT TAKES: se tarda.
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EXERCISES
1.- DECIDE WHETHER THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE "TRUE or FALSE".
a) The best time to see Derbyshire's well dressings is in autumn ______
b) Well dressing might be an old pagan tradition ____
c) Towns try to publicise their well designs ___
d) Designs celebrate little-known events ____
e) Pictures usually depict a scene from medieval history ____
f) Well decorations last for about a week ____
g) A town may have about twenty well dressings ____
h) Villages in Derbyshire decided to revive the tradition in 1349 ____
2.- DECIDE WHICH OF THE WORDS DOESN'T BELONG IN THE GROUP.
a) grass / dress / decorate
b) custom / tradition / faith
c) dirty / clean / uncontaminated
d) village / centre / town
e) church / vicar / competition
f) flowers / clay / paint
SOLUTIONS
EXERCISE 1
a) False b) True c) False d) False e) True f) True g) True h) True
EXERCISE 2
a) grass b) faith c) dirty d) centre e) competition f) flowers
HAVE A NICE DAY MY FRIENDS!!!
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