On New Year in Georgia, the government decorates the city with lights and puts a Christmas tree in the middle of the city for all the people to enjoy. From 20 December to 14 January there are concerts held for the public on Orbelianis square. In Georgia, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January.

Some of the Georgian Traditions

Friends and families gather together and spend the evening of 31 December together. Women and girls prepare Georgian traditional dishes. The main dish for the Christmas table is  ,,გოზინაყი’ and the main drink is Georgian wine. The most important thing for them is that they gather together with their loved ones, spend time together and remember the past. On January 2th it is ბედობა so everyone tries to spend their day happily, successfully and joyfully, because people believe that as you spend this day, you will spend the rest of the year. This is a centuries-old tradition.

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For New Year everyone buys a Christmas tree or “ჩიჩილაკი” which is the Georgian traditional Christmas tree made of wood. Under the Christmas tree people put a place for each other. Kids believe that their presents are bought by Santa Claus. When it is past midnight, they open their presents. One of the family members enters their neighbor’s house with sweets in his hand and that person is called “მეკვლე’’. Some people believe that if their “მეკვლე’’ is a lucky and good person they are going to have a good year. On Christmas Day, many people will go on an ‘Allio’ which is a parade through the streets. They are dressed in special clothes and costumes to celebrate Christmas. Some people carry Georgian flags and some people like to sing while they are walking in the parade. Children like taking part in the Allio as they are often given sweets!

Author: Anastasia Pirosmanashvili

Everyone has different opinions about every kind of subject. That is why some people like books and other people like movies. Some people like to see the characters and the scenes and some people like to create their own characters and settings in their imagination. I like books more than movies and I will explain why. When a movie is based on a book it is not always the same and something is always changed by the movie director. Why does the movie director change things from the original version? It is because it makes the movie more watchable and enjoyable for everyone. If you watch the movie before reading the book you will not be able to create your characters in your imagination, because you have already seen the characters from the movie. Some people prefer movies, because they think books are tiring and boring.

Everyone knows “Harry Potter ”. This movie is popular among every age, because many people like the Fantasy genre. Harry Potter’s book became more popular after the movie, which is why it is the 21^st century’s best selling book. Now let us discuss the book “Pride and Prejudice”. This book has many movie versions all directed by different people. That is why all of the versions are different from each other. That is the reason why I prefer reading the book to watching the movie. Some writers allow the readers to create their own endings and they leave pages to write the ending of your choosing there. As much as I love books there are times that I am exhausted and prefer watching a movie to reading a book. By this I am not saying that books make me tired, but still, it is hard to keep your focus on the book when you sit in the same place for hours. Of course, I think that watching a movie is more comfortable and it has its beauty, but I still prefer books more than movies.

Author: Nini Okradze

Both books and movies have different advantages and they are both attractive in their own ways. Today most young people would rather watch a movie than read a book. I think this trend will be our society’s downfall.

Consensus seems to be that yes, books are better than movies. Of course it depends on who you ask. Some people have different opinions. I prefer to watch movies, because you see where this story takes place. You see characters, but sitting in front of the monitor for a long time will damage your eyes. This is my opinion!

Books have been around for centuries and have helped us learn and be entertained as well. There are a couple of very valid reasons why books are better than movies. Let’s think about it. How long does it take to read a book and how long does it take to watch a movie? Clearly, books will keep you entertained for a longer time. While most movies will be over in two hours or less, you can enjoy a book for several days depending on how much time you spend reading. This gives you more time to fall in love with story and to fall in love with the characters. The author’s writing style and descriptions are important, because it gives you a more vivid experience.

Author: Nika Khotenashvili

I thought a lot and decided to choose ,,EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE’’. Why did I choose this book? 

First of all, it is a very interesting, sensible and amazing book. I also chose it, because I have watched the movie version of this book and it was very interesting and amazing.

What is the main point of this book?
”Who he’s looking for, he finds’’

Why is this the main point of this book? Oskar was always restless and something was bothering him. As a result he started looking for answers. He searched and found it.
One day, in his father’s closet, Oskar finds a key in a small envelope inside a vase that he accidentally broke. In the key shop he finds the name Black and thinks this has something to do with the key. Curious, Oskar sets out on a mission to contact every person in New York City with the last name of Black in the hope of finding the lock that belongs to the key his father left behind. One of the first people Oskar meets is a 48-year-old woman named Abby Black. Oskar and Abby instantly become friends, but she has no information on the key. Oskar continues to search the city and learns many lessons on his journey.

The book or the movie?

