October 2021

Writer & Photographer: Sohan

Navaratri

Navratri is a holiday that celebrates nine special nights. Throughout those days we honor everything we have and for each day we do something different. Navratri starts on October 7th across India and worldwide with a lot of enthusiasm.

Day 1 & 2

The first day of Navratri is called “Pratipada.” On Pratipada we are dedicated to worshipping Goddess Maa Shailputri also known as Shailputri who is described in the scriptures as the daughter of mountains. The term “Shila” means rock or mountain in the second half “Putri” refers to a daughter.

The second day of this nine day festival is devoted to Goddess Brahmacharini. This form of goddess “Durga” is symbolic severe penance carried out by goddess Parvati and her unmarried form is worshipped as Goddess Brahmacharini.

Day 3 - 6

Chandraghanta Puja is usually performed on the third day of Navratri. Chandraghanta Puja is performed on the Navratri Tritiya Tithi. This form of Goddess is peaceful and calm. Devotees on this day take Sankalpa and offer her favorite flower Jasmine to Goddess Chandraghanta. They do puja and perform arti as well.

On the fourth day of Navratri Goddess Kushmanda is worshipped to get blessings and to bring fortune and luck to the devotees. The nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshipped on the fourth day of Navratri.

The fifth day of Navratri means you should take a bath and wear clean clothes. Place the idol of Skanda Mata in the place of worship inside the house of purification with Gangajal. Then, take an urn and put water and some coins in it. Worship the Goddess and offer her a parsad of banana.

The sixth day of Navratri is just like the fifth day. You take a bath and wear clean clothes. The place of worship is cleaned and decorated with fresh flowers. The Goddess is offered coconut, gangajal, kalava, rotli, rice, honey, incense stick, naivedhya, and ghee while worshipping the idol.

Day 7 & 8

On the seventh day of Navratri, Maa Kaalratri rides on a donkey and wears a garland of skulls around her neck. Maa Kaalratri is worshipped on October,12. Devotees will worship Goddess Kaalratri.

On The eighth day of Navratri, not that much happens. Goddess Mahagauri is worshipped to get blessings and bring fortune and luck to the devotees.

Writer: Kirubanath

Photographer: Sohan

Halloween

Halloween is a fun holiday and also spooky one too. Kids collect candies from trick or treating.This is a holiday that originated from the Celts and the Christians. Read the paragraphs to learn more.

Beginning

Halloween 2021

Boo!!! This year was the most exciting Halloween after a huge pandemic. Kids wearing masks under their costumes were kind of annoying, but most kids didn’t care. All they wanted was fun. People were going trick or treating safely and had fun. Read the next paragraph to find out more about 2021 Halloween.

Middle

Last year, kids couldn’t go trick or treat or dress up in their favorite costumes for Halloween. Lights were off soon and candies were not collected if you followed recommendations. Halloween was gloomy, but safety was more important. This year with the vaccinations done, Halloween would surely be the best. All scattered over the streets were robots to ghosts, vampires, and zombies collecting many candies and chocolates. Kids collected chocolates and candies ranging from 4:00 to 9:00 PM. Jack-O-Lanterns were carved during Halloween as well. Families getting together was a joyful reunion after a long time. Do you know how Halloween started? Well here’s how for those who don’t know. Halloween traditions came to the U.S. via Irish immigrants around the mid-19th century, amid the Irish potato famine. Halloween originated from the celts. The Celts were a group of people who lived 2,000 years ago mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. They believed that ghosts came back to Earth and they danced with them. The Celts wore special clothing made out of animal skins during Halloween. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. The Celts called Halloween, “Samhain”. The Christians came over and turned Celts into Christians. They still celebrate Samhain but call it differently. Christians call it “All Saints Day”. People started calling All Saints Day, “Halloween” Today we celebrate Halloween, a little different but mostly it is the same. Many countries celebrate Halloween in their ways or beliefs.

End and Some Fun Facts

Did you know? One-quarter of all candies sold annually in the U.S is purchased for Halloween.

Fun Fact: Did you know that candy corn was originally called Chicken Feed?

