♥ Tuesday, February 24, 2009
b)
Similarites: Both christmas and chinese new year is a festival that can allow people to look forward to, and make people feel happy and excited. When you go to the shopping centre, you will always be able to hear chinese new year and christmas songs when it is 2 weeks before the festival. People will be busy buying decorative items to decorate the house, to make the house to contain a sense of season happiness.
Differences:Christmas is the most important festival for the American and Europeans, while Chinese New year is the most important festival for chinese. For chinese new year, the elderly will give the young angbao as a symbol of good luck. However, for Christmas, the elderly will give the young presents, which are nicely wrapped. For Chinese new year, we will spent alot of money buying goods. But for Jess, who comes from a poor family, usually do not have much money to buy Christmas gifts and decorations.
-Liu Si Yi (13) 2E7
Blogged @ 10:12 PM
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a)I believe that all chinese people in world celebrates chinese new year. I celebrate it too, because i am a chinese. Chinese New Year is a very important festival to the my family.My family and i will do all the cleaning of the house, and the decorations before one week of the chinese new year. My grandmother and i will go Chinatown on weekends to buy all new year goodies. Usually, we will buy alot of things, like the glutinous rice cake and flowers. My grandfather usually won't go with us, because he do not like shopping. Other than foods and decorative items, we will also buy new year clothes. Most of my new year clothes are red in colour because the chinese believes that the colour red brings good luck. On the day before new year, the whole family will get together and watch tv, play mahjong and eat steambowl in my grandparent's house. I really enjoyed that as it can bring joy to the family. When the clock strucks 12nn, the childrens will shout HAPPY NEW YEAR to the family, and then the adults will make us Angbao and we will be very happy. We will also stay up late. in chinese it is called 'shou sui'. which means that if you stayed up until very late on the first day of chinese new year, you can bring longevity to your parents. Thus, all the children stayed up until 3am , until we really cannt stand it and fell asleep.
In the afternoon, we will also visit other friends and relatives' house, wearing our new clothes. The children will wish the elderly good luck , properity and best wishes and the they will give us angbao! And then we will gather in one corner counting our money. I can say that chinese new year is the most important festival for the chinese as it can bring luck and joyness to the family. I enjoyed it alot.
-Liu Si Yi (13) 2E7
Blogged @ 9:31 PM
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Assignment 3(b): Compare and contrast- Christmas
Similarities:
- Jess shops for gifts to exchange with his friends and family, so do I.
- Both of us always have trouble finding something good enough to give and sometimes we face the same problem, that is, lack of money.
- We open the presents given to us on the day we receive it.
- Jess and I both celebrate Christmas with our families.
Differences:
- My Christmas shopping is not done with my family, but with my friends.
- I do not open my presents in front of my friends, but Jess does.
- Jess and his younger sisters sing Christmas carols together, whereas I do not sing but listen to the Christmas songs played on the radio.
- There are no fireplaces in Singapore, but fireplaces are present in Jess' place and they are believed to allow Santa to find his way to their house.
-Chin Yi Ling (3) 2E7
Blogged @ 9:16 PM
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(b) In the story, Jess’s family celebrates Christmas together, it is somehow similar to how we celebrate in Singapore. Every year during Christmas, we will all be busy shopping for presents for our family and friends at shopping malls and exchange our gifts with them, so does Jess’s family.
Jess’s sister, Joyce Ann hopes that on Christmas, Santa Claus will comes into the house through the chimney to give her a Christmas present, but it was always Jess who was the “Santa Claus”. It is also the same for me, as when I am still young, I used to think that Santa Claus will ride on his reindeer and go round the world distributing the presents to the children. But this “dream” never seems to come true for me every year. It was my parents who came sneaking into my room when I was asleep and put the present by my bed or they will give it to me directly. I get to realise it only when I grow older, that Santa Claus do not really exist.
While we were shopping happily and not worrying for the prices of the presents, also looking forward to Christmas, Jess's family were sulking over what to buy for their family and friends as their father had only given them a dollar each.
-Shermin Ang Jia Xi (24) 2E7
Blogged @ 9:10 PM
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Appendix 1.6a
Assignment 3: Blogsite
a)
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction.
This year's Chinese New Year was fun and memorable for me.
Before the New Year's Day, a reunion dinner is held where members of the family, near and far away, get together for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family, so all my cousins and relatives went to my grandparents' house for reunion dinner and celebration. With new clothes on and broad smiles on our faces, my family went t0 our grandparents' house excitedly.
My grandmother had especially cooked my favourite dish, Budda jumps over the wall. It is an umbrella term for a type of highly complex Chinese soup or stew consisting of many ingredients of non-vegetarian origins and requiring one to two full days to create. It is said to smell so good that Buddhas (vegetarians) would jump over the wall to eat it, hence the name.
