Christmas is the most important festival of the Christians. Christmas is same for them what Diwali for the Hindus’ Idd for Muslims. It is celebrated on the 25th December every year with great pomp and show. Why it is celebrated: This festival is celebrated in the memory of the day on which Christ was born. Christ was the founder of Christianity. It is believed that he was sent to this world to save mankind. Description of the Celebration: Great preparations are made for the occasion. All houses and churches are cleaned and white washed. The walls are decorated with paper flowers, pictures, looking glasses and the wall buntings. All the Christians rich or poor, young or old take part in it. The shopkeepers who sell Christmas cards and Christmas presents decorate their shops with beautiful pictures and toys. They do so to attract people to their shop. Planting of the Christmas tree: The most important part of the festival is the planting of the Christmas tree. A large branch of the tree is cut down. It is planted in one corner of the house. Then this branch is decorated with little toys such as dolls, birds, flowers etc. At night candles and electric bulbs are lighted on its twigs. The Christmas tree looks very bright and beautiful. Prayers and Exchange of Presents: Then in the night all the children of the house are called in. All sing songs and offer prayer to God who sent his Son, Christ to earth to remove all sins and sufferings. After the prayer all the members of the house and guests are given. Christmas presents. Christmas cards, pictures, books and sweets are sent to friends and realties. Feats and Dramatic Performances: Then big feats are arranged. Delicious dishes are served before all. The house wife looks very important figure. She entertains all the guests. People prepare best food they can offer on that day. After, the feast is over all members take part in music. They dance and sing at night. Then the festival comes to a close. All gather in the church to pray God that they may led a happy life in the coming year. Conclusion: Christmas is a festival of rejoicing to the Christians all over the world. In the days of British rule all the schools and colleges are closed for fifteen days on the occasion of this festival.

REEMA NANDANWAR   (VIII)

Red Rose Trilanga

Noisy times and quiet times Sweet Spring Spring is sweet because we can go boat riding and bees come and take honey out of the flowers. I feel good because it is very, very, very hot outside and I can go on the swings. The best part of spring is that my family can go to the beach.

dhruv_91193@yahooco.in   (IX)

Red Rose Trilanga

Vigneshwara, one of the popular deities worshipped by members of most Indian religions. It is Maharashtra~s most important festival. Ganapathy is also the God of Knowledge and is invoked at the commencement of any function. He is the god that protects his devotees from any obstacles (vighnam). Hence the name Vighneswara. He is also described as the Supreme Leader ( Vinayaka). Ganapathy is said to have had two spouses. Buddhi (intellect) and Siddhi (achievement). Thus he is the master of knowledge and achievement. Probably, a combination of Sidhhi and Vinayak have given Mumbai~s most famous Ganesh temple the name of Siddhivinayak. His parents were Siva and Parvati. Legend has it that Ganapathy himself wrote the Mahabharata, to the dictation of Guru Veda Vyasa. He is also considered the most intelligent. A challenge was thrown to brothers Ganapathy and Karthikeya by Sage Narada. The challenge was whoever went around the globe first would have the fruit first. Karthikeya went around the world which took quite some time while Ganapathy went round his parents thrice and claimed the fruit. The logic he gave was that since his parents represented the universe he had gone round them. Now do not look at this story as a rational logical person but try and understand the thought behind it. It is to do with the use of the Intellect. Ganapathy used it to know what the Sage meant while his brother took the Sage ka order at face value. Similarly in our lives we must learn to use our Intellect (the ability to discriminate between right and wrong) and look at the deeper meanings of things. Using our intellect will force us to make decisions, right or wrong, time will tell. If wrong, so what, we will learn by our mistakes. The key is to try. Ganesh Puja was prevalent in Maharashtra since the ancient times. We owe it to Bal Gangadhar Tilak for reviving it. He used to unite the people and arouse them against the misdeeds of foreign rule. Its popularity has only grown in recent times. The annual ceremony at Chowpatty (Mumbai ka beach) gets lacs of people wanting to have a dekho at the Elephant God being immersed into the Arabian Sea.

REEMA NANDANWAR   (VIII)

Red Rose Trilanga

1)A cockroach can live for 10 days without a head. . 2)The longest place name still in use is: TaumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturiPukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu - a New Zealand hill. . 3)111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321. . 4)A snail can sleep for three years. . 5)All polar bears are left handed. . 6)It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky. . 7)TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. . 8)"Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters. . 9)Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf. . 10)The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

aditya shabani   (XI)

Red Rose Trilanga

Navratri Navratri, the festival of nine nights is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine forms. According to the Hindu calendar, Navratri begins from the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin which usually coincides with the end of the rainy season. The nine days have great religious significance as Goddess Durga, the diNavratri.jpgvine mother, had destroyed the evil force (in the form of the demon Mahisashura) during this period. The festival is celebrated with true devotion and purity all over the country. People from various sections of the society irrespective of caste and creed celebrate thisfestival by visiting temples and offering pujas at the Mother’s feet. In some places special puja samarohas are also held by setting the images of Mother Durga on beautifully decorated pandals. Temples dedicated to Shakti also make arrangement for pujas and bratas to mark thesenine days as true symbols of devotion and adoration towards the divine mother. Post your comments Post your comments [HEMANT PATEL]

manas gupta   (X)

