My Science School

Hanukkah

On the stove, crisp potato pancakes sputter in a frying pan. In a corner, children spin square tops on the floor. On the table, candles twinkle in a candleholder. It’s Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights, and it lasts eight days.

Hanukkah celebrates a marvellous event that happened more than 2,000 years ago. At that time, the Jews won their struggle for religious freedom by defeating the Syrians, who tried to make them give up their religion.

Hanukkah is a cheerful time. There may be a party. People enjoy such special holiday food as potato pancakes, called latkes. Gifts and contributions are often given to the poor.

Each evening, families light some or all of the candles of the special eight-branched candleholder called a menorah. Some families sing songs, play games, and give their children gifts.

Hanukkah starts on the eve of the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which falls in November or December. The word Hanukkah means “dedication”.

Here is a brief story of the menorah. After their great victory over the Syrians, the Jews began cleaning the great Temple of Jerusalem. They wanted to light the holy lamps. But they could find only a tiny jar of the special oil they needed for the lamps. They were amazed when the jar provided them with enough oil for eight days.

The eight days of Hanukkah are in memory of the eight days the lamps stayed lit. A special symbol of Hanukkah is the eight-branched candleholder called the menorah. On each day of Hanukkah, the candles of the menorah are lit - one on the first day, two on the second, and so on. Many menorahs have a branch to hold a ninth candle used to light the other candles.

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Feast of Saint Nicholas

Long ago, a very kind man lived in what is now the country of Turkey. This man was a bishop named Nicholas. According to stories about him, Nicholas often helped needy children.

Many years after his death, Nicholas was made a saint. He became the patron saint of children. Today, he is honoured on December 6.

This day is a holiday in some European countries. On the night before, children put out their shoes. Early the next morning, they rush to see what Saint Nicholas left for them. According to tradition, good children receive gifts, and naughty children may get sticks.

On December 6, some European cities and towns also hold parades led by a figure dressed up as Saint Nicholas. He talks to children and often hands out small gifts.

Saint Nicholas always has a helper with him. Children are quite afraid of his helper because the helper keeps track of who was good and who was naughty. In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas’ helper is called Black Peter.

The Month of December

December is the twelfth month of the year. In ancient Roman times, December was the 10th month of the year. So the month got its name from decem, the Latin word for “ten”.

In the northern half of the world, winter begins on December 21 or 22. There, it is the shortest day of the year. At the same time, summer begins in the southern half of the world. There, it is the longest day of the year.

During December, the winter solstice tips the Northern hemisphere the furthest distance from the sun. Through most of the month, Northern hemisphere inhabitants lose about 2 minutes of sunlight per day until the winter solstice. The winter solstice ushers in the astrological mark for winter and the shortest day on the calendar. However, from that day forward, the days will slowly lengthen. They may not be warmer, but the Earth is tilting on its axis back toward the sun. 

December is a big baking month for many. In the United States, families, churches, schools, and organizations bake cookies to exchange. They are often part of the gift-giving and ugly sweater parties that occur right before or during Christmas, Kwanza, and Chanukah.

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Mm-mmmm! Smell the turkey cooking! It’s Thanksgiving Day and company’s coming! In the U.S.A. and Canada, this is a special holiday. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessings.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. That’s why it is celebrated in late autumn, after the crops have been gathered.

The Pilgrims of New England celebrated the first harvest thanksgiving. They were early English settlers who went to America in 1620 looking for a better life. The Pilgrims had a hard time during their first year, many of them dying during the first winter. But the next year, in 1621, they had a good harvest. So, their governor declared a three-day feast.

The Pilgrims invited American Indian friends to join them for the special feast. In time, other colonies began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving.

Today, people in the U.S.A. celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October.

For thousands of years, people in many parts of the world have held harvest festivals. The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival was once a celebration of the end of the rice harvest. African Americans celebrate the African harvest at the end of December.

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Remembrance Day

For more than four years, the war raged on. Then, at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the guns stopped firing. World War I was over on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. An armistice - an agreement to end the war - had been signed.

November 11 became Armistice Day, a day on which many nations honour those who died for their country. In France, it is still called Armistice Day. In Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, November 11 is Remembrance Day and honours all people who have died in war. The United Kingdom celebrates Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to November 11.

In 1954, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day in the U.S.A. It became a time to honour all the men and women who have served in the nation’s armed forces.

Each year, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, U.S.A., there are special ceremonies. They begin with two minutes of silence, followed by a bugler playing “Taps”. A wreath is placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The tomb honours members of the U.S. armed forces who have died in war. The red poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day.

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Seven-Five-Three

According to an old tradition in Japan, girls who are 3 or 7 years old and boys who are 5 are thought to be especially fortunate. So on November 15, families who have children of these ages take part in a festival called Seven-Five-three.

On this day, the families go to a shrine, or place of worship. There, they give thanks for the good health of the children. They also ask for future health and happiness for the children.

Outside the shrine, parents buy sweets and toys for the children. Later, the children give some of their sweets to visiting friends and relatives. In return, they are often given gifts.

