Blog: SHEMROCK Group of Schools

National Technology Day

National Technology Day is celebrated on 11^th May every year. The day commemorates the series of nuclear tests, which were carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan on May 11, 1998. National Technology Day symbolises the achievement of India in the field of science & technology. This is a remarkable day, which made India powerful enough to mark its presence in the field of science & technology around the globe.

History of National Technology Day

On May 11, 1998, three nuclear tests were carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan and the subsequent two tests were carried out on May 13, 1998. The nuclear tests were marked as great achievements in the field of science and technology. Since then, May 11 is celebrated as National Technology Day every year, to mark this achievement of mastering nuclear weapons.

Other reasons for the celebration of National Technology Day

• Successful test firing of Trishul missile on this day.
• First, indigenous aircraft “Hansa-3” was test flown at Bangalore on the same day.

National Technology Day is an occasion to recollect all the technological advancements in the field of agriculture, pharmacy, biotechnology and health etc. The occasion is very significant for the scientists, engineers and everyone who is an active participant in building our nation. The day glorifies the importance of science & technology and motivates the youth to adopt science as their career.

National Technology Day celebrations

• Competitions, quizzes, lectures & presentations are organised at schools, engineering colleges and technological institutions to celebrate the National Technology Day.
• National Technology Award is given by the President of India to various companies and individuals for their contribution to science & technology.
• Many events are organised by the Ministry of Science & Technology for the progress of science in our country.
• School students visit science laboratories, various Technology Development Centres, computer labs, Nano-Technology accompanied by their teachers to update themselves with the recent developments in the field of science, pharmacy, agriculture and information technology.

You as a parent can also help your children to learn about the significance of Science &Technology at home, by celebrating National Technology Day with them. So, go through the tips given below:

• Tell your children about some famous Indian scientists and their discoveries.
• Explain to them about technology and explain its use in our day to-day lives for e.g. cellphones, computers, air conditioners, remote controls and aero planes etc.
• Ask them to spend leisure time by playing some online science games and quizzes.
• Encourage them to read science magazines to know more about use of technology in the various fields like, pharmacy, agriculture, health and infrastructure.
• Play word games and jigsaw puzzles related to science & technology, with them.
• Help your children to make a science project on that day at home. Ask them to use material of low cost, like aluminum rolls, elastic bands, balloons, toothpicks and food colourant, etc., to make the project.
• Encourage your children to participate in science fairs and projects.
• Plan a visit to science & technology museums, such as Nehru Planetarium, National Science Center.
• Whenever your children are inquisitive about anything related to science, answer them or help them to find out the answer.

So, use the above tips and make National Technology Day a learning experience for your children.

Mother’s Day

Mother's Day is an annual event celebrated to honour motherhood in many parts of the world.  Though Mother’s day is celebrated on different dates around the world, the feelings remain the same everywhere. In many countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated on a Sunday in the month of May, while in few other countries; a different month is selected for the celebration. In India, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Mother’s Day 2013 will be celebrated on 12^th May. People celebrate the day eagerly to show their appreciation towards their mothers and grandmothers.

Celebrations

The tradition has its origin from UK and USA, where Mother’s Day is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety. Now, 46 countries across the globe celebrate Mother’s Day, every year. On this day, people dedicate their time to honour the importance of mother in their lives. They thank their mothers for the unconditional love and support.

Everyone tries to make his/her mother feel special on the occasion of Mother’s Day. People bake cakes, cookies and pies especially for their mothers. They also present gifts, cards and bouquets to their mothers. Children make this day special for their mothers by giving them rest for a day from the household chores. They prepare & serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to their mothers. Many people arrange outings with their mothers.

Even schools celebrate the occasion by organising various events. Parents and guardians are invited to schools and children participate in songs, skits and present cards & gifts to all mothers present there to honour them.

On the other hand, many big companies launch  female oriented products on the Mother’s Day.

Children staying away from families try to meet their mothers to spend quality time with them on the day. If that is not possible, they send greetings on the phone or e-mail greeting cards, to express their love and gratitude for their mothers.