After the sumptous dinner, I played with my cousins and we received red packets and gifts such as sweets, mandrin oranges, cakes or biscuits from the elderlys and married couples.
As hours of laughter and chit-chatting passed, members of the family gathered around throughout the night and reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. It was believe that children who "Shou Sui" will increase the longevity of the parents.
This year's Chinese New Year was indeed a very enjoyable one. I would never forget such a fantastic festival spent with my family.
<---don't laugh ah:)
b)
Compare and contrast between Jess's Easter Day and my Easter Day.
From "Bridge To Terabithia" i can conclude that Jess experiences Easter Day differently from what i had experienced.
Jess only went to the church with his family and find the services very boring even though he is a christian and would not even care what the prechings were about. He did not even sing along when everybody did.
Although im not a Christian, but i find the prechings very meaningful as my friend has brought me there several times on Christmas, Easter Day and other festivals.
I have learnt more about Christianity and to appreciate what i had and many more. I always felt calm in churches and could feel the power of God.
Done By: Cheng Ya Wen(2) 2E7.
Blogged @ 9:00 PM
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(a) As a Chinese, the festival which we will usually celebrate will be Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year signifies a good start ahead and every family will be busy preparing, shopping for new clothes and doing spring cleaning when new year is round the corner.
Firstly, we sometimes will also visit places like Chinatown which has the atmosphere of a new year, with decorations all around and families shopping happily there. We often buy our new year goodies from there as there is a variety of choices for us to choose from. Although we have to walk among a sea of people but nevertheless, we cannot resist the temptation of shopping at Chinatown. On the eve of Chinese New Year, family will gather around to have steamboat as renion dinner.
Secondly, on the first morning of Chinese New Year, every family will be out for visiting to their relatives, wishing them good health, luck and prosperity Wearing new clothes and bringing mandarin oranges along with them are commonly seen. Mandarin oranges are associated with good luck. During the Chinese New Year celebrations, mandarin oranges are given to family and friends to usher in prosperity. Red packets with money in it, are typically handed out to younger generation by their parents, grand-parents, relatives, which symbolizes luck and wealth. Of course, we, as the children will be very elated to receive red packets from the elders and we will also get to play with our cousins which we will not meet them so often and as well as, we do not have to attend school.
Celebrating events like Chinese New Year can allow us to communicate better with our family and friends. It is a good opportunity for family members to gather together and have a part in doing the housework, not only can they lighten the burden of the person who is always doing the housework, they can also bond one another’s relationship better since parents nowadays are too busy to have time with their children. I feel that family relationship is the goal of celebrating events with family members as we can have our time spent together, hence, have a better relationship through communication.
-Shermin Ang Jia Xi (24) 2E7
Blogged @ 8:42 PM
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Assignment 3(a): Chinese Lunar New Year
A festival that my family and I celebrated together would be the Chinese Lunar New Year. On the Chinese Lunar New Year Eve, my family and I, together with my paternal relatives, had reunion dinner at my house.
As usual, we had steamboat. Having steamboat is what we have for reunion dinner annually, and it has become some sort of a tradition, but it never bores me and instead, somewhat, it excites me and I always look forward to it.
On the night of the Chinese New Year Eve, after my paternal relatives left my house, my family and I tuned in to Channel 5 and 8 on the television. We watched the countdown to the Chinese New Year. As a Chinese tradition, children are expected to stay up late at night to perpetuate the life expectancy of the elderly. Therefore, my siblings and I stayed up until 3 am the next morning. We spent the time watching television programmes.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, my family woke up around 10 am in the morning. We got changed into our new year clothings we bought and left home to my aunt’s house for vegetarian food. For your information, it is a Chinese practice to have vegetarian food on the first day of Chinese New Year. The foods my aunt whip up is always very delicious and I never fail to have more than one serving. After having the sumptuous food at my aunt’s house, we headed to my maternal uncle’s house for dinner- vegetarian food, once again. During the journey, I managed to catch some sleep as I was feeling sleepy having to wake up early after a long night the day before.
My maternal relatives were invited to my maternal uncle’s house, and therefore I saw many relatives there. We chatted and watched a movie, a DVD that one of my uncles brought for us to view. After we left my uncle’s house, we headed home. I was extremely exhausted but contented that I got plenty of red packets!
As usual, we had steamboat. Having steamboat is what we have for reunion dinner annually, and it has become some sort of a tradition, but it never bores me and instead, somewhat, it excites me and I always look forward to it.
