christmas in south africa

 South Africa's largest city hosts many events during the festive season. Those held at Melrose Arch are known to be particularly appreciated by early risers who start looking for Christmas gifts as early as November.  To bring back the true magic of Christmas, Melrose Arch organizes a series of events this year for all tastes: from Moonlight markets dedicated to children, to vintage markets and festivals, there is no time to get bored. Families who enjoy plays will love Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, on stage at the Pieter Toerien Theater in Montecasino until January 6. Another unmissable event is The Stables Village market (December 8), with more than 90 stalls selling art, toys, antiques, books, homemade jams and cakes. By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel 

 During the Christmas season, from December 14 to 30, a magical Trail of Lights is created at the Durban Botanic Gardens, known to be the oldest surviving botanical garden in Africa.  As night falls, families are invited to follow the lovely garden paths through the trees and landscape, which will be spectacularly lit. But there is another reason to attend this important event: the Durban Botanic Gardens Trust has included charities based in the KwaZulu-Natal province that will participate in the event and raise funds for their causes by organizing children's activities at the garden. By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel 

 For more than 20 years, Kirstenbosch Carols by candlelight have been the beginning of the Christmas celebration. Held in the magnificent Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, this event is the most popular in the city and runs for four nights (13-16 December).  It is the flagship fundraising project of the Kirstenbosch Rotary Club, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018. Each night features a lineup of well-known local groups, while the Cape Town Concert Brass and Male Voice Choir is the main attraction.  Visitors wait for their favorite songs to play and enjoy typical food while thousands of lights illuminate the evening sky. This year, for the first time, there will also be Christmas-themed stalls. By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel 

 Christmas celebrations start earlier in South Africa: from the beginning of December, concerts fill the evenings, lights illuminate the streets and Christmas markets take place all over the country, both in small villages and in big cities.  Handmade decorations, handicrafts and tempting culinary treats are some of the many items that can be found in the markets of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and even those held next to wineries and vineyards. The markets are distinguished by the sale of lights, Christmas clothes and toys, you can find dances in the streets as well as entertainment shows By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel 

 6. Baobab nursery rhymes and lullabies The CD book includes 29 songs from ten countries and eleven different languages. Some of the lullabies are especially touching, with a simplicity and beauty that dazzles any person before going to sleep. 7. Nacer Khemir's Tale of the Taletellers The author's stories leave a lot of space for silences, for the reader's free interpretation, and for open endings. Perhaps something unusual within the genre of children's literature, in which a story followed by a moral usually predominates 8. Wazi by Rogério Manjate a hunter, like his grandfather Jhapondo, who before he died made him promise never to eat fruit from the trees to the right of the road. A temptation that will take him away from the human world to enter the heart of the jungle. The illustrations by Celestino Mudaulane are impressive 9. Who has ever heard a banana snore? by Paul Bakolo Ngoi. tells the story of Furmi, a 12 year old boy who works on a banana plantation near Ki...

 1. Akissi: cat attack by Marguerite Abouet Akissi is a real character who shows in a casual and humorous way the daily life of a girl in a neighborhood in the Ivory Coast 2. My African tales by Nelson Mandela The stories, myths, fables, legends and parables have been illustrated by 16 African artists in a beautiful full-color edition that also includes a final glossary with an explanation of some local terms. 3. The Kandinga Lion by Boniface Ofogo With some beautiful illustrations, the text introduces us to an evil lion capable of annihilating even his closest circle. An animal that ends up scaring away its family from so much evil. 4. Sosu's Call by Meshak Asare Sosu lives in a town near the sea with his parents, two brothers, a dog and many chickens. From a very young age, everyone expected to see him stand up, walk and run like any other child his age. He suffers from a physical disability that keeps him isolated at home while his parents go to work and his siblings go to schoo...

 The eleven official languages ​​of South Africa are as follows (with the name used for each language, by the speakers of that language, in parentheses): English (English) , Zulu (isiZulu), Xhosa (isiXhosa), Afrikaans (Afrikaans), Sesoto sa Laboa (Esotho sa Leboa), Setswana (Setswana), Tsonga (Xitsonga), Swazi (siSwati), Venda (tshivenda) and Sesoto (sesotho).  The most common language spoken at home by South Africans is Zulu (23.8% speak Zulu at home), followed by Xhosa (17.6%) and Afrikaans (13.3%).  English is only the sixth most spoken language in the country as a mother tongue, with 8.2% of the total (1/3 of whites, 10% of mixed races and 60% of Asians), but it is understood in most urban areas and is the predominant language in the government and the media, reaching its knowledge to 1/3 of the population.r By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel 

 Held in the Hilsboro district of Johannesburg South Africa where locals ring in the New Year by throwing everything from microwaves to entire beds. Surprisingly, this custom has also been observed in certain parts of southern Italy, where citizens do not want any kind of junk to accompany them into the new year. On New Year's Eve, old furniture and objects (that we no longer want) are thrown out of the window. This is how the house is purified and we attract, once again, prosperity In my opinion this tradition is very strange and dangerous, I have never seen furniture thrown out of windows in my life, but it makes a bit of sense, it is like getting rid of those old furniture that have been causing problems all year  By Diaz Ortiz Edwin Uriel