This question is a bit difficult for me because, I love both the book and the movie. I prefer the movie adaptation of “Extremely loud and incredibly close” over the book version. Everything is well, described in detail in the movie, but it is not well expressed in the book. 

There were many differences between the book “Wonder” and the movie adaptation.
There were things that were not written in the book, but were in the movie. There was a section in the film where The father hid the spacesuit from his son. But all this was not written in the book.
I will always say that the movie is better than the book! In the film, everything is always described in detail. (This is my opinion and maybe others would disagree)

Robinson Crusoe is an example of spiritual strength, attitude, hard work and insight. He spends 28 years on an island, but does not give in to despair. We can see that Robinson Crusoe is an independent, unyielding, indomitable, firm, steadfast, durable, intelligent, rational and capable person. He is practical, hardworking and accountable. He can see profit in trade and works diligently in his plantation. He gets rich by trading in Guinea, where simple things such as knives, toys, bells, scissors and similar trinkets could be exchanged, not only for gold and ivory, but also for slaves, who were needed in large numbers to work in Brazil. Crusoe knows the value of money.

Author: Natalia Bochorishvli

I want to discuss and explain which I prefer: Books or movies. 

Let’s discuss Sherlock Holmes’ books and movies. I would say that if you know nothing about Sherlock Holmes it would be better for you to read the book first and maybe watch the movie after you have read the book. There are many movie adaptations of the original Sherlock Holmes book. The book gives you so much more detailed information than the movie.

Positive aspects of reading the book version include:

1. Firstly it is good to read books for our education and reading books will teach us lessons about life. 
2. Secondly, the book is written in detail and it is really interesting to read how Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson solve a lot of mysteries. 
3. And lastly, when we read in a different language it improves our vocabulary. We learn many new words including: suspect, victim, evidence, crime, witness, red herring, and more.
4. Positive aspects of reading the movie version include:

1. Watching movies helps us to understand every move of Sherlock Holmes and it is easier to understand what he is doing as we can see everything on the screen.
2. There are many movies about Sherlock Holmes and they are interesting to watch.
3. If we watch a movie in a different language, I personally think it is much better. That way we will learn the pronunciation and new words that we will use in our life one day.

In my opinion, reading a book is more useful than watching a movie, but people have different tastes, so it depends on the person. Some people prefer to read and some people prefer watching movies.

Author: Mariam Chkuaseli

Every country has different traditions for New Year. In this essay I will discuss New Year’s Eve in Georgia and I will compare Georgia’s traditions to those of other countries.

In Georgia for New Year our traditional foods are Churchkhela and Gozinayi. Churchkhela is made of nuts, grape juice and flour. Gozinayi is made of nuts and honey. In Georgia every family enjoys these foods during the New Year. Usually the women make these foods. When the kids have fallen asleep, Santa places gifts under the Christmas tree. 

Also, in Georgia we have two New Years’. They are called New Year and old New Year. We also have fireworks and on New Year’s Eve every family member must be at home. In addition, everyone has peculiar traditions. For example, in my family, every New Year we are adding at least one new ornament to our Christmas tree.

Now I will compare my country’s New Year’s traditions to Japan’s. In Japan New Year is called Shogatsu or Oshogatsu. Japanese people visit a shrine after midnight to make a wish. In the New Year Japanese people eat Ozouni also known as Ozone or Zoni. They strongly believe that if they eat this food, they will have a lucky and happy year. Furthermore, Japanese people clean the whole house to welcome the New Year and they watch New Year’s TV show Kohaku Utagassen together. They enjoy fireworks too.

Similar things between Georgia and Japan are that we both enjoy fireworks. I think they have bigger and better fireworks than we do. In Georgia, the New Year starts on the first of January as in Japan.

We have more differences than similarities between us. For example, our traditional food has nothing in common with that of Japan. We also do not visit a shrine to make a wish. 

Author: Mariam Chinchaladze

This topic is really common these days, and because of that, I am going to talk about which is better in my opinion, and why? First, let’s talk about their positive sides, this will help us to find the difference between them.

Books– books allow you to enhance your imagination, give the reader a more complex experience, and always contain more details than a movie will.

Movies – the movies take less time to watch than to read a book, are more visually stimulating, and the actors can bring characters to life.

We can now see a difference and discuss which is better. It depends on the person. Some people love books and some movies. If you ask me I would say books are better, because they have more positive sides than negatives and we have to admit that books always will be better than movies. Books can make us better people, more empathetic and a lot wiser. I know that I should be reading more, but it is due to my laziness and lack of time that I don’t. Since I love watching movies, let’s talk about why movies can be better than books. It might seem like a completely pointless question considering all the amazing information I presented above about books. First, let’s agree that some movies are pieces of art.

