Festivals

Chinese New Year in the Eyes of Kids

Preschoolers enjoy the idea of Chinese New Year, whether or not they are Chinese. For them it is a lively, multicolored, and cool party. It is helpful if you let them understand this event more so that they can start being open to different cultures in their young age. Keep in mind to teach them according to their level of understanding.

Craft Making

Craft Making is not only fun for preschoolers but it also helps them develop their cognitive skills, motor skills, and social skills. Through this interactive and creative way of teaching, lessons can retain longer in the preschoolers’ minds. Their “inner artist” will also grow at this early stage of childhood.

Educating these kids about big stuff like Chinese New Year could be a difficult process. Preschoolers cannot comprehend complicated stuff such as this topic. Craft Making can make the teaching process much easier and more interesting.

Sample Projects

Yuan

During the Chinese New Year, “Yuan” or money is placed inside a tiny red envelope and is given out to Chinese children. This activity allows the preschooler to learn that there are other currencies in the world.

Steps in Making:

1. Pass around pictures of real Chinese money and let the kids see them.

2. Distribute small-sized papers, colored pens, and crayons.

3. Ask them to imagine and create their own “Yuan” using the provided materials.

4. When they are done making their own version of the Chinese money, distribute plain white envelopes and red coloring materials.

5. Instruct them to color their envelopes red.

6. Encourage to take their own “Yuan” home and show it to their respective families on Chinese New Year’s Day.

Chinese New Year Cards

This activity will let the preschoolers learn that there are other languages and alphabets in the world.

Steps in Making:

1. Print and cut an image of “Happy New Year!” in Chinese.

2. Give a copy of the image to each kid.

3. Give one red construction paper to each kid.

4. Instruct them to paste the cut out image of the “Happy New Year!” in Chinese to the red construction paper.

5. They may choose to decorate the card using coloring materials.

Dragons

To the Chinese, dragons are symbols of power, energy, and luck. In this activity, the preschoolers use their imagination and creativity to make their own dragons since there are no actual dragons that they can imitate.

Steps in Making:

1. Distribute dragon-shaped construction papers for the kids to draw on to. Or you can just give out plain brown paper bags to let them make dragon puppets.

2. Provide glue, markers, and strips of construction papers.

3. Allow the children to work their imaginative skills in making their dragons.

Chinese Lanterns

The Chinese New Year is never complete without the Lantern Festival. Allow your preschoolers to experience this event by making their own lanterns without dealing with real fire.

Steps in Making:

1. Give each child a paper bag and let them paint it red.

2. Help them cut stylish holes on the paper bag.

3. Give each child yellow or orange paper to crumple.

4. Instruct them to put the crumpled papers inside the lantern.

5. Staple handles to their lanterns.

6. Have a fun lantern parade in the campus.

New Year is the day wherein people will say goodbye to the previous year and will welcome a new one – it is a celebration being held all over the world throughout the years already.  You’ll see people exchanging New Year greetings. However, though all people celebrate New Year, it does not necessarily mean that they celebrate it during the first day of January as there are certain countries, such as China, India and Israel, which use a different calendar.  On the other hand, there are also countries that celebrate the New Year during the first day of planting crops or during the first day of harvest.  Countries may welcome the New Year in different times but people would always celebrate the occasion with the same amount of zeal and excitement.

People celebrate the New Year according to their countries’ respective culture.  Nevertheless, most customs and traditions are deeply rooted to superstitions and getting rid of evil spirits.  These practices are done in order to help people leave their unfortunate experience from the past year behind and to jumpstart their lives with fresh and hopeful attitude on the coming year.  Even though people practice different rituals for the New Year, it cannot be denied that all countries will all celebrate the New Year.

In Australia

New Year’s celebration in Australia starts on the last day of December until the sixth day of January.  During this public holiday, people will meet with their family and friends to celebrate the New Year with one another.  They would always make the most out of it by celebrating outdoors through a picnic, sports or camping.

In Canada

Regarded a social holiday, Canadians will celebrate the New Year through midnight parties wherein everyone would be dancing to whatever upbeat music that is being played.  Music shows and firework displays are annually held on Canada’s major metropolitan cities and these events never fail to call the attention of tourists abroad.

