Category: Holidays & Observances

The Year of the Snake

Happy Lunar New Year!

In 2025 the Lunar New Year, also known as , the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, and many other names, begins on January 29 and will continue for several weeks all over the globe. Canadians join with many millions of people in Asia, and millions more of Asian Heritage around the world, to celebrate the Year of the Snake.

The celebrations around this event include many different local practices and are known by many names around the world, including Tet (Vietnam); Seollal (Korea); Koshogatsu or “Little New Year” (Japan).  Multiday, and even multiweek festivals will take place around the world on the days and weeks of late January and early February. The Lantern Festival is an example of an associated event that takes place several weeks into the new year.

In North America it is often called Chinese New Year, although the Chinese themselves are more likely to refer to it as the Spring Festival. Moreover, the term “Lunar New Year” is more reflective of the multi-ethnic and multicultural nature of the celebrations. In Canada this is especially important, as many Canadians trace their roots to many different parts of the world, including China, but also to many other places in East Asia such as Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan.

Find out more:

LunarFest Vancouver

The Lunar New Year in Canada

Korean New Year

Chinese New Year

Tet

BBC Lunar New Year

Guru Gobind Singh

On January 6, 2025, Sikhs in Canada and around the world celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, a chance to observe and celebrate the birth of Guru Gobind Singh. The Guru was born in 1666 in Patna, India. He was the 10th and last of the (human) Gurus of Sikhism. He established the Khalsa, the organization of men and women baptized into the Sikh faith. He also established the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism, as the final Guru for the Sikh people.

GuruGobindSingh
source: discoversikhism.com

For more on Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikh faith, check out:

Halloween Fun Facts

Halloween is just a week away. Here are some articles to learn more about Halloween. Shout out to Mental Floss as our source for most of these links!

Louis Riel

On this day in 1885, Louis Riel was hanged for High Treason by Canadian authorities. Riel was a Metis leader who led the resistance of his people against the Canadian government in the Red River Rebellion of 1869 and the North-West Rebellion of 1884. Few Canadians can come even close to Riel as a divisive figure in Canadian history. Riel was portrayed as an enemy of Canada by the government of John A. Macdonald, a view that was held by many anglophone Canadians for many years, and still by some today. On the other hand, Metis was a hero to the Metis, to indigenous people in general, and to many French Canadians, and anglophone Catholics. To them Riel represented those that would stand up against the elites whose vision of Canada was dominated by white people, English speakers, and Protestants of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Today more Canadians look favourably upon Riel, a complex figure whose life is entwined with so many problematic issues from Canada’s history that still challenge us today.

Find out more:

Book Spotlight: Earth Day

Come down to your School Library to find out more about Earth Day and all the issues that we face in terms of protecting life on this planet.

If you are looking for a quick introduction to the scientific understanding of the issues of climate change, this is a great place to start: This is Climate Change: A Visual Guide to the Facts: See for Yourself How the Planet is Warming and What it Means for Us, by David Nelles & Christian Serrer.

What they (the authors) were hoping to find was a book that explained the nuts and bolts of climate change and presented the scientific evidence in a way that was concise and enjoyable to read. After a long and fruitless search, they eventually gave up and instead decided to write it themselves.

“Who’s Behind the Book”, Nelles and Serrer, 128)

An excellent feature of the book is the comprehensive bibliography that can be reached by QR code or by using the given URL. Go here to see the Bibliography.

Burns Nights

The beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns, or “Rabbie Burns,” was born on this day in 1759. From Scotland to all parts of the world where you will find people with Scottish roots, Burns Night is not just a celebration of the man, and his poetry, but also of Scottish heritage.

Also called a Burns Supper, Burns Night is: “a celebration of the life and works of the poet Robert Burns; Scottish by birth and held in fond regard by Scots all over the world, his life and poetry speak to the struggles common to all people. It is an evening of food, drink, entertainment, and friendship.  It is an event that transcends time, geographical borders, political, and religious beliefs to bring people together in celebration of the everyman.” (From burnsnight.net)

For more information on Robbie Burns and “Burns Night”:

RobertBurns.org

Burns Night at Scotland.org

Robbie Burns Tribute

New Vaccination Requirements

As of today, 4/1/2022, all students and staff at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School, and throughout the district, are required by law to show proof of 5 doses of the Credulus Vaccine.

All 5 doses are injected simultaneously, with 1 directly into the eyeball, 1 underneath the thumbnail, 1 into your arm, 1 into the body part of your choice, and finally, 1 directly into the CENSORED.