On the night of the Chinese New Year Eve, after my paternal relatives left my house, my family and I tuned in to Channel 5 and 8 on the television. We watched the countdown to the Chinese New Year. As a Chinese tradition, children are expected to stay up late at night to perpetuate the life expectancy of the elderly. Therefore, my siblings and I stayed up until 3 am the next morning. We spent the time watching television programmes.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, my family woke up around 10 am in the morning. We got changed into our new year clothings we bought and left home to my aunt’s house for vegetarian food. For your information, it is a Chinese practice to have vegetarian food on the first day of Chinese New Year. The foods my aunt whip up is always very delicious and I never fail to have more than one serving. After having the sumptuous food at my aunt’s house, we headed to my maternal uncle’s house for dinner- vegetarian food, once again. During the journey, I managed to catch some sleep as I was feeling sleepy having to wake up early after a long night the day before.
My maternal relatives were invited to my maternal uncle’s house, and therefore I saw many relatives there. We chatted and watched a movie, a DVD that one of my uncles brought for us to view. After we left my uncle’s house, we headed home. I was extremely exhausted but contented that I got plenty of red packets!
The next few days of the Chinese Lunar New Year was spent visiting my relatives, and my family and I definitely ate plenty of Chinese New Year snacks and my siblings and I got more red packets!
To me, Chinese Lunar New Year is about getting together with the family and wishing one another well wishes, and also a time for the family to bond together to enhance in family relationships. I had an enjoyable Chinese Lunar New Year 2009 and hope to have an even more enjoyable Chinese Lunar New Year in the years to come!
-Chin Yi Ling (3) 2E7
Blogged @ 8:18 PM
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Assignment 3A) An account describing a time when my family and i celebrated Chinese New Year together:
On Chinese New Year eve, I have steamboat with my parents and we talked about our new year resolutions. In my opinion, in order to know the needs of each other, it is important for a family to communicate often, not just during special occasions. After the steamboat, I tuned in to channel 8 and watch the live broadcast of the countdown event held in Chinatown and mediacorp conference hall, and slept at about 1am as it a Chinese tradition belief that if the children were to stay overnight, their parents would enjoy a longer live expectancy.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, it is also the birthday of my cousin. Therefore to us, its really ''double happiness''. To celebrate the occasion, my family, relatives and i went to have reunion dinner at a restaurant in East Coast Park. We have many food there, but not enough to cost up to SGD$1000!! After eating, we found out that the bill was actually $1000 and was all shocked, thus we have learnt not to eat in restaurants during Chinese New Year. I think that the main purpose of having our reunion dinner together is for families to gather together and talk about what happened in the previous year, so as to improve our relationships and strengthen our family ties, so no matter where we have it and what we eat, as long as we are all happy, its fine with me.
To me, Chinese New Year is not just a festival that we can have tasty food to eat and that the children would receive red packets. It is also a festival that everyone gather together to have fun and forget about all the unhappy things that happened in the previous years. It also marks the start of a new year and we should turn over a new leaf and lead a new and better life if the previous year had not been successful to you.
*314 words
Done by: Keh Jun Yee (11) 2e7
On the first day of Chinese New Year, it is also the birthday of my cousin. Therefore to us, its really ''double happiness''. To celebrate the occasion, my family, relatives and i went to have reunion dinner at a restaurant in East Coast Park. We have many food there, but not enough to cost up to SGD$1000!! After eating, we found out that the bill was actually $1000 and was all shocked, thus we have learnt not to eat in restaurants during Chinese New Year. I think that the main purpose of having our reunion dinner together is for families to gather together and talk about what happened in the previous year, so as to improve our relationships and strengthen our family ties, so no matter where we have it and what we eat, as long as we are all happy, its fine with me.
To me, Chinese New Year is not just a festival that we can have tasty food to eat and that the children would receive red packets. It is also a festival that everyone gather together to have fun and forget about all the unhappy things that happened in the previous years. It also marks the start of a new year and we should turn over a new leaf and lead a new and better life if the previous year had not been successful to you.
*314 words
Done by: Keh Jun Yee (11) 2e7
Blogged @ 7:29 PM
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B)Compare and contrast between Jess' experience with his family during Christmas and my experience during Chinese New Year:
-The similarities between these two festivals are that both the events are joyous events to look forward to, families would be busy preparing for food and decorating the house for the festivals , families get to spend time together to celebrate the festival and sing joyous songs, people get to receive things as a form of greeting from others and many people are celebrating these two festivals.
-The differences between these two festivals are that during Chinese New Year, people who are young and not married would receive ang pao(chinese red packets) from the adults as a form of blessing, but during Christmas day, people of all ages exchange presents as a form of greeting. And also, instead of visiting our relatives just like us in Chinese New Year, Jess went to the church to sing with other people there instead. Plus, Chinese New Year's popular colour is red as it stands for prosper, while Christmas's colour are joyous colours like blue and green. Chinese New Year is also the first day of a year in the chinese calander, but Christmas day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
*211 words
Done by: Keh Jun Yee (11) 2e7
Blogged @ 7:02 PM
♥ Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Assignment 3(c)-1st festival: Australian Red Nose Day
Red Nose Day, held annually on the last Friday in June, its motive is to raise fund for the SIDS and kids organisation.
