Christmas, a short essay

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 every year. It is a festival to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 10 km south of Jerusalem. Though it is one of the most important festivals in Christianity, it is also celebrated by people of other religions and faiths.

Informed by angels about the divine birth of baby Jesus in a manger, some shepherds went to see him. The Three Wise Men from the East, the Three Kings, spotted a new star moving in the sky and followed it until they reached baby Jesus. They presented him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. These first visitors informed the world about the birth of Jesus.

Christmas decorations include colored lights, display of nativity scenes, garlands, mistletoe, etc. Carol singing is also an important tradition. People also setup Christmas Trees at homes, gardens, streets and public squares.

Another popular tradition is the visit of Santa Claus or similar figures such as Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas. Children eagerly wait for Santa Claus who gives them toffees, chocolates and other gifts.

Christmas is an occasion for get-togethers of family members and friends. They also exchange greetings and gifts. Many people and charitable organisations generously provide food and gifts to the needy and the poor.

Special foods for the festival include Christmas Cakes, pudding, almonds, candies, chocolates, Turkish delights, ginger, oranges and raisins.

Many cities and towns celebrate Christmas Day by decorating public buildings and streets with Christmas Trees, banners, flags, ribbons, balloons and electrical illuminations.

The central message of this celebration is universal love, brotherhood, kindness, peace and happiness among all humans.

World Toilet Day - WTD

The World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official UN day observed on November 19 every year. It is a global campaign to spread awareness globally on sanitation, hygiene and other related issues.

In 2015, globally, 2.4 billion people did not have access to sanitation facilities such as toilets. About 1 billion people practiced open defecation that leads to lack of safety and dignity for women and girls. It also leads to pollution of water resources such as rivers, lakes, ponds and drinking water wells.

Infection of diseases like Ebola, cholera, diarrhea, etc. is related to poor sanitation. Globally, one child dies every two minutes due to diarrhea.

According to the international charity organization WaterAid, 600 million urban people have to depend on crowded and filthy community toilets. About 100 million people in cities are forced to practice open defecation on railway tracks, roadsides open spaces because they do not have access to toilets.

According to WaterAid, the 10 countries with the most urban dwellers lacking access to safe toilets are India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Russia, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

India has 157 million urban dwellers with no access to safe toilets, 41 million of whom defecate in the open. The Indian government has launched a national campaign named Swachh Bharat Abhiyan -Clean India Mission to alleviate the problem.

The second worst is China with 104 million people not having safe sanitation, though China constructs toilets faster than the requirement of toilets due to the migration of people to cities.

Access to basic toilets by 2030 is one of the sustainable development goals of the UN. All the UN member countries are committed to achieving the goal.

Guru Nanak Jayanti

Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) and the surrounding Sacred Pool

Guru Nanak Jayanti is the celebration of the birthday of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru and the founder of Sikhism. It is celebrated on Kartik Poornima, usually in November, though the exact date each year varies according to the Indian lunar calendar.

This Guru Nanak Gurpurb, also known as Prakash Utsav, lasts three days. Two days before the birthday, Akhand Path, a 48-hour nonstop recital of Guru Granth Sahib, is performed at Gurdwaras.

One day before the birthday, a procession is organised which is led by the Panj Pyare (the Five Beloved Ones) and the Palki (Palanquin) of Guru Granth Sahib. It is followed by devotees singing hymns, brass bands and 'Gatka' (Sikh martial arts performance).

The Guru Nanak Jayanti day celebrations begin early in the morning with the singing of hymns. It is followed by Katha and Sikh religious discourses.

After Ardas and distribution of Karah Prasad is the Langar, wherein volunteers serve food to tens of thousands of devotees. The Langar is a symbolic expression of devotion, brotherhood and community service to show that everyone, irrespective of caste, creed or class, shares food.

Some Gurdwaras also hold night prayers which begin at sunset, followed by Kirtan till late night. At 1:20 am, the actual time of birth of Guru Nanak, the congregation sings Gurbani. The celebrations come to end around 2 am.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India, attracts a large number of devotees from all over the world.

What is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding is a technique to induce precipitation (rain or snow) by dispersing suitable chemicals into clouds. The result can be encouraging if the clouds targeted contain enough water vapour.