In the Japanese tradition, the Gedatsu Church observes this auspicious occasion with a special prayer before the local guardian shrine, offering thanks for the children’s healthy and safe development. Each child is given a colorfully decorated bag containing the traditional chitose ame (literally meaning “a thousand years”) candy in appreciation for the child’s vitality and long life. Applications forms for participation in the festival are available at church offices.

Day-of-the-Dead

Children bite into crisp sugar skulls. People dressed as skeletons dance down the streets. Cemeteries light up with the warm glow of candles. It’s November 1, the start of the two-day Day-of-the-Dead celebration in Mexico.

The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31- November 2. While October 31 is Halloween, November 1 is “el Dia de los Inocentes,” or the day of the children, and All Saints Day. November 2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2.

On this day, many Mexicans believe that the spirits of the dead return to visit their homes. Processions are held through towns. Families and friends gather in cemeteries and clean and decorate gravesites with flowers to welcome the spirits.

People picnic together and enjoy such special foods as sugar skulls and breads baked with a plastic skeleton hidden in them. It is a time when people remember the dead and celebrate life.

You can make a Day-of-the-Dead decoration out of self-hardening clay.

Roll one colour of clay into an egg shape about the size of your fist. Lay it on its side and push down gently so that it has a flat bottom. Gently mould it use a pencil to make holes for the face. Decorate the skull with different colours of clay. Let the skull dry one or two days on a wire rack. When the skull is hard, display it on a windowsill.

The Month of November

November is the eleventh month of the year. In ancient Roman times, November was the ninth month of the year. This month got its name from novem, the Latin word for “nine”. And the name was never changed.

In the northern half of the world, many places are cold in November. In parts of the north, the trees are bare, and the dead leaves on the ground have lost the beautiful colours of October. In the southern half of the world, it is getting warmer in many places.

November Month Overview – November often blows in like a hurricane. Other times it lingers like the warmth of the sun. For many, the month fills us with gratitude. It represents family holidays, too. As warm and cozy and November seems to many, others consider the 11th month of the year to be somewhat bleary.

Diwali

It is late autumn in India, the day before Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. In many homes, the children are busy making special holiday lamps. They fill little clay bowls with mustard oil. Into the oil, they put a little wick made of cotton. These lamps are a very important part of Diwali. They are lit on the fourth day of this five-day festival.

In preparation for the holiday, families hang garlands of flowers over the door and prepare sweet cakes and biscuits.

The next day – Diwali - everyone gets up early. The day is spent visiting relatives. There are lots of good things to eat and gifts to be exchanged. There may also be a visit to a street fair, where the children can go on rides and watch fireworks.

Before sunset, each family sets out its Diwali lamps. All over the countryside the little lights glow, like stars brought down from the sky.

According to Hindu beliefs, the Diwali lamps will help guide Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good luck. She will fly down to Earth and visit each house where the lamps are twinkling. After her visit, the family in that house will be blessed with good luck for a whole year.

For many who practise the Hindu religion, Diwali is the first day of the New Year. Diwali means “rows of lights”. Hindus in Malaysia and other parts of the world also celebrate the Festival of lights.

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United Nations Day

Can you think of a group that works for peace all over the world? One of the world’s most important peacemakers is the United Nations (UN).

The United Nations was started on October 24, 1945. It began just after World War II (1939-1945). More people died in that war than in any other war in history. Many people agreed that such a war must never happen again. So they started a group that now has more than 180 countries working for peace.

Today, the United Nations tries to solve problems around the world before they lead to war. It also helps people with farming and building, and it helps many countries improve their education and health-care programmes. To honour the United Nations and its work, many people celebrate United Nations Day on October 24. Around the world, people have peace marches, sports events, exhibits, musical performances, and special talks about UN programmes.

Some children in the U.S.A. help raise money for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) every year on October 31. This day is Halloween, and the children collect money while trick-or-treating. UNICEF uses the money to provide food, medical care, and other services for poor children throughout the world.

Columbus Day

            Over 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus was sure he could reach the Indies - Japan and China - by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Others said, no, it couldn’t be done. They thought it was too far.

Columbus thought that the Atlantic Ocean was very narrow. Others argued that the distance to Japan was four times greater than Columbus thought. But the king and queen of Spain gave Columbus the money and ships he needed. If Columbus was right, Spain would be rich.

Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, on August 3, 1492. He had three ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. The ships moved through a seemingly endless sea. Many weeks passed. The frightened sailors demanded that Columbus turn back, but he insisted that they continue sailing.

Finally, on October 12, 1492, they saw land. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies. But instead, he had reached the “New World”. Columbus’s voyage made America known to the people of Europe. This truly changed the world. That is why Columbus is honoured.

In the U.S.A., Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. Because Columbus sailed under the Spanish flag, people in Spain also celebrate Columbus Day. But Columbus wasn’t Spanish. He was Italian. He was born in Genoa, Italy, and so Italians also celebrate Columbus Day. People in many Central and South American countries honour Columbus on October 12 because he also “discovered” their lands.

