The Express Tribune hi five - October 27

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oween!

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d e k Spoo Out Your Proofness: Sarah Munir Master Storyteller: Sundar Waqar Creativity Analysts: Amna Iqbal, Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Talha Ahmed, Munira Abbas and Umar Waqas

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

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Hi light

Halloween Spider A common source of fear, spiders make for creepy, crawly Halloween decorations.

They join the ranks of bats and black cats in folklore as being evil companions of witches during medieval times (period in European history). One superstition held that if a spider falls into a candle-lit lamp and is consumed by the flame, witches are nearby. But then again it is only a superstition so don’t be scared of spiders!

For some, Halloween sounds like a scary festival with witches and cats while for others it is a fun activity about costumes and candy. Well, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Originating from Ireland, the holiday is relatively new to America, having only become popular in the early 1900s. Dating back about 2,000 years, Halloween marked the New Year and was originally called ‘Samhain’, which translates to ‘summer’s end’ in Gaelic (Irish). Let’s take a look at some of the traditions and superstitions regarding Halloween.

Costumes Hundreds of years ago, winter was a frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and for those afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would run into them if they left their homes. To avoid being recognised by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow ghosts. On Halloween, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to calm down the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. The tradition of dressing in costumes for Halloween thus caught on but is now mainly for the purpose of celebrating and enjoying like a fancy dress party.

Jack-o' Traditions The traditional Halloween colours of orange and black actually stem from the celebration of autumn and the harvest, with orange symbolising the colours of the crops and turning leaves and black marking the ‘death’ of summer and the changing season. Some Halloween traditions, such as carving jack-o’-lanterns, are based on Irish folklore and have been carried on throughout the centuries.

Others such as candy corn, are more modern Halloween additions. In Ireland, where Halloween originated, the day is still celebrated much like it is in the United States. Bonfires are lit as they were centuries ago, and all over the country, children get dressed up in costumes and spend the evening ‘trick-or-treating’ in their neighbourhoods.

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Lantern

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips and placing them on windowsills or near doors to frighten away evil spirits.

However, immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make a perfect jack-o’-lantern and have since used pumpkins for Halloween decorations.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

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Hi light

around the world Pakistan

Canada

Halloween in Pakistan is usually celebrated by some people costumed for parties at friends’ homes or schools. The costumes tend to be traditionally scary or cute — witches, vampires, cats, princesses, superheroes or fairies. Trick-or-treating is extremely rare though. Stores, malls, restaurants, offices and homes decorate their windows and pastry and candy shops make special desserts and candies.

Modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began with the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Jack-o’-lanterns are carved and the festivities include parties, trickor-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks.

Japan Austria In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. It was once believed that these would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night that Austrians considered to be magical.

Japan does not celebrate a western-style Halloween. The Japanese celebrate the ‘Obon Festival’ which is similar to Halloween festivities — it is dedicated to the spirits of ancestors. Special foods are prepared and bright red lanterns are hung everywhere. Candles are lit and placed into lanterns which are then set afloat on rivers and seas.

Cat Often considered a symbol of bad luck, black cats are a part of Halloween decorations. The black cat’s evil reputation dates back to hundreds of years. Older women accused of witchcraft, were often said to have pet cats, gifted to them by the devil.

Witch The stereotypical image of the evil witch with a pointy black hat and crooked nose stirring a magical potion actually stems from a mythical goddess known as ‘the crone’, who was honored during ‘Samhain’.

The crone was also known as the ‘Earth mother’ who symbolized wisdom, change, and the turning of the seasons. Today, the kind, all-knowing old crone has changed into the evil witch.

Broomstick The witch’s broomstick is another superstition that has its roots in medieval myths.

The elderly women that were blamed of witchcraft were often poor and could not afford horses, so they wandered through the woods on foot with the help of walking sticks, which were sometimes substituted by brooms. Thus, people started associating witches with broomsticks. According to an English myth, during night-time ceremonies, witches rubbed a ‘flying’ potion on their bodies, closed their eyes and felt as though they were flying. Sounds funny, doesn’t it?

Trick or treating Trick-or-treating is a usual celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costumes from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, ‘trick or treat?’ The word ‘trick’ refers to ‘warning’ to perform mischief on the homeowners if no treat is given.