Students or staff who fail to provide proof of vaccination will be prosecuted and could face up to 10 years in federal prison.

The story that SCARED me the most…

Teachers and staff at Lord Tweedsmuir share the stories that scared them the most. Use the comments below if you want to add your scariest story to the list.

Ms. Robinson shares:

“I  literally slept with the lights on for WEEKS and ALWAYS look twice at storm drains…”

Ms. Miller says:

“The idea of being passive-aggressively locked in an amusement park against my will with a bunch of monsters is terrifying!!”

Welcome to Horrorland, part of the “Goosebumps” series by R.L. Stine

Mr. Eckert named this book..

No explanation given.

Must be too scary to talk about…

Mr. Buist tells us:

“Here is the Context: I was reading this in my grandparents old farmhouse on a windy night. My Aunt has a cat ( but I didn’t know that the cat was in the house or that its favourite sleeping place was the bed that I was sleeping in that night. I finish the story, am trying to sleep, cat jumps on my bed then crawls onto my back…

the horror… the horror…”

“You Know They Got a Hell of a Band” by Stephen King. Originally appeared in Shock Rock; later republished in Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

Ms. Harding shares:

“The scariest book I ever read was The Stand by Stephen King. I was in high school at the time, and was home sick with the flu when I read it.”

Ms. Nicholls adds:

Pet Semetary by Stephen King

Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discover a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home

Mr. Ferrier writes:

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

Just kidding.

The Ruins – by Scott Smith. I don’t really have a favorite scary book. I found this one entertaining enough, even if it is a little predictable. There’s even a movie!”

Mr. Cameron says:

“Definitely IT.  I read the book while in University and I literally couldn’t read it at night if I was alone in my apartment. 

What made it scary was simply Pennywise the Clown.  King’s description of Pennywise was so vivid and just reading “Beep Beep Ritchie” terrified me. 

Also, back then I read a lot of Stephen King novels and he would add Pennywise in a different novel (Tommyknockers) in just one sentence to let the reader know, Pennywise was still around even if it was a completely different novel.”

Ms. Barnes adds:

“Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands With the Devil is not traditionally scary. Took a long time to get through.

I will never forget it.”

Ms. Turgeon shares:

“Cujo was scary because of the reality of that scenario and Mr. King’s descriptive skills.  I won’t ruin the ending but its emotional impact has stuck with me through the years. “

Mr. Ghuman reveals:

“This book scares me so much. Pigs, geese and other farm animals talking to each other is FREAKY. And a spider that can write? I can’t even.”

Mr. Hoelzley adds this classic of true crime:

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

Documenting the Holocaust

The Holocaust is one of the most well documented events in history. Yet despite this, there are some who seek to distort or deny the facts of this terrible blight on human history. We must continue to fight against the evil that the Holocaust represents. To do so we must fight against lies, distortions and ignorance to ensure that the facts are preserved, as horrifying as the facts are, so that future generations know what happened, and what must never happen again.

#ProtectTheFacts is just one of many organizations dedicated to preserving the historical facts of the Holocaust, and fighting against the evil that is Holocaust denial or distortion. See more in the links below.

Come to the school library to find out more about the Holocaust. Check out some of the following resources:

Find out more:

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

United Nations Outreach Programme on the Holocaust

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum

Yad Veshem World Holocaust Remembrance Center

Lest We Forget Photo Exhibition

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

Library Closing, to be Replaced by District Hazardous Materials Testing Lab

In a move that surprised many, the Surrey School Board this morning passed a motion which will close all the school libraries in Surrey. The district was under pressure from the Ministry of Education and the provincial government to make this move.

The school library at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary will be replaced by a Laboratory for the Testing of Hazardous Materials and Bio-Waste. Other schools will have their libraries replaced with different government and private facilities, such as a Motor Vehicles Branch at North Surrey, a Sewage Treatment Plant at Elgin Park and a Minimum Security Jail at Semiahmoo.

Said a provincial government spokesperson, “We had to. You got to find room for so much important government stuff.  And, like, you know, nobody reads anymore, so whatevs.”

Many students and parents have reacted with shock and anger. Efforts are being made to mount a campaign to fight this outrageous move.  Please be sure to phone or email the Surrey School Board and the superintendent’s Office of School District 36, your local MLA, the Minister of Education and the Premier to express your dismay and disagreement with this ridiculous decision.