Thursday 9 May 2013

Just Don't Wipe Your Feet!

What do you think these are? How do you think they're made?

Uno

Dos

Tres

Cuatro
Here are some more pictures to help you with the second question. The numbers link the lower pictures to the upper ones to show you which picture each detail comes from.

Uno

Dos

Tres

Cuatro

Cuatro
I'm sure you spotted the leaves and the flowers, but did you also see the rice, sand and the grass cuttings? They're nice, aren't they? I heard a number of people saying, '¡Qué chulo!' '¡Super chulo!' and even '¡Chulisimo!' as I was snapping them.

So, what are they and what are they for?

Here's a final clue...



 Well, they're made outside the front door by family members on the morning of a child's first Communion. They're called tapizes (pronounced, tap-ee-thes) or alfombras de comunión and each tapiz (tap-eeth) spells out the child's name. 

I spoke to some of the Spanish teachers in my school and they told me that they think they are unique to this region. I took these photos in Vila-Real (you might know it from the football a couple of years back). 

Let's finish with those names shall we? Can you pronounce them?
1. Arnau. This is a Catalan version of Arnold. Cataluña is the part of north-eastern Spain that includes Barcelona. Pronounce this name Ar-now.
2. Laura. Careful how you say this. Rhyme the 'Lau' bit with 'cow', Lau-ra.
3. Giulia. Very similar to Julia, but pop a little 'ee' sound between the 'G' and the 'u'. Gee-oo-lee-ah.
4. María. Just like home, although as María is a Spanish name, home is here!  

A final thought, I wonder if every child prays that it won't be windy on their communion day? 

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