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    31 October

    Happy Halloween Day

    In medieval times this was called "All Hallows Eve". Hallow is an old word meaning "holy" and "e´en" is Scottish for " evening".

    October 31st is the day before the Feast of All Saints and was originally the eve of the new year in both Celtic (the Feast of the Death) and Anglo-Saxon times. The Celts lived in the British Isles during ancient times. They were pagans. They believe in the gods of nature.
    There were two important festivals on the Celtic calendar: One was called Beltane. It marked the beginning of summer. The other was called Samhain (saun). It marked the end of the summer, on October 31. Samhain was also the last day of the year; on the Celtic calendar. The Druids were Celtic priest and teachers - They were very important in Celtic society. Everyone respected them. They practised magic and religious rituals on Samhain. On October 31, the Druids predicted the future. The celtic people dressed in scary costumes to frighten the evil spirits. They dressed as witches, ghost, skeletons. They also played games to bring good luck in the new year. The Celts believed that on the night of October31, ghost came out of their tombs. The spirits of the dead returned to earth. The Druid religion went on for a long time in Ireland and Scotland. Halloween continued to be important in both places.

    After the Roman invasion in 43 AD, Samhain also became a harvest festival called Pomona. Pomona was the roman goddes of gardens and orchards. Nuts, fruits and apples were part of the Samhain ceremonies. Apples were sacred and lucky!. The colours of Halloween are orange and black. They represent the harvest ( orange) and death (black). After the Roman invasion, Christian rites substituted pagan rites.

    In the 19th century, Irish immigrants brought their Halloween customs and traditions to The United States. After acquired a sinister significance, gradually Halloween became a secular observance ( In Scotland young people met to play games to find out which of them would marry during that year. In The USA young children go from house to house demanding "Trick or treat"...) Now Halloween is one of the biggest festivities in The United States. The date is on every American calendar. For more detail ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween




    29 October

    Chennai and me..

      Peopleare putting their life in danger while traveling from one place to another in City, The city buses has break all records of number of person they can accommodate inside a bus.


    Now a days i am also the part of that crowd, but i can't think of get into those buses, its actually beyond my scope of thinking to get inside those buses, i feel much safer and convenient if i will catch a rickshaw which will cost me 300 times of the fare of bus or taxi which again cost me 900 times of the fare of bus.


    Just imagine about those people who don't have any option, chennai government has to do something about it. i asked few of my friends here, like... if you can afford and rickshaw then why are you not traveling in that, they just reply me back, i used to travel in bus and i prefer that.

    i would like to add one more conversation..

    actually its between me and my colleagues.

     he is knows local language ie. "TAMIL" the basic qualification is to stay here in tamilnadu. i asked him that now chennai government make the rules for "rickshaw wala" to go by meter, so we can asked some rickshaw wala to go meter... but you will be amazed to see his reaction--- he said i don't want to go by meter, because if you asked them to go by meter they will abuse you, and they are poor so what is the issue paying them more. then i realize it's not the government fault, its the people who doesn't want to change, they are happy with whatever they are having and they don't want anyone to fight for their rights...

    i just want to pray for those kids who are traveling in a bus like this....

    23 October

    Happpiness and sorrow

    There is tremendous happiness in making others happy,
    despite our own situations"
    "Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared,
    is doubled"
    "If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have
    that money can't buy"
    "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."
    15 October

    Should You Drink Wine or Eat Grapes?

    In studies conducted in 1992, it was observed that in southern France, mortality rates from heart disease were lower than expected despite the consumption of diets high in saturated fat. Researchers attributed the impressive low incidence of heart disease, 50 percent lower than in the Unites States, to the consumption of red wine. Since then, the possibility that drinking red wine might protect our heart arteries, has made the topic “wine and health” extremely popular. In fact, research has shown that taken in moderation -two 8 ounce glasses for men and 1 glass for women per day, red wine may increase HDL cholesterol, the “good” guy, decrease LDL cholesterol, the “bad” one, prevent oxidation of LDL, and scavenge free radicals.

    f the polyphenols in grapes are mostly in the skins, can we just have red grapes or red grape juice, which is also made with the grape skins, and obtain the same beneficial effects as drinking red wine? Yes, we can, researchers tell us.

    This study, among others, showed that red grape juice and dealcoholized red wine can significantly reduce arterial disease by lowering the level of oxidized cholesterol, preventing platelets to stick together, and enhancing the production of nitric oxide³. In another study, grape juice proved to be more effective than red wine or dealcoholized red wine in inhibiting arterial disease at the same polyphenol dose. The researchers concluded that grape juice or non-alcoholic red wine are an excellent alternative to red wine when in comes to disease of the arteries.