Tips for the children to celebrate Mother’s Day at their home:

• Prepare a Mother’s Day card and wake your mother up in the morning with beautiful flowers and the handmade greeting card.
• Decorate your home with flowers, pictures of your mother with you and posters to surprise your mother.
• Bake a cake or prepare your mother’s favourite dish by yourself.
• Surprise your mother with a skit played by you and your siblings to show your love for her.
• Ask your mother to share her childhood reminiscences with you.
• Plan a special meeting of your mother with someone very close and lovable to her, like her mother or her friends.
• Arrange an outing, candle light dinner or movies tickets for your mother along with your father.
• Capture your mother’s moods with every surprise you give her and make a collage out of the photos.
• Make her day very special by giving a special gift to her, like her favourite book, perfume, jewelry etc.

Express your love and appreciation for your mother the entire day and make her feel special for being a mother of children like you.

Holi

Holi is the festival of colours, which is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fun in India. The festival of Holi falls on the last full moon day of Falgun (somewhere in the month of March). According to Hindu mythology, the celebration of this festival is associated with the legend of Prahalad, devotee of God Vishnu. The proud King Hrinyakashyapu ordered everyone to pray him as their God instead of other Gods and deities. But his son, Prahalad disobeyed him and did not stop praying God Vishnu. King was angry and made a plan to kill him. Holika, sister of king Hrinyakashyapu took Prahlad in her lap and sat in a bonfire as she had a boon that she could not be burnt by fire. Surprisingly, Holika was burnt alive while Prahlad was safe. Therefore, Holika Dahan (killing) is celebrated by lighting up bonfire on the eve of Holi signifying triumph of good over evil.

This festival of colours bridges the social gap among people of all religions. Although the festival is celebrated in different ways in different parts of country, colours, sweets, water balloons and water guns remain the essence of this festival everywhere. People rub colours on each other’s faces, distribute sweets, hug each other and wish “Happy Holi”.

You can also celebrate the festival of Holi with your children at home. Here are few tips for you to make this festival a fun for your children:

• Tell your children about the significance of the festival and narrate the legend associated with it.
• Include them in preparation of special sweets for Holi, i.e. gujia.
• Help them to make greeting cards for Holi for their friends.
• Take them along with you to watch Holika Dahan in your locality on the eve of Holi.
• Ask them to wish “Happy Holi” to their elders and seek their blessings.
• Tell them to wish Holi to their friends & relatives and also distribute sweets to them.
• Inform them about the chemicals used in colours & gulal and their side effects. Create natural colours with them with the help of turmeric, beetroot and henna.  On the day of Holi, encourage them to play Holi with plain water and natural colours only.
• Apply cold cream on their body and oil on the hair and scalp, to save their skin from colours.
• Instruct them to close eyes if someone applies gulal on their face or throws coloured water on them, to save their eyes.
• Advise them to wear full sleeves clothes so as to cover maximum parts of the body.

And monitor your children closely while they are playing Holi so that this Holi is safe and memorable for your children.

Maha Shivratri

Maha Shivratri is a religious Hindu festival, celebrated all over the country with great zeal. As the name suggests, it is regarded as the night (ratri) which is dedicated for the worship of Lord Shiva. According to Hindu calendar, the festival of Maha Shivratri falls on the thirteenth day of phalgun (between the months of February and March). Mahashivratri 2013 falls on 10^th March.

Significance of the festival

 There are many famous stories associated with the festival of Maha Shivratri, two of which are mentioned below:

1. It is said that during Samudra Manthan by gods and demons, a vessel of poison came out of the ocean. Gods were scared that it will diminish life on the Earth if not consumed by anybody. So, they rushed to God Vishnu who then advised them to approach Lord Shiva and plead Him to protect life of human beings, by drinking the toxic poison. Gods prayed Lord Shiva, pleased with their prayers and out of compassion for human beings, Lord Shiva drank the poison and held it in His neck the entire night and kept Himself awake. Entire night, the gods prayed Lord Shiva, performed various dances and music to keep Lord Shiva awake so that poison could not harm Him. Lord Shiva was happy with their devotion, contemplation and vigilance and hence blessed all of them with the fulfillment of their wishes. Since then, on this day and night-devotees observe fast, chant prayers to God, dance with religious fervour and sing glories of Lord Shiva.
2. Another story is about the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. When king Daksha, father of Goddess Sati insulted Lord Shiva during the yagna held at his place, she jumped into the sacrificial fire of yagna in anger and ended her life. Lord Shiva was very furious due to the death of His wife and He started performing Tandava, the destructive dance. His anger destructed the kingdom of king Daksha and Lord Shiva retired to the Himalayas in penance, repenting why He allowed Sati to come to her father’s house. Gods were scared that this may bring the world to an end. So, to take out Lord Shiva from aloofness and remorse, they revived sati in the guise of Parvati (reincarnation of Sati). Shiva-Parvati married after a lot of hard work of all Gods and this reunion is celebrated as Maha Shivratri.