 In France

People in France have their own unique term to refer to New Year celebrations.  This term is called “R?eveillon.” Prior to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the country back in 1582, France welcomes the New Year during the dying days of March and in the early days of April.

Germany

“Silvester” is the term that refers to the New Year celebration practiced by the Germans.  This is because December 31 is not only the New Year but also Saint Sylvester’s feast day.  Saint Sylvester is a pope back in the fourth century.  “Silvester” starts at the eve of December 31.

In Italy

Celebrating New Year in Italy is always a wonderful experience as the country will never fail to provide you memories that you will keep with forever.  This is Hollywood celebrities that have Italian heritage would always go back to their home country to celebrate what they call “the call of nativity” or “the return to originality.”

In Japan

Before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the Japanese soil back in 1873, the Japanese based their New Year’s celebration according to the Chinese lunar calendar.  Thus, they celebrate the New Year during the month of spring.  Japanese are very loyal to their customs and traditions that they still practice them today.

In New Zealand 

If you want a New Year close to nature, then the best place for you to be is in New Zealand.  This country is such a delight to foreign visitors.

In Russia

New Year in Russia would probably be the most ultimate New Year experience of all.  Russians are also very loyal to their practices that being a part of it can be quite an experience.  Nevertheless, Russians make sure that New Year will only have love and care in the air.

In Singapore

If you want to witness various New Year celebrations in one place, then you should go to Singapore.  However, the major New Year celebration in the country will still be according to the Chinese culture.  The New Year – or Chinese New Year or Spring Festival – is the most important celebration among the Singaporeans.  This occasion lasts for fifteen days based on the old lunar calendar.

In Spain

People in Spain would always make sure that they will let go of all the things the put them down during the previous year once the New Year arrives.  They would always look at their surroundings in a very optimistic manner.

In United Kingdom

January 1 became the official New Year’s Day in the UK back in 1752 because this day is always regarded as the first day in the Gregorian calendar.  It is not only the UK who observed this day as the New Year’s Day but also their colonies.  New Year lights will always fill every part of U.K. during this occasion.

In United States of America

Following the Gregorian calendar, USA celebrates their New Year every January 1.  During this day, people will meet with their families and friends and have fun-filled get-together.  They would throw parties with loads of alcohols and delicious foods.

The black dress has long been considered an essential piece in every woman’s wardrobe. It is one of those articles of clothing that every woman must have no matter her occupation or lifestyle. With its, versatility, a sexy black dress can be worn on almost every occasion. It can be worn to the office, to a party, and of course with some creativity, this little dress can also easily be transformed into a Halloween party costume. If you want a fancy costume but don’t have the time and budget to spend, here are some great Halloween costume ideas you can use while considering your black dress as your costume.

Halloween Ideas: Working with your Black Dress for a Sexy Halloween Costumes! 

The Dark Fairy

Don’t be cute fairy. Tear some wholes on your little black dress for a totally wicked look, then wear some fishnet stockings, black wig, and thick eyeliner and mascara.

All you really need is a little imagination to create a fancy Halloween costume from your trusty little black dress!

The Sexy Devil

With your little black dress on, you’re now just a few steps away from looking evil. All you need now to complete the devil’s look is a pair of devil horns. You can either buy a pair, or make them using paper mache attached to a headband. You can paint them red or black, any color you want. For a totally evil look, wear a devil tail and carry a devil’s pitchfork.

The Hag

For this Halloween Party costume you will need a cane, a fake crooked nose, crazy wig, and some pieces of fabric. Create a hump on your back by stuffing pieces of fabric under the back of your little black dress. Wear your scraggly wig and your fake nose. Carry a cane and look around you as if you’re angry with everyone.

The Wizard and Witch

If you are worried about the weather, try the wizard costume. Wear a purple cape over a short-sleeved black dress. Put some sparkly gel over your face then wear a pointy hat embellished with glitters. Witches are scary but they don’t have to be ugly. Be a glamorous witch by wearing purple wig instead of the usual black one and embellish your pointy hat with flashy jewelries.