I agree that Halloween this year was the best. I hope you learned more about Halloween and had fun reading this article. Thanks for reading!

Bonus Question: How many candies/chocolates did you collect?

Bye!

Writer: Ananya, Bhumika, Kadyn

Photographer: Bhumika, Alveena

Zodiac Of The Month

Libra

If you are born between September 23 to October 22, you are a Libra. Libras are an air sign along with Aquarius and Gemini. They are known to be extroverted, very cozy, and friendly. Libras are very social and probably can't bear 5 minutes in a room with nobody. They need to be out somewhere, hanging out with their friends, or even just talking with their parents. They can also be well-balanced with social life and personal life. Though they can be very talkative with their family about their social life! Libras can yearn for attention and are very rude to get attention and often prefer to be in the spotlight. When Libras require assistance people often think it's another scheme for attention. All in all, Libras can be very good people whether they have a lot of positive traits or a lot of negative traits.

Scorpio

If you are known as a Scorpio you are born between October 23 to November 22. Scorpio is the eighth zodiac sign. Though many negative traits are associated with scorpions, Scorpios are the most misunderstood zodiac sign but they still have negative traits. Scorpios are determined. If they make a goal they will most likely go to very far measures to make it happen. Scorpions are also considered to be very brave. They will have the courage and strength to do anything if it's physical or not. Scorpios are very passionate. They love almost any hobby whether they're good at it or not. Unfortunately, Scorpios can be secretive. They will most likely tell no one a secret even if they knew they would hurt someone. Scorpios are very jealous. If they don't have something even if it's the smallest little thing in the whole wide world they don't care. They will continue to bottle up their anger and lash it out on the next person who comes up and talks to them. Scorpios are also very manipulative and cunning. If they see someone they can potentially take advantage of they will use them. Whether it's to get revenge for all that jealousy or for fun. All in all, Scorpios are very misunderstood and don't need to be known as bad people. They can be very fun if you get to know them!

Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day

Writer: Manav

Photographer: Jay

Christopher Columbus is both a person who discovered America and a person who put a significant impact on the Native American population.

Part 1

Christopher Columbus was a sailor who wanted to travel west from Spain to India. He was there to bring needs from India to Spain. One of the needs was gold.

In 1492, Columbus took 90 men and set sail in the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santamaria. Then, the Spanish crew ran into some Islands in the Caribbean Sea with native American tribes. Most of the Native people were peaceful, friendly, and generous. Columbus’s crew had no trouble kidnapping 7 of them to use as guides and to bring back to Spain. During his third voyage to the new world, he found the island of Hispaniola. It was home to a group of tribes called the Arawaks. Columbus had thousands of Arawaks kidnapped. Some were sold as slaves. Others were forced to find gold. If the Natives hadn’t found enough gold or stood up to the Spanish then they would be killed. Columbus believed that only Christians deserve human treatment.

Part 2

There was a massive interchange of cultures, people, ideas, plants, animals, and even diseases that have taken millions of native American lives. This is called the Colombian Exchange. Those who survived were pushed off their land by a ton of settlers.

This is why many people choose not to celebrate Columbus Day. They celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day instead and honor all the Native Americans who died because of Christopher Columbus.

Columbus did 2 bad things:

forced natives to work as slaves
beaten, tortured, and destroyed natives

To celebrate Columbus Day is to celebrate a man who is responsible for destroying countless lives and entire cultures. So let's honor the lives of Native Americans who died because of Columbus.

Writer: Jessica

Photographer: Bhumika

Hispanic Heritage Month

Foods

Hmm… Are you hungry? Well some foods Hispanics eat are Enchiladas de Pollo (México), Ropa Vieja (Cuba), Baleadas (Honduras), Ceviche de Camarones (Ecuador), Lomo Saltado (Peru)

Information

Did you ever wonder about Hispanic Heritage Month? National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.

Clothing

what does Spanish/Hispanics wear?

Embroidered Mexican dresses, full ruffled skirts, and blouses with the off-the-shoulder ruffle would be a good clothing option. Of course, guayaberas(Men’s summer shirts) are encouraged for the guys, worn specifically to mark Hispanic Heritage Month.

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