Red Rose Trilanga

Dussehra is an important festival. It is celebrated all over the country in different forms. In Bengal it is celebrated as Durga Puja., In the test of the country it is celebrated in the honour of the victory of Ram a over Ravan.People belonging to the warrior class worship their weapons on this day. They believe that weapons are a symbol of the Goddess Durga. People living in these areas sacrifice goats and lambs on this day. The people belonging to the northern India, celebrate this festival byorganising Ramlila. These Ramlilas are an enactment of the life of Ram. They start nine days before the festival. On the tenth day the effigies of Ravana, . Meghnath and Kumbhkarna are burned by shooting of the arrows by Ram. and Laxman .They come to the ground on beautifully decorated chariots. The city of Mysore celebrates this festival by taking out large procession, which includes horses, state police, folk artists, drummers, etc. The Maharaja of Mysore also takes part in the procession. He sits on a decorated elephant. The city of Mysore is decorated with flowers and coloured bulbs. The palace of the Maharaja of Mysore is festooned with , flowers and electric bulbs All these rituals are witnessed by thousands of people, who also take part in them. There is an air of festivities all over the place. Shops and. markets are decorated. People wear their finest clothes. Children and young people are excited. Everyone greets each other. People belonging to different religions also take part in the festivities. . This festival has great social value. New bonds of friendships are formed during the nine days if festivities. Everyone works together to make these festivals a great success. {MANAS GUPTA & HEMANT PATEL}

manas gupta   (X)

Red Rose Trilanga

Dasara is one of the most important festivals for Hindus. All the Hindus living in India celebrate this festival. It is a ten day festival celebrated in honour of the mother Goddess. It is also a festival to celebrate victory of good over evil. Dasara is celebrated in different ways in different parts of our country. The festival starts on the first day of the month of~Aswija~ i.e., on ~Suddha Paadyami day of Aswija month~ and lasts for 10 days ending on the Vijayadasami day. Mother Goddess is worshipped in the form of ten ~Avataras~ - 1. Bala, 2. Lalitha 3. Annapurna 4. Aswarudha, 5. Rajamatanga, 6. Vagdevini, 7. Varahi, 8. Parasakti, 9. Bhuvaneswari, and 10. Chandi. In the south, Dasara is celebrated in the name of "Devi Navaratri" for nine days and nights. Out of the nine days the last three days - Durgastami, Mahanavami and Vijayadasami - are important. In North India Dasara is a festival to commemorate Rama~s victory over Ravana. It is a victory of good over evil. On Vijayadasami day all villages, towns and cities have a festive look. Children, men and women wear new clothes, say prayers to Durga, eat festive dishes and reach Ramlila grounds by evening. There huge effigies of Ravana, Kumbakarna his brother, and Meghanadha his son, are erected. A mock battle is fought by Rama and Lakshmana on one side, and the demons on the other side. The effigies are then razed to ground amidst the cries of ~Ramchandar ki Jai~. Rajputs in Rajasthan worship their weapons on that day. In Bengal, Dasara is celebrated with pomp in honour of Goddess Durga. Huge Durga idols are made and worshipped devotedly for three days. Some animals are also sacrifised. On Vijayadasami day, Mother Durga is taken out in a procession with Devi Lakshmi on one side and Devi Saraswati on the other side. Similarly Sri Ganesh is put on one side and Sri Karthikeya, another son of the Goddess, is placed on the other side. At the end of the procession all idols are immersed in water. In the South ~Devi Navartri~ is celebrated with pomp and piety in all temples. The temples of Kanchi Kamakshi, Madura Meenakshi, Kanaka Durga of Vijayawada, and Bramaramba of Srisailam attract large number of pilgrims. On the seventh day Saraswati Puja is performed. All students pray to the Goddess of Learning on that day. All weapons and tools are cleaned and worshipped on Navami day. Cars, buses etc., may be seen fully decorated on that day. Vijayadasami day is considered to be an auspicious day for starting all new ventures. It is said that Pandavas kept all their weapons hidden in a ~Sami tree~ when they were doing ~Agnatavasa~, in the kingdom of Virata and they took back their weapons on Vijayadasami day, worshipping the Sami tree. People consider it good to go to the Sami tree and pray to it on Vijayadasami day. Dasara is celebrated in different ways in different parts of India, and it is a festival of joy for all. All consider it as a celebration of victory of good over evil. It is a festival enjoyed by all.

manas gupta   (X)

Red Rose Trilanga

Diwali is a very famous festival. It is celebrated in honor of Lord Rama. On this day Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. People make great preparations to celebrate this festival. They whitewash their houses. They purchase earthen lamps and candles to illuminate their houses, Bulbs of different colours are also used. The sweet-sellers prepare sweets. The shop-keepers display their goods. People wear fine clothes. They enjoy the occasion; they purchase sweets and offer gifts and sweets to their friends and relations. Sugar toys are also sold. The row of burning candles and lamps present a beautiful sight many people buy new utensils. At night people worship the goddess Lakshmi. She is the goddess of wealth. Some people gamble on this day, it is a bad habit. Children enjoy Diwali by bursting crackers.

manas gupta   (X)

Red Rose Trilanga

“It’s hard to detect good luck it looks so much like something you’ve earned.” ~ Frank H. Clark

prashant maithil   (XII)

Red Rose Berasia Road

Discipline means the observance of certain well-defined rules. Without such ... Discipline is essential for every group, for every society and for every political ...

SHWETA PARYANI   (XII)

Red Rose Berasia Road