Monday, 25 April 2011
Easter
WHAT IS EASTER?
Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ's rising from the dead after His crucifixion which took place on what we now say Good Friday.
Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 21st. This can be any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th. It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays or celebrations.
Christ's return (or rising) from death is called the Resurrection. According to the Scriptures, Christ's tomb was empty three days after His death, which is commemorated on Good Friday. His followers saw Him and talked to Him after this. Christians therefore believe that they have the hope of a new life (an everlasting life in Heaven) after their earthly death.
EASTER IN THE ANCIENT DAYS
Although of course Easter is a Christian festival, it has many pre-Christian. Eastre was the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. A month was dedicated to her, corresponding to our month of April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox and traditions associated with the festival live on in the modern day Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in coloured Easter eggs. These were originally painted with brilliant colours to represent the warmth and sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
THE HOLY WEEK
The Holy week is the last week of Lent. Lent is the forty days special season prior to Easter Sunday.
The Holy Week begins with the observance of Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The name, Palm Sunday originated from Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem. The crowd laid carpets of palms on the street for Him. The Last Supper is commemorated on Holy Thursday of special week (often called Maundy Thursday) and Friday is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lenten season and Holy week end with Easter Sunday (the Resurrection of Jesus Christ).
THE NAME EASTER
Easter was called Pesach by early Christians. It is the Hebrew name for Passover. Today, the names for Easter in many cultures in Europe are similar to the word Pesah. The English name Easter is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration in honour of Eastre, goddess of spring and fertility. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.
SYMBOLS OF EASTER
- Easter eggs & baby chicks: Eggs and chicks symbolize new life. Eggs have been a symbol of spring since ancient times. An egg also is a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged when he arose again. The chick, hatching out of the egg, symbolizes new life or re-birth.
- Easter bunny: The rabbit, or hare, was a symbol of abundant new life in ancient times, and reminds us of spring and new life.
- Easter lilies: Easter lilies symbolize the purity of Jesus. They also symbolize new life and the resurrection of Christ.
Easter Online Games
- The Kidz Page: http://www.thekidzpage.com/easter_games/index.html
- Black dog: http://blackdog4kids.com/holiday/easter/
- Free Easter Games: http://freeeastergames.com/
Thursday, 31 March 2011
April Fool's Day
Originally, New Year's Day was April 1. Later, when the Church changed the calendar, they also changed the date for January 1. However, some people continued using April 1 as the date of the New Year. These people were referred to as "April Fools".
In the early Roman calendar, April 1 was the first day of spring, the spring equinox, and before 154 B.C. it was New Years Day. Many celebrations of many cultures observed this day as the coming of the renewal of the earth and life. There would be sacrifices and gifts given to the gods. When the Christians came into power in the Roman Empire, they created a celebration we call Easter that replaced the spring rituals.
Although the most common belief is that the observance of April Fool's Day began in France,there really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d’Avril!" In England, tricks can be played only in the morning. If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle". In Scotland you are called an "April Gowk" or cuckoo bird. It lasts for two days there. The second day in Scotland is called Taily Day and is dedicated to pranks involving the buttocks. The Scotts can be given credit for the "Kick Me." Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied." If victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool!"
Some popular pranks
- Replacing salt in the sugar bowl at breakfast.
- Attaching a small piece of tape to the mouseball so it does not work.
- Setting the alarm clock ahead one hour and allowing the victim to think they have slept in.
BBC Penguins Prank
Friday, 11 March 2011
Saint Patrick's Day
WHO WAS ST. PATRICK
St. Patrick was a Christian missionary credited with the conversion of Ireland from paganism. He lived from the late 4th century A.D. to the mid 5th century A.D.
St. Patrick was born in either Scotland or Wales, the son of Roman parents living in Britain. When he was about fifteen or sixteen, he was captured and enslaved by an Irish chieftain during a raiding party across the sea. He spent several years enslaved in Ireland, herding and tending sheep and swine. It was during his captivity that St. Patrick dedicated his life to God. Legend has it that St. Patrick escaped captivity and Ireland after a dream in which God instructed him to journey to the Irish coast where he found a ship that returned him to his family.
After years of religious study, he became a priest. In a document attributed to him known as "The Confession", St. Patrick heard the voice of the Irish in his dreams, "crying to thee, come hither and walk with us once more." Eventually, Pope Clemens commissioned St. Patrick as bishop to preach the gospel to the Celtic people. Arriving back in Ireland, he commenced an incredible mission, travelling across the country, preaching and baptizing, ordaining priests and bishops, erecting churches and establishing places of learning and worship, despite constant threats to his life. It has been said that he and his disciples were responsible for converting almost all the population of Ireland to Christianity.
March 17th is the death of Saint Patrick, and his recognition as the patron saint of Ireland, that led to the celebration of March 17th as Saint Patrick's Day. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a holy, religious time with praying, singing and dance.
The most famous legend about St. Patrick is that he miraculously drove snakes and all venomous beasts from Ireland by banging a drum. Even to touch Irish soil was purported to be instant death for any such creature. However, this legend is probably a metaphor for his driving the pagans from Ireland, as snakes were often associated with pagan people.
Finding that the pagan Irish had great difficulty comprehending the doctrine of the Trinity, St. Patrick held up a shamrock (similar to a three-leaf clover) to show how the three leaves combined to make a single plant, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost combined to make the holy Trinity. The Irish understood at once, and from that time the shamrock has been the symbol of the land. Irishmen wear it in their hats on the saint's day.
LEPRECHAUNS
The leprechaun has been described as Ireland's national fairy. Over the years, as St. Patrick's Day became a celebration of the Irish as well as a religious holiday celebrating the life of the saint, the leprechaun has evolved as another Irish symbol.
The name leprechaun may have derived from the Irish word for shoemaker (leath bhrogan), or from the Irish word for pygmy (luacharma'n). Legend says that these aged, diminutive men are frequently found in an intoxicated state.
Leprechauns are guardians of ancient treasure, left by Danes burying it in pots. The legend goes that if caught by a mortal, a leprechaun will promise great wealth if allowed to go free. Leprechauns supposedly carry two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is given away. In the other he carries a gold coin which he uses to try and bribe his way out of difficult situations. The gold coin usually turns to leaves or ashes once the leprechaun has parted with it.
Saint Patrick's Day Fun
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is celebrated in honour of a Roman priest named Valentine who lived in the 3rd Century. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, banned marriages because he believed that married men made worst soldiers. Valentine didn’t accept this law and married couples in secret. When the Emperor found out, Valentine was sentenced to death. While he was in prison, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and just before he was put to death, on 14th February, he wrote a final love message to her and signed it “From your Valentine”. Not long after his death, Valentine was made a saint.
The story of Valentine quickly spread and it soon became tradition to send a card to the person you secretly admired. The cards were always signed “From your Valentine”. The first commercial cards appeared in the mid 1800s. Today, we send over a billion Valentine cards each other, 70% of them sent by women.
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Valentine's Traditions
- Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:
- In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
- In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
- In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
- Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day; it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
- A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!
- Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
- Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.
- If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.
How to Say "I Love You"
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Valentine's Poems & Readings
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