Why a Red Nose?
In 1988, the Red Nose Day concept was created by SIDS and Kids organisations around Australia. Since then, people and things like cars and buildings around the nation have joined in the fun. The red nose always brings a smile to their faces.
About SIDS and Kids
SIDS and Kids leads health promotion, dedicated to the elimination of sudden and unexpected infant death. Well-known for SIDS-related research and education programs, in 2002 SIDS and Kids changed their name to reflect the services they offered, and now provide much-needed counselling and support to all Australian families who have suffered the sudden death of an infant or young child, regardless of the cause. This service is provided free of charge, and available 24/7, 360 days per year.
Where Does The Red Nose Day Fund Go To?
Donation collected from the Red Nose Day helps in the following services and programmes:
•24 hours, 365 days per year crisis outreach and they give support for families and the community following the sudden and unexpected death of an infant or young child from 20 weeks gestation to 6 years.
•SIDS and Kids Safe Sleeping Program, it is an evidence-based health promotion campaign which offers practical advice to parents and health professionals about how to best decrease the risks of SIDS and sleep accidents.
• Research into the causes and prevention of sudden and unexpected death in the perinatal period and infancy.
How to participate and know more about the day?
- Get a red nose from your nearest store and wear it!
- The first Australian Red Nose Day was also successful as about a million face noses sold, leading to the raise of about $1.3 million and increased the awareness of the cause continously. Organisers were happy with the successful results and decided to make Red Nose Day a national event.
- In 1989 two million face noses were sold at $1.50 each and a new button badge that cost $2 was included with a picture of a chicken saying 'I'm too chicken to wear a red nose'. This price included a fine of 50 cents for not wearing a red nose! The 'chicken' badge has changed each year to feature an animal with a catchy slogan. These badges have become a Red Nose Day collector's item, and are in great demand every year.
Characters and slogans used to date include:
Chicken: "I'm too chicken to wear a red nose."
Bear: "I couldn't bear to wear a red nose."
Echidna: "Sometimes it's good to be nosy."
Possum: "I couldn't possumly wear a red nose."
Galah: "I'd rather be a galah than wear a red nose."
Diamond Python: "When a snake grows toes, I'll wear a red nose."
Platypus: "A red nose is fine but I'd much prefer mine."
Pig: "When pigs fly I'll wear a red nose."
Emu: "How emusing it would be to see a red nose on me."
Fish: "I wouldn't be caught wearing a red nose."
Kangaroo: "Hey Hey Hey it's red nose day."
Elephant: "Give me red toes, not a red nose."
Dog: "I wouldn't paws for a red nose."
Frog: "Wear a red nose? Froget it."
Bear: "I can't 'bear' to wear a red nose." view badges
Our personal opinions:
We think that it is really very creative for the Australians to have such a day. Not only does it let people to have fun, but it also contributes to the society, by donating money, as a form of good deed. All we have to do is just buy a red nose and wear it, have fun, and the money we use to buy the nose would go to charity. How easy and meaningful it is! I think that Singapore should organise such events too, so that Singaporeans, who have good living conditions, can actually contribute to the society. Also, for donation organisers, they would not have to get Mediacorp television station to get people to ask for donation. People can just buy a red nose on Red Nose Day and the donations will go to the proceeds. In addition, helping the needy by just buying an affordable red nose is just like bringing happiness to yourself. So by holding this event, not only are the people of the country doing good deeds, they will also feel proud and happy of what they have done.
Blogged @ 4:54 PM
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Assignment 3(c)-2nd festival: HalloweenHalloween (pronounced as: Hallowe’en) is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It is known as "All Hallows Eve" or "All Saints' Eve". It originated in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints and also observed by numerous western countries. It is largely a international celebration, but some Christians and pagans have expressed strong feelings about its religious overtones. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of 1846. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies.The day is often related with the colors orange and black, and is strongly associated with symbols such as the jack-o'-lantern.
One Halloween story says that, on that day, the ghostly spirits of all those who had died throughout the previous year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to interact with the living.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would put out the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as noisy as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would put out the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as noisy as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Probably a better explanation of why the Celts put out their fires was not to dishearten spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.
Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history decredit these stories as myth.
The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was incorporated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the source of our current tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
The force of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession diminished, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants escaping their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.
According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.
The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.
So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids. After all, the day itself is only as evil as one cares to make it.
Personal Opinions:
We have learnt from this research how "Jack-O-Lantern" came about. Originally, they used turnips instead of pumpkins. But pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. Also, we have learnt more about Halloween, such as its history and customs and why people dress up like ghosts.
Blogged @ 2:10 PM
