Open Culture has a page of free language learning links covering 40 languages. Here are some of the languages you can find links for… Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, Gaelic, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swahili,...

Candlemas is a Christian holiday that takes place on February 2nd each year. In France they eat crepes for Candlemas. Monique wrote, "…you have ‘la chandeleur – les crêpes’ for Candlemas.  From mid January till early February in stores they sell "crêpières" (flat, low frying pans to cook crêpes) and all the stuff necessary (or...

A candle apple is called a "pomme d’amour" in French.  That’s literally "apple of love"!  How cool is that?! What’s it called in your language?  Please let us know in the comments below.

Today is St Nicholas Day!  Many children in Europe receive gifts and treats in the shoes they left out last night for St. Nick. Read all about the traditions of St. Nick here.

Monique Palomares sent me this recipe from France for gluten-free and lactose-free Quince and Apple Crumble.  The measurements aren’t precise so you’ll need to play around with the quantities.  Here’s what Monique wrote: "This is a gluten and lactose-free quince and apple pie.  But you could make it with either apples or quinces. Here’s how I...

Advent Calendars are used to count down the days till Christmas.  When I was a kid, we’d have one where you’d open a "door" with a number on it representing that day of December.  When you opened the "door" you’d see a picture behind it.  My siblings and I would take turns opening the doors...

Here’s the French poem Papillons roux (Russet Butterflies) by Louis Codet (1876-1914).  It’s about two little butterflies in Autumn. Below you’ll find the French poem with a recording followed by an English translation. MP3 of Papillons roux Papillons roux  Deux petits papillons roux tourbillonnent, tourbillonnent Deux petits...

The French poem Matin d’Octobre by François Coppée (1842-1908) is about an early October morning.  You’ll find the original French version with an mp3 here and an English translation below it. MP3 Recording of Matin d’Octobre Matin d’Octobre C’est l’heure exquise et matinale Que rougit un soleil soudain. ...

Let happiness the guarded treasure be of the mind’s padlock, and true love be key. -from The Padlock (circa 1788) Love Padlocks can bee seen throughout much of Europe and other places around the world like Taiwan.  Peter wrote, "Couples put their names on a lock and then lock them onto some...

Monique wrote to me about Name Days in France and how in French you can say something that’s not typically said in English… In French you can say “we fete someone” (the verb is fêter).  This can be without any actual feast at all. Since we were a Catholic country before the separation of Church and...

"Le temps a laissé son manteau" is a poem by French poet Charles d’Orléans (1394 – 1465).  The title can be translated to English as "The Season Has Cast Off Its Coat".  It’s about Winter turning into Spring.  Here you can hear the poem, read the original in French and follow along with an English...

Recently I wrote about Early Picture Sheets which were one page sheets with images on them that were popular in the 19th century.  They were used to teach kids to draw.  In Europe, they had similar pictures sheets, though sometimes they were used for different purposes. In France, these early picture sheets were called, "Les images...

Monique wrote from France: "La pâte d’abricot is apricot paste.  It’s like candy.  Here’s how you make it: Recipe for Apricot Paste 1. Peel apricots and cover them with water in a pot.  2. Cook them until heated.  3.  Purée the mixture until smooth.  4.  Weigh the mixture and add sugar in an amount equaling the weight...