Shina Utavani

India gained independence from the Britishrule on 15th August 1947. Since then every year, 15th August is celebrated as Independence Day in India to commemorate India’s freedom from the 200-year-old British government. The struggle for India’s independence began in 1857 in Meerut. Later, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, in the 20th century, the Indian National Congress launched an independent movement. After a lot of struggle and hard work, on August 15th, 1947, colonial powers were transferred to India. India’s struggle for freedom was a long process and witnessed the sacrifice of many freedom fighters. This day remarks the bravery of our freedom fighters. It reminds us of the sacrifices made by our forefathers, freedom fighters and leaders to free our motherland.&nbsp; For India, 15th August is a day of her re-birth. On 15th August 1947, India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru unfolded the tricolour flag of the nation. On this day, people pay homage to leaders who fought for the freedom of the nation. Flag hoisting ceremony along with various cultural programs are organised at various places on this day including schools and colleges.

This is a story of Independence day.

Independence Day

India celebrates Republic Day on 26th January every year. On 26th January 1950, India truly experienced freedom from British rule. It was the historic day when constitution of India was officially enforced. It had replaced the Government of India Act, 1935 into the governing document of India. After that India became a secular, sovereign, and democratic nation. National holiday has been declared on this day by the Indian Government. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and it came into effect on 26th January 1950.&nbsp;Dr. Rajendra Prasad, on 26th January 1950 took the solemn oath as the first president of India. India was functioning under the laws enacted and implemented by the British until this day. The country did not have a permanent constitution, instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. Drafting committee with Dr. B R Ambedkar as a chairman was appointed to draft a permanent constitution on 28th August 1947. The constitution of India consists of basic principles according to which India is to be governed. The Indian Constitution is the longest constitution in the world because of its handwritten uniqueness with 25 parts containing 448 articles and 12 schedules. The original copies of the constitution are still preserved in helium-filled cases in the library of parliament house.

Republic Day

Easter is an important festival for Christians. The festival is celebrated after three days of crucifixion of Jesus i.e. Good Friday. Crucifixion means killing someone by nailing the person across the cross. It is celebrated on Sunday and it is often known as ‘Easter Sunday’. This festival is celebrated to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection is a concept of living beings coming back to life after death. Easter Sunday celebrates Jesus coming back to life after he was hanged on the cross. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was crucified on Good Friday. He was buried in a grave. On the third day, his disciples visited his grave and found out that the grave was empty. The day stands for the victory of Christ over death. The resurrection of Jesus is what ultimately makes him the ‘Son of God’. People celebrate Easter through various events and activities. Churches are decorated with flowers, lightnings, and candles. People visit the church and offer their prayers. Children decorate Easter Eggs with colours and sparkles. Various events are organised like Egg Hunt, Egg festival, etc. People prepare a variety of cuisines and celebrate the festival with their families. The tradition of Easter Eggs represents fertility and birth. It signifies new life, fertility, and rebirth. It is believed that the hard shell of the egg symbolises the sealed ‘Tomb of Christ’ and the egg's cracking represents his resurrection from death. Painted eggs or Chocolate filled eggs are common gifts exchanged at this festival. People light candles in the churches on Easter which represents that the life of Jesus is a guiding light to the world. They are lit to spread light and give hope.

This is a story of Easter and Jesus Christ.Moral(s) of the story: sacrifice

Easter

Pongal is an important festival celebrated in South India. It is celebrated for four days. The festival is also known as the 'Harvest Festival' and is celebrated in the month of January.&nbsp;People enjoy the festival with great enthusiasm and energy. Pongal means ‘boiling over’ or ‘spill over’. The way harvested crop spills over the pot, in the same way, people wish for prosperity to spill over in their life. For the festival preparations, people decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves. The festival is celebrated to welcome health and prosperity into the household. The four days of the festival have different names and importance. Bhogi Pongal is the first day of the festival. On this auspicious day, people embellish their houses with paints to mark a new beginning. This day is celebrated differently in different parts of India. It is celebrated as Lohri in Punjab and Magh Bihu in Assam. On this day, the harvested crops are collected. Perum Pongal is the second day of the festival. This day holds the greatest significance. People offer their prayers to the Sun God. They seek his blessings for an adequate harvest for the rest of the year. This day is also known as Surya Pongal. The third day is known as Mattu Pongal. On this day, prayers are offered to the cow. People worship cows by decorating them with vermilion and garlands. Mantras and prayers are recited. On this day, bull-fight is also organised in certain parts of India. The day is also celebrated as ‘Kannu Pongal’ in some parts of South India where women offer prayers for good health and long life of their brothers. The last day is known as Kaanum Pongal. On this day, families gather on riverbanks and have a splendid meal (Kootanchoru). Traditional dances like Kummi and Kolattam are also performed on this day.