Safety Tips During trick-ortreating • Make sure your children can see and be seen. When wearing a mask expand the eye holes in masks to improve vision.

Ensure that each trick-or-treater has a working flashlight.

• Tell the children to remove their masks and look both ways before they cross a street.

• Never let a group of children trick-ortreat alone. Adult supervision is a must during Halloween.

• Tell kids to stay away from candles that may be placed on steps and porches.

Their costumes could catch fire if they get too close.

• Kids should never carry candles when they are trick-or-treating. Always use a flashlight, flameless candle or light stick.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Activity

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Supplies needed: • • • • • • • •

Carton Scissors Pencil Marker Paint Paintbrush Cutter Tape

Cut the eyes using a cutter.

Halloween Mask Peek-a-Boo! Ayesha Mehmood teaches you how to make your own scary mask this Halloween.

Take a piece of carton and draw a character by using a pencil as shown in figure 1.

Paint the face.

Paint the hair.

Now, paint the ears. Always remember to paint the light colour first.

When the paint dries, cut the character you have drawn using a pair of scissors.

Now draw the eyes, nose and mouth using a pencil.

Tape a stick or a paintbrush at the back to hold your mask.

Your Spooky Halloween mask is ready!

Want to watch a video guide for this?

Log onto Toffeetv.com and check out the activities section!!

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny news from across the globe!

How did the chicken cross the road?

It won’t answer the age-old question of why the chicken crossed the road, but it might help explain how. A new ’High-Vis Chicken Jacket’, developed by a company called Omlet has been designed to relieve the worry chicken owners face during these dark winter evenings. The vest comes at a price though, and at £12 (Rs2,065) may not be very affordable for every owner.

Omlet director Johannes Paul said, “We had people inquiring about this kind of thing so [we] decided to look into it. Most people who have chickens as pets will have them out and about and we do hear about chickens who do cross the road.” The florescent bibs are already proving to be a hit after the company sold 200 in ten days, with the pink version twice as popular as the yellow. Now, the chickens can cross the road safely without the danger of not being seen and run over. METRO.CO.UK

World wide weird

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Knit and run

Running a marathon is hard enough without having to knit a record-breaking scarf at the same time like one man did in Kansas. David Babcock thought it would be a good idea to combine the two totally different hobbies and at the same time set a new Guinness World Record.

“It took a long time to do distance running. It takes a long time to do knitting,” he told a news channel.

“I thought these could go together. They are both kind of tedious. I thought it would be a fun challenge,” he continued. The 41-year-old managed to achieve his goal after knitting a scarf that was 12ft 13.4in long while running the Kansas City Marathon in five hours and 48 minutes. This surpassed Susie Hewer’s previous feat of knitting a scarf that was 6ft 9in long during a long distance race. She had achieved the record in London earlier this year.

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

Stuffed holiday A travel company has begun offering holidays for stuffed toys that will cost the owners between $20 (Rs2,340) and $55 (Rs5,850). At first it may seem ridiculous that people are willing to pay money to send a non-living object on holiday. But after hearing Unagi Travel’s explanation for the tours, there does seem to be some method behind the madness. The owners of the stuffed animals say they experience the places through the travels of their stuffed animals and when they see the cuddly toys jetting off to luxurious places they feel as if they’re also travelling. “I want to see and walk around the sights that I viewed through my stuffed animal’s journeys someday,” an unnamed woman told a Japanese newspaper. The 51-year-old lady had reportedly been unable to get out much due to an illness that made it difficult for her to walk.

According to reports, sending her stuffed animal on holiday encouraged the woman to get medical help and she was eventually able to go out regularly again. The tours are operated by 38-year-old Sonoe Azuma, who previously had a blog that gave an account of the lives of her stuffed animals. METRO.CO.UK

Heart-shaped puppy Dogs rarely hide their affections — this puppy least of all. Jack Russell-chihuahua-cross, Valerie, was born with a heart-shaped patch on her fur at Joanne and Dave Boardman’s home in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Commenting on her unusual new pet, Joanne said, “It is just so obvious, you can’t miss it. I have never seen anything like it before.” Valerie will initially share her home with 25 other dogs, including 12 puppies, as the dog-lovers Boardmans also own five Chihuahuas, a Great Dane, a Yorkshire Terrier, a poodle, a British Bulldog, a Jack Russell and two Yorkshire Terrier crosses. Her stay in Newcastle-under-Lyme may be short-lived, as 40-year-old Joanne has admitted she may be forced to find a new home for the heart-shaped puppy. “Because of the number of dogs we have, I don’t think we will be able to keep her,” she told a local paper. Joanne’s daughter, Stacey, added: “I’d like to keep her, but I don’t think I will be able to persuade my dad. We keep in touch with all the people who have had a puppy off us and usually they come back for another one. We always make sure they are going to a good home.” We hope the unusual pet is treasured at her new home. METRO.CO.UK

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Did you know?

