Do you hear the bells ringing? Yes, Christmas is around the corner! It is a celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, a central figure in Christianity, and is commonly celebrated on 25 December by majority of Christians, as well as, culturally, by non-Christians. Christmas day is also a public holiday in many countries. Continue reading
In 2019, Hanukkah will be celebrated starting on sunset of 22 December until nightfall of 30 December. Hanukkah, which is also known as Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication, is a Jewish celebration that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Continue reading
Our woman hero of December is Anna Komnene! She was a Byzantine princess, scholar, physician, hospital administrator, and historian. She was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and his wife Irene Doukaina. She is best known for her attempt to usurp her brother, John II Komnenos, and for her work The Alexiad, an account of her father’s reign. Continue reading
Our book of December is The Snowy Day! It is a 1962 children’s picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats. It features Peter, an African American boy, who explores his neighborhood after the season’s first snowfall. Keats received the 1963 Caldecott Medal for his collage artwork, which made The Snowy Day the first picture book with an African American protagonist to win a major children’s award.
The feast of Sinterklaas is celebrated on the evening of 5 December with Saint Nicholas’s Eve and on the morning of 6 December, in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Northern France. Sinterklaas is a famous figure based on Saint Nicholas, a Christian patron saint of children, and the feast of Sinterklaas is the celebration to commemorate Saint Nicholas’ name day on 6 December. Continue reading
This year, Thanksgiving is coming on the 28 November! This national holiday is celebrated in the United States, also in other countries by people of American descents. Previously, it was a day to give thanks on a good harvest and the blessings received in the preceding years. Continue reading
Our woman hero of November is Shirin Ebadi! She is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women’s, children’s, and refugee rights. She was the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. In 2004, she was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the “100 most powerful women in the world”. She is also included in a published list of the “100 most influential women of all time.” Continue reading
Our book of November is The Giving Tree! It is an American children’s picture book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1964 by Harper & Row, it has become one of Silverstein’s best-known titles, and has been translated into numerous languages. The book follows the lives of a female apple tree and a boy, who develop a relationship with one another. The tree is very “giving” and the boy evolves into a “taking” teenager, man, then elderly man. Despite the fact that the boy ages in the story, the tree addresses the boy as “Boy” his entire life.
Do you know that in 2019, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street? Sesame Street, which was premiered on 10 November 1969, is celebrating its 50th anniversary: Sesame Street, 50 Years and Counting! The yearlong celebration will be full of a celebrity-studded special, press and social buzz, events, partner activations, and social impact. Continue reading
Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated by people in Mexico and by those of Mexican ancestry throughout the world on 31 October to 2 November, when they will have a gathering of family and friends to pray for and remember their departed ones, so they could help support those departed ones’ spiritual journey. Continue reading
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