The Cat Lady

Transform from human into an animal with this quick and easy to make cat costume. All you need for this Halloween costume idea is an inexpensive tail, a pair of cat collars, an ear set, and your little black dress of course.  Put the two cat collars together and wear them around your neck. If you want, you may also make your own cat collars using black felt or fake leather. Wear long black nails, and then paint your face with feline whiskers and paint a black spot at the tip of your nose to complete the transformation.

The Zombie

For this costume you might need to buy some prosthetics and some zombie make-up but you can also be creative and make your own. Your creativity is the limit when it comes to the make up, so just have fun playing with it, you can never go wrong. Wear a tattered dress and walk on barefoot with a shuffling gait.

The Sexy Librarian

For this Halloween idea you will need:  your black dress, a pair of big horn-rimmed glasses and some gray or white hair color spray. Spray your hair with white or gray hair color then pull it up into a bun. If you want to go for the sexy librarian, keep your look prim and proper and cut your black dress short, then wear fishnets and high heels.

Halloween Party, just like other parties, can be successful with proper preparation beforehand. You should be able to set the appropriate mood for the party to be able to achieve desirable result. And again, PREPARE beforehand. You should also know what exactly your party would be like.

Are you preparing for a simple Halloween party? Or perhaps you like Spooky Halloween? Or maybe you want a creepy, eerie Halloween party that will send shivers on your guests’ spine.

You must decide what kind of party you will host for the occasions to come up with better and concise preparations for the Halloween Party.

Halloween Ideas #1 – Simple yet Fun Party for Halloween

If you’re planning for a simple party, you can ask your expected guests to attend your party having their Halloween costumes on. Let them know what would be the party theme so that they can come to your party having their dress synced with the party atmosphere.

For example, A Superheroes Party theme, you can ask your party guests to dress with their favorite superhero character (superman, batman, etc). This would be fun especially if your invited friends are superheroes aficionados.

Halloween Ideas #2 - Spooky Party for Halloween

Halloween Decorations – Decorate your party venue (your house) with scary and spooky Halloween décor like coffins, skeletons, spiders, cobwebs, bats and bugs. You can even set a “cemetery-like” environment to make the party spookier.

Halloween Invitations – Increase the eerie feeling of the party and entice your guests by sending them a spooky Halloween invitation card. It can have vampire, coffin or bat theme.

Halloween Costumes – To complete the scary atmosphere, guests should dress appropriately. Ask them to wear something spooky. Frankenstein’s costumes or Jason, or vampire or zombie costumes will do.

Halloween gives one an opportunity to exercise his/her creativity when it comes to costumes. And to complete a perfect Halloween costume, one can get a creatively-made or store-bought creepy mask. You can have different options when it comes to Halloween mask.

Here are some Ideas for Halloween Mask

Halloween Ideas #1 - The Monster

Materials

• Cardboard, poster board or any chosen material for mask
• Scissors
• Paint, Fake Fur or Felt
• Puncher
• Strings

Procedure

1. Draw a monster face on your paper or cardboard.

2. Cut the face shape with scissors.

3. Decorate the mask with fake fur, felt or paint.

4. Create holes in the sides of the mask

5. Tie the strings in each hole and fasten it to your head.

Halloween Ideas #2 - The Black Cat

Materials:

• Paper Plate
• Felt
• Scissors
• Strings
• Glue

Procedure:

1. On a paper plate, draw a cat-shaped face mask.

2. Cover the mask with felt.

3. Create holes in the mask for your eyes and nose.

4. Decorate the mask and add whiskers, nose and eyes using felt.

5. Create holes in the sides of your cat mask where you can tie your strings.

6. Fasten the two strings and tie the mask up on your head.

Halloween Costume Ideas #3 - Plaster Cast

Materials:

• Plaster cast tape
• Paint
• Strings or rubber band
• Glitters

Procedure:

1. Buy a plaster cast and make your own Halloween mask.

2. Make the plaster cast wet and mold it on your face. Let it dry for about one hour or so.

3. Once the plaster dries out, put additional embellishments on it. You can use paint or glitters. You can also add other accessories with glue.