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Word Origins Buffalo wings Unsurprisingly, neither the origin of the name nor the food item itself have anything to do with an actual buffalo. Rather, this tasty item originated in Buffalo, New York. It is believed that in 1964, Theresa Bellissimo, who owned a restaurant, Dominic’s in Buffalo had an idea: why not fry chicken wings up and serve them in a hot sauce? Of course, there are various versions of the story. But Teressa’s version of fried wings, in a special hot sauce she’d made, served with blue cheese dressing and a few celery sticks proved to be a success. Soon, buffalo wings were a staple on the menu and news of this tasty dish had come to the attention of many Buffalonians.

Over time, other restaurants serving the wings began to pop up. The spreading of the buffalo wing was relatively slow until American football stepped in. From 1990-1993, the Buffalo Bills made it to the Super Bowl for four consecutive seasons. During this time, the media covering the team also did features on the region itself, talking quite a bit about local food and particularly highlighting these spicy, fried chicken wings. Since then, Buffalo wings have became a popular ‘traditional’ snack to eat while watching American football.

How to say ‘I am leaving’ in different languages Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Filipino French German Haitian-creole Hungarian Indonesian Italian Malay Norwegian Poliuch Romanian Spanish Swedish Turkish

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Men vaig Odlazim Odchazim Jeg forlader Ik vertrek Ako umaalis Je pars Ich gehe Mwen kite Elmegyek Aku pergi Parto Saya meninggalkan Jeg drar Wyjeżdżam Plec Me voy Jag lamnar Gidiyorum

Cool facts Water is made up of two elements; hydrogen and oxygen.

Water has three different states; liquid, solid and gas.

The word water usually refers to water in its liquid state. The solid state of water is known as ice while the gas state of water is known as steam or water vapour.

Water covers around 70% of the Earth’s surface.

The three largest oceans on Earth are the Pacific Ocean (largest), the Atlantic Ocean (second largest) and the Indian Ocean (third largest).

Found in the Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest known point in the world’s oceans.

River Nile is the longest river in the world and stretches 6,650 kilometres.

The Amazon river is the second longest river in the world stretching 6,400 kilometres.

Pure water has no smell and no taste.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

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Fun & games

Crossword

How carefully did you read this week’s issue of HiFive? If you think you are upto the task, try to solve our special crossword. The answers are all over HiFive! Put on your thinking caps, it is time to put the old noggin to work!

Across 2. Originating from Ireland the --------— is relatively new to America, having only become popular in the early 1900s.

4. The word water usually refers to water in its ---------— state.

5. The word --------— refers to ‘threat’ to perform mischief on the homeowners if no treat is given.

7.

Kids should never carry ---------— when they are trick-or-treating.

8. Tell the children to ----------— their masks and look both ways before they cross a street.

10. Water has three different states: liquid, solid and ------.

11. The traditional Halloween colours are ----------— and black.

12. Expand the eye holes in -------— to improve vision.

Down 1.

---------— covers around 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

2.

Water is made up of two elements: ---------— and oxygen.

3.

Ensure that each trick-or-treater has a working ----------.

6.

Trick-or-treating is a usual celebration for ---------— on Halloween.

7.

Orange symbolises the colours of the --------— and turning leaves.

9.

Black marks the ‘death’ of summer and the changing ------------.

10. On Halloween, when it was believed that --------— came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would come across ghosts if they left their homes.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 27, 2013

Notable Entries for the Liberty Books Card Competition

Ibrahim

Age: 8

M Zain Azeem

Arwa Yousaf

Age: 12

Age: 11

Nasir Ali Khan

Haiqa Usman

Age: 7

Afeefa

Winner Zirwah Yousaf

Winner

Areesha Asim

Javeria Azeem

Age: 11

Age: 10

Age: 11