Story of Halloween !!

An ancient pagan ritual, that is still practiced today. It's original name was "Samhain," however we know it as "Halloween."

"Samhain" began at sundown on October 31st and extended into the following day. According to the Celtic pagan religion, known as Druidism, the spirits those who had died roamed the earth on "Samhain" evening. This night was much feared by the Celtic people, and they sought to ward off the spirits with offerings of food and drink.

The dark side of this event was the fact that the Celts built bonfires, at so called sacred sights, and sometimes preformed rituals involving HUMAN and/or Animal Sacrifices, to honor Druid gods. Samhain was abandoned only when the people converted to Christianity during the very early middle ages.

Now during that period of time the Church often incorporated modified versions of ancient pagan rituals in order to win converts. For example, Pope Gregory IV successfully replaced "Samhain" with All Saints Day, which fell on November 1, thus the evening of October 31 becae known as All Hallows' Even, which was later shortened to Halloween. All Souls Day, as it is known as today, is a Holy Day in the Roman Catholic, and Anglican Churches, honoring those who have passed away.

Some aspects of this ancient pagan tradition thought to be incompatible with Christianity, were linked with folk beliefs about evil spirits. In British folklore, small magical fairies became associated with Halloween mischief. The jack-o-lantern, originally carved from a turnip, originated in medieval Scotland. A small candle would be put into the turnip, that had a scary face carved on it. This was to be lit at night and displayed to scare off evil spirits which they feared roamed about that night.

Between the 15th & 17th Centuries, Europe was seized by a hysterical fear of witches, who were thought to ride flying brooms and to assume the form of black cats. Thus the images of witches and black cats soon joined other European superstitions as symbols of Halloween.

In the 19th & early 20th Centuries, young people often observed Halloween by perpetrating minor acts of vandalism, such as overturning sheds or breaking windows. Beginning in the 1930's, Halloween mischief gradually transformed into the modern ritual of trick-or-treating, though some still choose to perform acts of vandalism on Halloween still today.

Although, the fact that Halloween is the high holy day of the satanic church. So it still bears a very dark side indeed, even today!

References: ( Encarta Reference Library 2008, and the Encyclopedia Britannica 2006. )

P.S.: Thanks Pastor Allen !! God Bless You. :)

The void now filled.

Lately I felt this void in my life. I had lost touch with friends and the work life also had taken a blow. I attributed it to home sickness and consoled myself.
But today, when back from home, I realized that the void was a spiritual one. I came across this poem below and thought of sharing.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain....
Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall;
But God's always ready, to answer your call....
He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from His lips, can calm every fear...
Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, by dawn's early light...
The Savior is waiting, somewhere above,
to give you His grace, and send you His love.
May God fill your day with blessings!!

A Discovery...

It was till the last day that I did not know that Parul could write. I mean actually write poems and articles. Today she is at her home.. where she always wanted to be. And from some of her trash which she left behind.. I found this poem. Hey lady.. this one's going on my blog. Hope you won't mind.

ऐ खुदा हमको ऐसी खुदाई ना दे ...
ऐ खुदा हमको ऐसी खुदाई ना दे ...
कि अपने सिवा कुछ दिखाई ना दे ...
हंसो आज इतना कि इस शोर में ...
हंसो आज इतना कि इस शोर में ...
सदा सिसकियों कि सुने ना दे ...
कि अपने सिवा कुछ दिखाई ना दे ...
ऐ खुदा हमको ऐसी खुदाई ना दे ...


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That was so me...

Today I got a newsletter from Microsoft. I do normally keep getting stuff from them about the upcoming courses/sessions/conferences. But this kinda took me by surprise.
Since when did Microsoft started doing TP ??

Socializing...

I had recently joined twitter - (again) a social networking site. Why? My sis is there & she wanted to see me there. I had till date refrained from joining these sites. I could hardly keep the check on orkut, so the very thought of maintaining so many accounts kinda freaks me out.

Nowadays, its like a flood of such so-called-social-networking-sites. Needless to mention they all are the same with a lil difference hither-thither. But do we really need them? Today Im away from home, quite far away. When I look back I see that I hardly spend half an hour a day speaking to them. My good old buddies, the BFF, I hardly hear from them once in a fortnight. Things change and Im not complaining about it. Instead things must change. Today I have a bunch of colleagues-tuned-friends who make my world. With whom I eat, I chat, I share my laughs and grievances with. They make my PRESENT.