The commonly used chemicals for seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), liquid propane and table salt (sodium chloride).

Substances like silver iodide, which has crystalline structure, cause freezing nucleation in clouds. It may also help initiate other microphysical processes in clouds. As a result, tiny water vapour particles grow large and heavy enough to fall as rain drops or snowflakes.

Seeding chemicals may be dispersed by aircraft or from the ground by firing up rockets or similar devices such as anti-aircraft guns. Silver iodide flares can also be released by aircraft flying through clouds.

China has extensively experimented with cloud seeding by firing silver iodide rockets into clouds for induced precipitation and also to clear air pollution.

In India, cloud seeding experiments were conducted a few times to induce artificial rains by the Tamil Nadu government from 1980s. The Karnataka government also attempted similar efforts two decades later. Maharashtra conducted such operations in the beginning of the beginning of the new century. The Delhi government now plans to try the method to combat frequent smog and persistent air pollution.

Some other countries that tried to manipulate precipitation through seeding include Indonesia, Thailand, Kuwait, UAE, USA, Canada, France, Russia, Germany, Australia, and some African countries.

Experts and research show that silver iodide used for cloud seeding may cause negligible health hazards to humans and almost no environmental hazards.

Smog in Delhi, India

Smog has enveloped Delhi in the first week of November 2016. Nothing is visible beyond a few meters in the mornings.

The word smog was coined from smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog. It is highly toxic and can cause serious diseases and even death. It contains oxides of nitrogen, sulphur and carbon, besides ozone, dust, etc. These react with sunlight, moisture, methane, ammonia, etc. to form harmful vapors, and fine particles to form smog.

As the wind speed in Delhi is almost negligent as witnessed in the first week of November 2016, and as the sky is covered by a thick blanket of smog that also hovers over the ground, visibility is reduced to about 100 meters.

The air quality in the city has been become the worst in two decades, taking it to the severe zone. The government of Delhi blames it on crop stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, road dust and vehicular pollution.

It is estimated that over 600 million tons of agricultural wastes are burnt by farmers during the months of autumn and winter.

Various scientific research reports show that Delhi is the most polluted city in the world and air pollution alone causes about 10,500 deaths annually.

In recent years levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in Delhi increased alarmingly. The city has the highest level of airborne particulate matter, PM2.5, considered the most harmful to health. It has hugely increased the risks of lung cancer and asthma among the residents of Delhi.

The dense smog during winter causes major air and rail traffic disruptions too.

Since the 1990s, Delhi has undertaken several measures to reduce air pollution and smog. The city has the third highest number of trees among all Indian cities. The DTC runs largest fleet of environment-friendly CNG buses in the world. The Supreme Court of India ordered the conversion of the city’s buses and taxis to run on CNG and banned leaded petrol since 1998. The Delhi Metro Rail has helped significantly to reduce air pollutants.

But these gains have become insignificant due to large scale crop stubble burning, rise in the number of diesel automobiles, and similar harmful factors.

Delhi’s population is now estimated to be about 25 million, second only to Tokyo with about 38 million. That means the government has to enact strict rules immediately and implement them with an iron fist.

Children's Day - Bal Diwas

Children's Day (Bal Diwas) is celebrated on 14 November, the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Bal Divas was first celebrated in 1964 after the death of Nehru. He was lovingly called 'Chacha Nehru' by children.

Nehru was very much fond of children. He treated them with much love and affection. Nehru used to distribute sweets, flowers and other gifts to children. He found in them the future of our great nation.

Children's Day is also an occasion to spread awareness about children’s rights. We must provide all educational facilities to every child.

For the progress of children Nehru established many educational institutions throughout the country. To give him great respect and tribute we celebrate his birth day as a festival. On this occasion, we must also appreciate his contributions for the development of our country.

On this day many cultural programs are organized in schools all over India. Several competitions are also organized for students. Teachers and the other staff of schools and officials of the government also may participate in Bal Divas celebrations.

On this day, all over the country various cultural and social institutions may also conduct celebrations and competitions for children. Children's Day is viewed as a great day for the kids.

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