November 15, 2009

Happy America Recycles Day!

This is a day to promote recycling and buying recycled goods. There are events to go to and other resources here.




Proclamation of the Republic Day in Brazil

This national holiday is the anniversary of the day in 1889 when the emperor of Brazil was deposed and the nation was declared a republic.

Sounds great, right? It's a good thing to move from autocracy (rule by one person) to a democracy (rule by the people). Right?

Well, history isn't easy. It's not black-and-white, not clean-cut. It's hard to sort out because it's messy and full of gray areas.

In this particular case, the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II, had ruled for nearly 50 years of internal peace, material progress, and victory in international affairs; also, Pedro II had eliminated slavery through a slow and gradual process that ended in formal abolition in 1888. He was popular with the people.

Who overthrew Pedro II? The military, backed by former slave owners who were angry about the abolition of slavery staged the coup that ended the empire. And for some years the government seemed more like a military dictatorship than a democratic republic.

Today, however, Brazil is a true republic, with democratic elections—and a national Republic Day holiday.


Did you know...?

Unscramble the words below to fill in the blanks.

1, Brazil is the largest country in ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___, and the fifth largest in the world.

A A C E H I M O R S T U

2. Brazil's ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ (its version of Mardi Gras) is considered one of the greatest shows on earth.

A A C I L N R V

3. People in Brazil speak ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.

E E G O P R S T U U

4. Brazil is home of the largest river in the world, the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___.

A A M N O Z

5. Brazil's huge ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ is recognized as having the most variety of living things in the world.

A E F I N O R R S T

ANSWERS:
1. SOUTH AMERICA 2. CARNIVAL 3. PORTUGUESE 4. AMAZON 5. RAINFOREST

To celebrate Brazil's rainforests...

Visit a zoo to see rainforest animals first-hand. Look for jaguars, spider monkeys, capybaras, toucans, parrots, poison dart frogs, anacondas, maybe even manatees and piranhas.

Take a virtual tour of the rainforest.

Learn how to help save the rainforest.

Donate to a Save-the-Rainforest fund.

Eat at a Rainforest Cafe.

Explore a kid-friendly website.

Color rainforest animals in the free coloring book found here.