4. Have holes on each side and tie up with either strings or rubber band.

And voila! There you have your spooky Halloween mask. You really need not to spend a lot just to have a spooky Halloween costume. Just a little bit of creativity and some tweaks here and there and you’ll have what you’re looking for.

Have a spooky yet Happy Halloween!

Note: As you celebrate Halloween, greet your friends with these Halloween ecards.

Navratri is Hindu festival which literally mean, ‘Nine Auspicious Nights’.  It is celebrated twice every year in devotion of the supreme goddess – Durga.  The celebration is marked with fasting, or pure vegetarian meals, chanting of mantras, and meditation.

Apart from these, there are some specific customs pertaining to this festival such as;

1. Posting goddess Durga’s images in homes and temples.

2. Offering fruits and flower sacrifices

3. Barley seeds are planted in small mud beds to mark the first day of celebration, once grown the shoots are given to the attendees as a sign of blessing from the goddess.

4. On the Last day of the festival, Mahanavani, nine young girls who have not attained puberty are chosen to represent the nine forms of goddess Durga, their feet are washed as a sign of welcome and respect to the goddess.  The girls are then presented with food and new attires by the devotees.

5. On the last day of Navratri, the Idol of the goddess is immersed in water

6. A day after the Navratri celebration is set for giving thanks to the goddess for her blessings and dummy of King Ravana, the demon is burnt.

7. Exchanging Navratri greetings and wishes. This always be a part of every festival and occasions worldwide.

Celebrated twice a year, in March-April and in September-October, Navratri is an important Hindu festival meaning ‘nine fortunate nights’.  Navratri Festival is devoted to the worship of the dynamic and supreme powers of Goddess Durga. The festival is observed in sets of 3 days with each day dedicated to a unique form of the deity as follows;

The First Set of 3 days:  she is invoked to get rid of defects, evil and contamination. 

 She is referred as;

·        Day 1:  Shailputri - Companion of lord shiva

·        Day 2:  Brahmacharini - repentance

·        Day 3:  Chandraghanta - for beauty and bravery

On the Second set of 3 days: the goddess is worshipped as the source of spiritual wealth, she is addressed as;

·        Day 4: Kushmanda - creator of universe

·        Day 5: Skand Mata - mother of the chief warrior in the army of God

·        Day 6: Katyayani -  the goddess with 3 eyes and 4 hands seated on a lion

The final set of 3 days: worshipped for spiritual enlightenment and success.  She is referred as;

·        Day 7:  Kalratri -  Fearless

·        Day8: Maha Gauri - for calmness and wisdom

·        Day 9: Siddhidatri -  worshipped by all

Diwali is a popular five day festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world.  It’s a festival marked with pomp and color in honor of Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu wealth goddess.  Each day of the festival is celebrated based on its own unique beliefs. 

 The five day celebrations are observed as follows:

DAY 1- Dhanteras: Marked on the 13^th day of the Kartik month in the Hindu lunar calendar.   It is dedicated to the god of death, Lord Yamaraj. A special feature of the day is use of new utensils and lighting of Yama-diya at night. Diya are clay-lamp used for illuminating homes during Diwali festival.

DAY 2: Choti Diwali: Marked to celebrate the liberation of mankind from fear by Lord Krishna for killing Narakasur - the demon.  The climax of the day is bathing and body oil massage. According to Hindus belief, those who don’t bathe during Choti Diwali will go to Nakar or hell.

DAY 3: Lakshmi Puja (Pooja)Badi Diwali: The Main day of the festival, commemorates Goddess Lakshmi, requesting for wealth and prosperity. The main activity of the day is cleaning and decorating of homes with torans and beautiful embellishments.

DAY 4: Govardhan: The day is dedicated to Lord Govardha in remembrance of the first pooja by Lord Krishna together with Vraja people requesting for protection against heavy rains.

DAY 5: Bhai Diy:  It is celebrated in honor of brothers and sisters relations. This is where brothers visit their sisters and sisters prepare sweet goodies for their brothers. It is believed to bless both.