There are instances where certain movies are better than books, as you will see further below. Watching a movie is never better than reading a book though. Creating a movie is as much of an artistic act as is writing a book. There are instances where the movie creators were better artists than the writers of the books the movies were based on. While it’s not something that happens very often.

Books are always better than their movie versions, but some movies are better than books. Some of them are The Godfather, Fight Club and The Silence of the Lambs.

Which do you think is better?

Author: Elene Tsertsvadze

I will discuss New Year. We celebrate on the 1^st and 7^th of January as in Russia, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Greece, Belarus, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, North Macedonia, Cyprus and Montenegro and not on the 25^th of December. One week before the New Year we make Churchkhela. Churchkhela is a traditional Georgian dessert. The main ingredients of Churchkhela are grape juice, nuts, and flour. Almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts are threaded onto a string and dipped in thickened grape juice. It has to be dried before New Year, so it can be enjoyed during the New Year’s feast. 

When we are discussing the Georgian New Year’s table we cannot forget about Gozinaki. Gozinaki is a traditional Georgian dessert made of caramelized nuts fried in honey, and served exclusively on New Year’s Eve and Christmas.

On New Year’s Eve when it is past midnight a person called ”Mekvle’’ will enter your house. The Mekvle wishes the whole family a prosperous and happy year ahead. 

2^nd January is called,”Bedoba’’. People believe that if you are happy and do good things, the whole year will be happy for you. If you are unhappy and do bad things you will be sad the whole year. I don’t believe in Bedoba and I haven’t done anything special on Bedoba.

The famous Georgian astrologer Michael Tsagareli gives advice about what to do on New Year’s Eve. He advised that, because it is the year of the rabbit, there has to be vegetables on the table such as carrots or cabbage. I also do not believe in Astrology.

We celebrate Christmas on January 7^th and we celebrate the old New Year on 14^th January.

Author: David Paresashvili

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” tells us the story of a real life tragedy. 

This story is about a boy who lost his dad in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He embarks on an adventure looking for a keyhole that matches the key he found in the broken blue vase. It is also about the love between a boy and his dad.

Whoever is going to read this book will learn to never give up and always continue to follow their dreams.

I think it’s better to read a book than to watch a movie, because reading a book will entertain you and increase your knowledge, but watching a movie will only be a source of entertainment.

This story portrayed in both the book and in the movie are connected and those similarities include:

. similar characters

. similar story

Oskar is a boy who likes to invent things because he is creative. He also likes adventure, solving riddles and playing tambourine. Oskar doesn’t feel the Christmas spirit because of his dad’s recent passing. His mom would tell him that his dad is looking down on him from heaven. 

In 2023 I want to compete in Quidditch so that I can have a second chance at winning the contest.

There are various superstitions in Georgia and these are: good luck, karma, black cats and others. I believe in superstition but I don’t apply it during Christmas.

Next year I wish for peace in the world. People should love each other and no one should kill anyone. Children should be healthy and safe. 

Georgia during Christmas month is different compared to America, because of the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. We celebrate Christmas in January. We make delicious desserts and Christmas pie, we sing Christmas carols, attend Christmas services at church and collect sweets and gifts for the needy. 

Author: Aleksandre Kevlishvili

On a cold winter night, when the village was sleeping, Perault was sitting by the fireplace wrapping presents. He had to prepare a New Year’s gift for everyone. Every New Year’s Eve, he left a gift at the door of every resident of the village. Perault’s stray dog Buck was helping. Buck knew his job well. Perault would arrange the gifts in the New Year’s decorated marquee and they would walk around the village until dawn. 

Then Perault and Buck would celebrate the holiday together. Buck the stray dog loved walking in the village. The magical night started. Buck and Perault delivered the presents to everyone. They went to the end of the village. They saw dogs and they started barking at them.

Perault was scared and didn’t know how to escape the barking dogs. Perault knew that the dogs wanted presents too. He made them happy and gave them some treats. On New Year’s morning everyone was happy. Perault and Buck sat at the fireplace and ate New Year’s cookies. Perault and Buck celebrated the New Year together. Perault opened some old red wine. He sat at the fireplace and he drank the wine. Soon he was waiting for his children so that they could celebrate New Year’s together. Perault and Buck celebrated Christmas happily. They were the kindest people in the village. 

In 2023 I wish to graduate and make my family happy.

Author: Andria Shengelaia