Celebration of the festival

Festival of Maha Shivratri is celebrated by worshipping Lord Shiva to seek His blessings. The temples are decorated with flowers and lights. Devotees go to temples in the early morning, to pray to Lord and the crowd can be seen throughout the day. People offer flowers, bel-patra, fruits, milk etc. to Lord Shiva and observe fast the entire day. Group of devotees spend the entire day in singing glories of God, in their homes and temples. The festival of Maha Shivratri is famous not only among people of India but also among people of Nepal & Sri Lanka and celebrated with enthusiasm.

How to celebrate Maha Shivratri with your children

Parents should make their children aware of all the festivals and tell them about the significance behind their celebrations. Here are some tips on how to celebrate Maha Shivratri with your children:

• Tell your children about the importance of Maha Shivratri, its association with the Lord Shiva and narrate few legends of Shiva-Parvati.
• Ask them if they too want to keep a fast on this day and tell them that they can have only fruits and milk during the fast.
• Tell them to take bath early in the morning, wear new or clean clothes.
• Involve them with you in decorating the basket of puja.
• Visit to temple with them, ask them to do the Rudrabhishek of Lord Shiva with milk and offer other traditional things to God.
• Teach them the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya” and ask them to chant it while offering flowers and other things to Lord Shiva.
• Tell them about the importance of meditation and ask them to speak less to store energy if they are observing a fast.
• Spend the day by explaining your children about the qualities of Lord Shiva, His selfless love for devotees, His truthfulness and sacrificial intentions.
• Bring DVDs on mythology and show them the mythological stories about the life of Lord Shiva on television or your computer.
• Ask them to express thanks to God and feel blessed and gratified by sitting quietly in meditation.
• Also, encourage them to offer help at temples and ashrams on this grand and religious day of Maha Shivratri.

These are the infinite ways to inculcate religious zeal and devoutness in children. By adopting such things you can help your children to grow with piousness and feeling of gratitude for those who make sacrifices for others

Guru Nanak Jayanti

Guru Nanak Jayanti, popularly known as Gurpurab, marks the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism and the first Guru of Sikhs. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in the auspicious month of Kartik, at Roi-Bhoi-di Talawandi. This festival falls on the full moon day of the Kartik month and is celebrated by the Sikh community across the globe with full zeal and enthusiasm. At Nanakana Sabib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, there is a beautiful Gurudwara and a holy tank or Sarovar. On the day of the festival, the place is thronged with devotees who come from far and near to take part in the festivities to celebrate the birth of their Guru.

Traditional Celebrations

The actual celebrations of Guru Nanak Jayanti are held at the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar. The Gurudwara Sahib is beautifully lit up with lights and earthen lamps. The celebrations for Guru Nanak Jayanti start three days in advance with the continuous reading (Akhand Path) of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akhand Path is completed on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti and the holy book is decorated with flowers and taken out on a procession, known as “Prabhat Pheri” early in the morning. The Prabhat Pheri starts from the Gurudwara Sahib and moves to different locations, wherein the devotees sing hymns (“Shabads”) and returns to the Gurudwara Sahib. The Panj Pyaras or the Five Beloved Ones lead the procession, each carrying the Sikh flag called the Nishan Sahib. The interesting part of the procession is the ‘Gatka’ teams – the Martial Arts team that displays their skills of using swords and shields.

Free sweets and community lunch known as “Langar” are offered to all the people at the Gurudwara Sahib on Guru Nanak Jayanti. Especially on this auspicious occasion, a lot of people from the Sikh community participate in the “Karseva”- service to the community. This includes helping in cooking the community lunch and distributing the same as the “Guru ka Langar”. The traditional Karah Parshad is also offered to one and all.

How to celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti at home?

• Tell your children the story behind celebrating Guru Nanak Jayanti.
• Dress-up your children in new traditional clothes and offer the prayers (Ardaas) at the Gurudwara Sahib.
• Along with them, read the verses and hymns from the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
• Involve your children in preparing special delicacies, especially the Karah Parshad and distribute among neighbours and the pool in your locality.
• Involve your children in brightening-up your home by decorating it with lights, earthen lamps and candles.

So, celebrate the festival by following the tips given above, while reciting Satnam Shri Waheguru.