Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Shintoism

     Shinto, or Shintoism is one of the main religions in Japan. This religion has no founder, no fixed creeds, and no official sacred scriptures.The religion has 3-4 million followers. Their texts are known as "Records of Ancient Matters" and "Chronicles of Japan".
     People in the Shinto religion believe that humans are pure by nature. They believe that you can keep away evil through  purification rituals. You can also attain good things by calling on the kami. Shintoism states that death is bad and impure. Some humans even become kami after death. Their practices include worshipping and offerings to kami at shrines and at home.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

WAC: Roman Emperor Claudius

     On 1 August 10, B.C. I was born in Lugdunum and was adopted soon after by my uncle, Tiberius. When Tiberius became emperor in A.D 14, he started to act as if he was ashamed of me. You see, I was born with defects that caused me to limp, drool, stutter, and constantly get sick. To avoid being a public embarrassment, I spent my entire childhood in seclusion. In these lonely years, I spent my time reading various books and learning new things.

     I guess you could say that my fortunes somewhat changed when my unstable nephew, Gaius, became emperor in A.D. 37. One afternoon in January 41 A.D. Gaius invited me to the theater with him so I went thinking it would be enjoyable. Shortly before lunch time, we were walking down the isolated palace corridor when a bunch of people jumped out and surrounded Gaius. When they pulled out their weapons and murdered him I ran to hide behind a nearby curtain. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen, and became known as the first open murder of a Roman Emperor.

     When the guardsmen found me I didn't know whether to run or remain where I was. The next thing I know, they were declaring me the new emperor of Rome and sending me off to various camps. It was never my intention to be an emperor but I had no choice. At first, I was completely against the whole thing and even tried escaping from the camps. As the new emperor of Rome, my first act was the execution of Gaius's assassins.

     Many people say that my reign was a mixture of both failures and successes. I believe that I was one of the best emperors that Rome ever had. When I was emperor, Rome succeeded in conquering Britain which was one of my greatest accomplishments. I remember always being present at court cases and helping them reach a verdict. Most people would get mad when I would make my rulings but I was always right when it came to those kinds of things.

     The years I was married to Agrippina were long, hard, and difficult for me. I regret not staying with my first wife, Valeria Messalina. When Agrippina grew bored with me, she decided it was time for our son, Nero, to become emperor. One afternoon I was poisoned when she fed me a treated mushroom with my lunch. On 13 October, 54  A.D. right after I died,  Nero became the new emperor of Rome and replaced me.
   

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Faith - Botswana
  • In Botswana they stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve and their families get together to exchange gifts.
  • People sing Christmas carols to celebrate the birth of Christ.
  • Botswana's high school is the second level of education but it isn't free.
Gunnar - Zambia
  • A few days before Christmas people go caroling to raise money for charities.
  • Decorations gathered by citizens are used to decorate the towns.
  • They have primary and secondary schools in Zambia.
Dale - Costa Rica
  • After church on Christmas they go home and open presents.
  • On the day of Christmas the people have a dinner with their families.
  • Primary education and high school lasts six years.
Lindsey - Bosnia
  • Christmas trees in Bosnia are decorated in toys and lights.
  • They celebrate Christmas dinner with a stuffed turkey.
  • They call Santa Claus, Grandfather Frost.
Mark - Norway
  • Families make baskets of colored paper and hang them on their Christmas trees.
  • Every house has a gnome they put up around Christmas.
  • Kids bring the gnomes porridge.
John - Romania
  • They celebrate Christmas from December 24th to January 7th.
  • Ignat Day is on December 20th.
  • Kids make stars out of glossy papers as Christmas decorations.
Nate - Turkey
  • The people fast from sunrise to sunset.
  • It lasts 29 - 30 days.
  • During this time they refrain from smoking, eating, and drinking.
Caleb - Zimbabwe
  • People start getting very festive a month before Christmas.
  • People always hosts feasts on the evening of Christmas.
  • On the day of Christmas cities are lit up with many lights.
Josh - Brazil
  • They call Santa, Father Noel.
  • They have a thing called Secret Friend which is much like Secret Santa.
  • They use flowers in their gardens to decorate their houses for Christmas.
Courtney - Australia
  • They celebrate Christmas much like us.
  • A lot of people spend Christmas outside on the beach because it is warm and sunny their.
  • They have dance parties and get-togethers.
Hannah - The Philippines
  • The Christmas celebration starts on December 16.
  • They decorate their houses with lanterns, lights, and streamers.
  • Christmas Eve is a night without sleep for them.
Gabby - Ireland
  • We got the tradition of putting a wreath on our doors from Ireland.
  • Their Christmas celebration lasts from December 24 to January 6.
  • Santa Claus is known as Santy.
Abby - Bolivia
  • Christmas is highly religious there.
  • They don't go carolling or decorate their houses.
  • On Christmas Eve fireworks are set off throughout the cities.
Viola - Thailand
  • There is no snow on Christmas.
  • Most people there are buddhist.
  • Christmas isn't a public holiday so people don't get the day off from work or school.