The Diwali Festival or the “Festival of lights” is one momentous occasion in India. The main sight you ought to observe during this occasion are the rows of lights displayed in the homes of Hindus.  These alluring glows along the streets of India are produced by a very simple traditional source of light called Diyas. These are made from clay shaped like bowls and in it is filled with oil used to spark off the wick which is usually made of cotton and finally produce fire.

However, at the present time, a lot of modifications are made in crafting diyas to create variety and because of increasing competition in the market as well. Some are made with blue pottery and metal instead of clay. But in the celebration of the Diwali Festival, you can personalize your own diyas so as to make the occasion a bit more special.Here are some ideas on how to make your Diya more creative and unique.

• Color. Painting your diya with traditional shapes and colors makes it look perfect for the Diwali theme. Use acrylic colors and choose a lot of reds, orange and greens which are mostly the colors of Diwali

• Glass fragments. Glue some colorful glass fragments over your diyas and create different designs. In time that the diyas is lit up, the lights will illuminate through the glass and make it more attractive and elegant to look at. Glass sticks well over metal diyas.

·    Shaped Diya. Customize your Diya using Dough made of wheatflour and water. Make it thick to shape the dough well according to your desired figure. Then paint it with acrylic color and let it dry entirely.

·   Shaped Diya with Natural Flower Petals. Another way to decorate your custom-shaped diya is to put natural flower petals in it. Aside from the colorful pattern it creates, it makes it more lively and pleasing to the eye.

·    Diya with Ceramic clay. Ceramic clays are best if you want to make an embossed effect on your diya. Shape the clay to your preferred design then before it completely dries, stick it to the diya until it completely hardens and dries out. Use acrylic color to enhance the design and make it look exquisite.

Among the various Hindu festivals in Kerala, Vishu is unique. This is a symbol of the unostentatious Malayali and so Vishu is free from the usual pomp and show and merry-making associated with other festivities. Secondly, this one has nothing to do with religion. Also the first day for Medam is the unchangeable day of Vishu, whereas other festivals are determined according to the lunar asterisms on which they fall.
        This day is the astronomical new year day and it is celebrated as such. The Malayalis believe that the fortunes for the year depend upon the nature of the object one sees first in the morning of Vishu Day. So preparation is everything! . Raw rice is put in a circular bell-metal vessel known as ‘Urule’ and over it a folded newly washed cloth is spread. A golden coloured cucumber, betel leaves, betel nuts, metal mirror, yellow flowers of Konna tree (cassia fistula), a Grandha (book of palm leaves) and a few gold coins are then placed over the cloth in the vessel. Then some oil is put into two coconut halves, a few wicks are lit and this illuminates the goodies inside. A metal lamp filled with coconut oil is kept burning by the side of the vessel as well. The morning of the Vishu at about 5 O’clock, one of the members of the house, usually the eldest female member, not surprisingly, lights the lamp and looks at ‘Kani’ ( an omen). She wakes up other members, one after another and the Kani is shown to everyone of them, taking particular care not to allow anyone to look by chance at other things. Even the cattle are not deprived of the privilege, as the Kani is taken to the cattle-shed and placed before them to have a dekho.
        The next item is the giving of handsel (Kaineetom). The eldest member of the family takes some silver coins and gives them to a junior member with some raw rice and Konna flower. This is repeated in the case of other members and they in turn give such handsel to their juniors, relatives, servants etc. After this the children begin to fire crackers.
        In the morning then it’s all talk, bath and people put on their forehead the marks of ashes and sandal paste and go to the temple for worship. After worship, they prepare a feast which is moderate and elegant.
        In certain parts of Kerala, where the paddy cultivation commences after the monsoon, there is an observance called chal (Furrow) closely associated with Vishu . This is nothing but the auspicious commencement of the agricultural operations, in the new year .

TraditionThe Malayalam word kani literally means “that which is seen first,” so “Vishukkani” means “that which is seen first on Vishu.”
Arranged in the family puja room the night before by the mother in the family, the Vishukkani is a panorama of auspicious items, including flowers, fruits and vegetables, clothes and gold coins.