Gandhi’s Birthday

In India, a wise and holy person is called a mahatma. The word means “great soul”. The greatest mahatma of all was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

As a leader, Gandhi was against violence. He believed that how we behave is more important than what we succeed in doing. He won many followers.

Gandhi worked many years for India’s freedom from Great Britain. His dream finally came true on August 15, 1947.

Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday celebrated across India to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the "Father of the Nation".

It is celebrated on October 2nd every year. It is one of three official declared National Holidays of India and is observed in all its states and territories.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2nd 1869 in Gujarat, then known as Porbandar, British India.

Gandhi lived his life with acceptance and practice of truth, non-violence, vegetarianism, simplicity and faith in God and was a major political and spiritual leader within India. He was a pioneer of Satyagraha, which believed in resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon total non-violence.

His honorific title of Mahatma, which means "high-souled" in Sanskrit, was first used in 1914 in South Africa.

The movement led India to independence and his efforts have since inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He was a source of inspiration to many political leaders all over the world, including Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

The day is marked by prayer services all over India, and especially at Raj Ghat, Gandhi's memorial in New Delhi where he was cremated.

Celebrations on the day include prayer meetings and commemorative ceremonies in various cities by colleges, local government institutions and socio-political institutions.

Painting and essay competitions are held and awards are announced for projects in schools and the community, on the themes of glorifying peace, non-violence and Gandhi's effort in Indian Freedom Struggle.

Often Gandhi's favourite devotional song, Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram is sung in memory of him.

The impact and fame of Gandhi beyond India are reflected in the International Day of Nonviolence which is celebrated worldwide on his birthday.

India celebrates the birthday of the great leader on October 2. In his honour, many people walk from far across India to the place where his body was cremated.

National Day

With a rat-a-tat-tat of drums and a blare of bugles, rows of soldiers march smartly down the street. Overhead, a group of warplanes roars across the sky. Later, fireworks will light up the night sky. It’s National Day in Nigeria.

Nigeria is on the west coast of Africa. Until 1960, Nigeria was part of the British Commonwealth. Then, on October 1, 1960, Great Britain granted Nigeria its independence. Nigeria adopted a green and white flag. The green is for agriculture and the white for unity and peace.

October 1 is a national holiday that Nigerians celebrate with great joy.

The event in 1960 eventually led to the formation of the federal republic of Nigeria, and the journey to independence started with some constitutional developments that saw the country attaining self-rule in some quarters in 1957 and total independence on 1 October 1960.

October 1st has been designated a national holiday to commemorate the day Nigeria laid down its claim to be a free and independent nation from the United Kingdom.

Independence Day (National Day) in Nigeria is celebrated each year by patriotic citizens across all of 36 states, regardless of ethnicity and religion.

On the morning of October 1st, the incumbent President of Nigeria delivers a speech to officially commence the Independence Day celebrations and the country’s green - white – green flag will be unfurled with the singing of the national anthem in the capital city of Abuja.

The military officers will lead in a plethora of parades featuring the armed forces, student bands, and various cultural groups’ while the official celebration will kick off with a tribute to the founding fathers and heroines and freedom fighters of the great nation that is Nigeria.

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The Month of October

October is the 10th month of the year. This month got its name from octo, the Latin word for “eight”. October was once the eighth month.

When the Romans made October the 10th month, rulers tried several times to rename this month in honour of certain emperors or members of their families. But the people continued to call this month October.

In parts of the northern half of the world, the first frost usually occurs in October. Leaves change to brilliant colours. In parts of the southern half of the world, the weather is just beginning to get warm.

History of October

October always had 31 days, and it became the tenth month of the year when the months of January and February were added, pushing October towards the end of the solar year, which is around 365.24 days long.

The Julian was substituted for the Gregorian calendar because it did not reflect the length of a year on Earth accurately enough. Today's Gregorian calendar does a much better job at keeping up with our planet's revolutions around the Sun, but even this calendar is not perfect.

Fall and Spring Month

October is in the fall in the Northern Hemisphere, the month after the autumnal equinox. However, as seasons are opposite on either side of the equator, October is in the spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The seasonal equivalent is April in the opposite hemisphere.

The month of October starts on the same day of the week as January in common years, but during leap years, October does not start on the same day of the week as any other month. It ends on the same day of the week as February every year and January in common years only.

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Mid-Autumn Festival

At midnight, Chinese people in many countries gather in parks to sing, dance, and look at the beautiful full moon while enjoying crisp pastries filled with sweet paste. It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival.

At this time of year, many people exchange moon cakes, round pastries filled with lotus seed, sesame, or another sweet paste. Many cakes have an egg yolk in them to make them look like the moon. Koreans also celebrate a Mid-Autumn Festival. During the festival, they may play sports and have picnics, or just rest and enjoy the fruits of the recent harvest.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in many East Asian communities. In China, it's a reunion time for families, just like Thanksgiving, while in Vietnam, it's more like a children's day.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Moon Festival or the Mooncake Festival. It traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar.

Picture Credit : Google