Pongal

Ali Momin

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year. The English meaning of Muharram is “Forbidden”. This festival is the period of recalling and mourning the martyrdom of the Hazrat Imam Hussain (grandson of the prophet Mohammed) by Shia Muslims. Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, celebrate the festival to observe the victory of Moses over Egyptian Pharaoh. Hussain Ibn Ali was the famous figure for Shia Muslims and was considered as a member of Muhammad’s household. According to history, he refused to accept the Islamic rules once by the Yazid. He started revolting against him which gave rise to the Karbala battle during which he was beheaded, and his family members were imprisoned.&nbsp; According to Sunni Muslims, it is the day when Moses got the victory. Moses was a religious Islam leader, who was propagating the religious teachings among people all around the world. He got victory on the tenth day of the Muharram over the Pharaohs of Egypt. They observe fasts. Sunni Muslims celebrate Muharram as the day when Prophet Moses (Moosa) fasted on that day because Allah saved the Israelites from their enemy in Egypt. Both the communities of Muslims celebrate the festival with completely different ideologies. Shia Muslims keep fast for the whole month as well as celebrate the day by beating themselves with sticks and rods to commemorate all the sufferings of Hussain Ibn Ali.

Muharram

The celebrations of Christmas Eve start from 25th December and last till New Year. Significance: The birth of Jesus Christ is an event of utmost importance to the followers of Christianity. It is believed that God had sent his son on earth in the form of Jesus as a sacrifice to free the people from their sins. People believed that Jesus was born to save all humans from going to hell. People attend church services on Christmas day. The day is made colourful by decorations. People buy Christmas trees and decorate it with lights, flowers, garlands, stars, gifts, etc. People enjoy time with their family and friends on Christmas day. Santa Claus, a mythological figure who is believed to fulfil the wishes of the children is awaited on the night of December 24th. Children curiously wait for Santa Claus and their gifts. The main celebration of the festival starts on 24th December which is known as Christmas Eve. The celebrations continue till the New year. The festival spreads the message of Peace, Love, Harmony, and Brotherhood.&nbsp;

This is a story Christmas, Jesus Christ and Santa Claus.