I have an account with orkut, and that also comes to a still after a week's usage. But I don't like it when people leave you messages here and there, in the virtual world, when you can be reached directly in the real world. Do we really need these beautiful themed pages to make us feel connected to our loved ones? Although, today I am also a part of it, because MY people want me to be there, in their virtual world. But I still wait for my cellphone to ring... I still wait to hear from them...

The mighty cellphone !!

Cellphones are supposed to make your life easy. Aren't they?? Well, I beg to differ here.

My cell-phone... my long time favorite.. Motorola V3I had survived my rash handling (including dropping it from heights of a 2-3 feet). But it just could not bear the small jerk in the movie-theatre when it tripped to the floor, where I was so grossly watching 'Delhi 6' that I did not bother to check if its working fine, unlike everytime. It was only till I went back to hostel, that I found that its primary display now would only give me a blank look.. as in .. literally.. a blank screen. Thankfully... its Secondary display was working fine.. so was able to atleast know.. whom I've been calling, what time is it.. who is trying to contact me etc. etc. And attach the headphone, and aahaa you can even access your recently dialed nos. This proves to be very handy for people like me who solely depend on their cellphones for all the contact nos.

This all worked fine for a week till I decided to get it repaired (gosh!!). I, with the help of my friend, checked with many mobile repair stores, including the official Motorola service centre. And what a price range they all have collectively offered, ranging from 450 INR to 2200 INR. Huh !! Till my mobile traveled through the various mobile-experts' hands, I managed to keep in touch with my family by borrowing the cellphones of my friends to make calls using MY sim. This entire process took another 2 weeks till the cellphone came back to its unfortunate owner, that is me.

Tired of this entire process, my DAD suggested me to cope with this cellphone for another month, after which I can exchange it with my DAD's prized possession, the Nokia N73M. I agreed and things went smooth. But now I feel the phone is not much of a worth since its battery would expire in a day. And then there were these people who would just enjoy questioning me about the status of my mobile.. as if it were some daily soap.. new twist guaranteed in every episode. (Actually now I do feel it was nothing less than a soap)

This monday on returning to hostel at 10pm after a drilling day at work I realize that I don't hold the cellphone anymore. And an image comes from my memory.. that It was on my lap when I was in the cab busy listening to some funky song on the radio. And the next thing I remember is getting down the cab and walk to the hostel. Ohh !! I dropped the cellphone in the cab !! A quick dial to my cell says its switched off !! Really ?? A call to the cab-driver confirms its not in the cab anymore. So, did I drop it as soon as I got off the cab? May be yes.

So, after getting my sim blocked, Im a free bird. The soap has finally come to an end..a sad end though. But with every end.. there is a new beginning. And in this case the beginning can be Nokia 73M or Nokia 5800. Watch this space for the next episode !! :)

Ooh these Feelings !!

I am not feeling good at all. Why? I dont know. May be I need to be home. May be I need to be with people. May be I need to be myself. May be, I need to understand myself.

I feel as if I am alone. I feel as if I am worthless. Breathing is not living.
I spent past few weeks working like maniac. Sitting late hours, working with SD (San Diego) team, resolving issues unseen before, reading people's mind, trying to figure-out what all is expected out of me without being said. I forgot my mom's bday, missed my aerobics classes, missed my breakfast, had late lunches, skipped dinners, missed the Fun-Fridays, did not ring home, did not hear from friends, did not listen to music. Looking back, I just don't understand what was I doing, rather was I doing anything at all !!

My team has a list of TODOs for me. I know them all, and have to get them done. But here I am writing my blog, venting out the wrath. George Joseph, the communication specialist, had said that one should always KNOW what one is feeling. Naming the feel, helps us to handle it. If thats true, then I know that I am feeling ALONE + TIRED + .FRUSTRATED + HOMESICK. But it is not helping me !!

My friend says:

You can feel good for no reason at all. In fact, you can choose to feel any way you wish at any time and in any situation. Whatever you desire, you desire because of the way you think it will make you feel. Whatever you avoid, you avoid because you don't wish to experience the feelings that you assume it will bring. Yet the fact is that your feelings are not controlled by your circumstances. Those feelings are determined by how you choose to respond to various situations and events. Your feelings in any moment are yours to choose. You can choose to feel the wonderful reality of your most treasured dreams long before those dreams have been fully achieved. And when you do, you put yourself in a positive, powerful place from which you can surely make those dreams real. When you feel good for no reason, you immediately begin to create the reasons. Choose each day to feel the way you wish to feel, no matter what is going on around you. And let your feelings pull you toward the fulfillment of your destiny."