Category: Holidays & Observances

Advent

Advent Wreath and Candles.  source: Clemens (CC/wikimedia)

The Holiday Season in the western world has traditionally been synonymous with Advent, literally the period of expectation of an important arrival. For Christians the season of Advent is about the anticipation of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ. In the Christian Church, on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, candles are lit as symbols of Advent.

Be sure to check out our display of books for “Holidays and Holy Days!”

Guru Nanak

The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak,  was born in April of 1469 in north-west India, (what is now Pakistan.)  He would go on to become the first of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. Although his birthday was in April, the Guru’s birth is celebrated in November on the day of the full moon. (As such, the date will vary from year to year on the solar calendar, like other lunar based holidays.)

source: SikhiWiki
source: SikhiWiki

Most Canadians of Indian heritage who live in Canada are Sikhs, including many students at Lord Tweedsmuir, and communities throughout Surrey and Greater Vancouver.

For more on Guru Nanak and Sikhism, check out the SikhiWiki, the online “Encyclopedia of the Sikhs.”

IGD@YL 2015

Over 500 kids had the chance to come down to the school library for a fun day of board games as we observed International Games Day @  Your Library. Thanks to all the kids who participated, and to all the teachers who brought classes in: Ms. Mason, Mr. Fournier, Ms. Overgaard, Mr. Jones, Ms. Dry, Ms. Saini, Ms. Smith, Mr. Lewis, Ms. Nicholls and Ms. Konradova.  Games on the tables today included Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Chess, Taboo, Outburst, Settlers of Catan, Nowhere to Run, Cathedral, Stratego, Backgammon, Apples to Apples, The Game of Life,  Blokus, Things, Balderdash, Tribond, In Pursuit, Ticket to Ride, King of Tokyo, Mastermind and more!

IGD@YL 2015
IGD@YL 2015

Games Day: Board Games

IMG_0457International Games Day @ Your Library is coming up!  Public Libraries around the world will be celebrating on Saturday, November 21st.  Meanwhile School Libraries will observing the day tomorrow, Friday, November 20th.

Join us as we celebrate the immense educational benefits of gaming, especially the under-appreciated value of board games. The vast majority of our students are experienced with video games.  But for too many students today, they grow up unfamiliar with board games and the amazing rewards that come from board games.

Along with being fun, board games can be educational and can contribute to the development of valuable life skills.

IGD, library 048Read more about the benefits of board games:

Remembrance Day

PoppyAt Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary today we have our annual assemblies to observe Remembrance Day. We honour the memory of those Canadians who have fallen in war.  We do not celebrate or glorify war, but we pay respect to those that have paid the terrible costs of war.

This coming weekend will be a long weekend for students, a chance for rest and have fun. However, it is important to remember that Remembrance Day is not one of the those holidays that is just an excuse for a long weekend. Please take some time over these next few days to reflect on what Remembrance Day is all about. And on Wednesday, plan to take some time to honour those that have died and those that have served. Whether you attend a ceremony in person, or check out the television coverage of the ceremony in Ottawa, take some time for Remembrance.

Diwali

source: sikhguru.org.uk

Diwali is celebrated by millions of people in India, Canada and around the world. Hundreds of millions of Hindus celebrate “the Festival of Lights.” People of other faiths, including Sikhism, also celebrate. For Sikhs the festival has added significance as it generally coincides with a Sikh celebration known as Bandi Chhor Divas.

For more info on Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas:

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November

source: public domain / wikimedia commons

Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, arose from the events of November 5, 1605, when a plot to kill the King and blow up Parliament failed.   An official state holiday of celebration was established, and Guy Fawkes, the personification of the evil plot, was burned in effigy in bonfires all over England. The Gunpowder Plot was also very much caught up in the political and religious conflicts of the day, and in it heyday Guy Fawkes Night was also known as Pope Night as anti-Catholic forces used the holiday to burn the Pope in effigy along with Fawkes, preaching the evils of the Roman Church.

Over time the political and religious overtones have faded, and the prominence of Guy Fawkes Night has also faded. Some feel that Halloween has begun to overtake it in importance.  However, Guy Fawkes remains an enigmatic figure world wide.

source: Haeferl [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons
Guy Fawkes has even become a sympathetic figure.  Since the publication of “V for Vendetta” comics, and especially since the release of the feature film, Guy Fawkes has become synonymous with anti-establishment revolution, and the Guy Fawkes mask, once an object of derision, has become a symbol of the struggle of the masses against the elites.

More:

The Economist: How Guy Fawkes became the face of post-modern protest

BBC: The Gunpowder Plot