Christmas

It was Christmas Eve. Everyone was happy to celebrate Christmas. Santa and his elves were preparing for Christmas. Felix, one of the elves said, “I do not think we will complete everything tonight.” To which Santa replied, “We will do it, we have never missed a Christmas.”They quickly prepared everything and by sunset everything was ready. Every gift was ready. But Santa had one more thing to do. He went with his elves, Gus and Gerrie. He said, “I am going to give presents to my animal friends. Keep everything ready and pack the toys till I come back.” The elves said, “Okay, sir.” The Santa then said, “Relax and enjoy, it is Christmas.”It was snowing very heavily when Santa left with his two helpers. Santa had a gift for everyone. He gave a gift to the rabbit and all of his young ones. He gave everyone a present. He also had a present for Barney, the bear. He went to the bear’s cave to give him presents. There, he saw that the Barney was sleeping. He decided to keep the present inside his cave. Santa went inside the cave and kept the present near Barney. Suddenly, Barney snored loudly and it shook the walls. Then Gus shouted, “Santa.” The Santa turned around and saw that the mountain of snow had crashed and the entrance of the cave was blocked.Gus and Gerrie were outside the cave and Santa got stuck inside the cave. They both tried digging the entrance but could not do much. Gerrie went to look for help. Everyone at Santa’s home was worried that Santa had not returned and it was time for Santa to go to give presents.Gerrie went home and explained everyone about what had happened. Felix was shocked and looked around at everyone. She said, “We are very small. How will we dig Santa out? It will take a lot of time and Santa might miss the Christmas Eve.” One of the elves told to take the help of an old wise elf that lived over the hill. His name was Eli and he was wisest. They thought that he would help them.Elves quickly went over the hill to find Eli. Over the mountain, they saw a tiny elf with a white beard. “He is Eli,” said one of the elves. Seeing him, Felix cried and said, “He too is small.” One of the elves explained everything to Eli. The old elf smiled and said, “Follow me.”Eli took them inside his house and took out a jar. Inside the jar, there was magic dust from Santa’s first Christmas. They decided to use that to save Santa. They quickly went to the cave and saw Gus worn out from digging. Gus said, “I have not heard any sound of Santa.” Elves became nervous and started crying.Eli quickly said some magic words and sprinkled the magic dust over Santa’s sleigh full of toys. The magic that happened left Elves in a shock. They were shocked to see that every toy of the Sleigh came to life and started digging the cave. The robots, teddy bears, dolls all started digging the cave. Looking at them, the little elves also started digging the cave.Finally, they were able to dig the entrance and Santa came outside. Santa thanked everyone. Suddenly the toys lost the magic and started becoming ordinary toys. Santa and elves took all the toys and kept them into the sleigh.Santa and his elves left to give presents to everyone. With a merry “Ho HoHo!” they flew up in the sky to deliver gifts. The Santa gave presents to every child sleeping. The children would never know that the Santa almost missed the Christmas.

This is a story of Christmas, elf, magic and Santa Claus.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

The Christmas That Santa Almost Missed

Bihu is a festival celebrated in Assam in the month of January. The festival is a celebration of the change of the seasons. It is also known as the Harvest festival. In Assam, most of the people are associated with agrarian (cultivation of land) activities. Most of the people’s occupation is agriculture. This festival marks an important phase of farming in Assam. The word ‘Bihu’ is originally derived from the word ‘Bishu’. It means that people ask for prosperity from God for the harvesting season. ‘Bi’ in the word Bihu means to ask and ‘hu’ means to give. Both these words combine to form the name Bihu.&nbsp; The festival is celebrated for seven days wherein each day holds a significance. The first day of the festival is called ‘Raati Bihu’. On this day, all the women gather beneath an ancient tree or open field, surrounded by burning torches. The men participate mostly in ceremonial activities wherein they play Pepa (buffalo hornpipe) or Toka (it is a musical instrument made of split bamboo). The second day of the festival is known as ‘Goru Bihu’. On this day, livestock is washed with a combination of symbolic herbs. Then they are decorated with new garlands and harnesses. The cattle of the village are served various food items. The third day is known as Manuh (human) Bihu, where people take a bath with black gram and turmeric paste. They seek blessings from the elders. A traditional Bihu dance is performed by people, which is an important part of the festival. The fourth day of the festival is known as Gosai (God’s) Bihu. People worship idols after cleaning their homes. Varieties of food items are made such as Pitha, Ladoo, Khaar, and Xaak. The fifth day is called ‘Kutum Bihu’. On this day, people usually visit their relatives. They spend the day together.&nbsp;The sixth day is known as ‘Senehi Bihu’. This day symbolises love. People meet their beloved and give them gifts and celebrate the bond they share. The last day of the festival is known as ‘Mela Bihu’. This day involves a lot of celebrations. Fairs are organised in different parts of the state and people enjoy by participating in various activities.

Bihu

India is a diverse nation and there are numerous festivals that are celebrated in a year. Raksha Bandhan is one of them. On the day of Raksha Bandhan, a sister ties a thread, known as “rakhi” on her brother’s wrist, as a symbol of protection and care. The brother in turn gives gifts to his sister. It glorifies the bond and connection between them. Raksha Bandhan falls on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. Origin: During the partition of Bengal in 1905, Dr. Rabindranath Tagore started the Rakhi festival to celebrate and strengthen the bond of togetherness and love between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal. Another story describes the tale of Yama and Yamuna. The lord of death, Yama was blessed with eternity as his sister the Yamuna tied up a Rakhi thread on his wrist. The concept of tying a thread is believed to be started from here. The festival celebrates the love and bond between a brother and sister.

festival stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.