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The Truth about Easter
By: Juanita Mosquera Loza 10A
Probably you have seen on Instagram, Facebook or any social media, “How to do your own Easter eggs and bunnies” tutorial. Yes, in American culture it is very common to go out with your friends for a scavenger hunt and not only for these decorated goods but also, for chocolate bunnies among other tasty candies.
Actually, you might think you know all about this festivity but the truth is you might as well be clueless to what Easter Sunday really stands for and its true meaning. For some, this date is all about the Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated candies, and going out to look for hidden eggs in your best friend’s backyard.
Don’t feel ignorant, decorating and painting eggs is common in many cultures. In the Western culture, since the twentieth century, there has been a rise in the use of decorated eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. But, what is the real meaning behind this celebration?
On the other hand, there is the theory of the Christians that celebrate Easter as the resurrection of Christ on the third day after His crucifixion. However, because of the commercialization and possible pagan origins of Easter, many churches prefer to call it “Resurrection Sunday”. Due to the latter, the importance of this celebration lies in Christ being alive, making it possible for us to have eternal life.
It is after knowing all this that we should ask ourselves: How should we celebrate Easter then? Should kids be allowed to go on Easter egg hunts? Well, there’s nothing wrong with having fun decorating and painting eggs before hiding and go looking for them. Yet we must always keep in mind what Easter really means and that is the importance for us to reflect on and understand the original purpose of this celebration: Christ’s rebirth.
Nowadays, the society we live in, has turned our beliefs, either religious or cultural, into methods for massive consumption. For instance; Valentine's Day, Christmas, and Halloween. Easter has now become one of the countless victims of this capitalist society. Still there’s a lot more behind this celebrations and important dates. Even when they might not come across as important for the market; there’s always a whole cultural back round and a lot more behind costumes, gifts, flowers, chocolates and eggs.
Well here I bring to you the true story: It is often assumed that the name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Easter who was the goddess of spring according to the Saxons of Northern Europe. This theory, held that, Easter was the “goddess of the east (from where the sun rises),” and that her symbol was the hare.
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The look back on…
BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP!
The president of U.S.A visited Cuba! You might have heard this great news in the newspapers, on the radio, possibly TV, or any other means of media, but, why give so much importance to this specific event? Let’s review a little bit a Cuba’s history.
In 1898, Cuba finally got rid of Spain earning their freedom, unfortunately their independence would not last much longer for it fell into the claws of the imperialist country U.S.A. This powerful state controlled Cuba in any possible way. The latter would have not been possible without Fulgencio Batista, the current president / dictator of Cuba. In other words, the country who had just gotten its freedom, was at the will of the greatest nation of the world.
Tired of the terrible situation in which Cuba was, a brave student named Fidel Castro decided to rebel against Batista's regime and gain the autonomy he vehemently believed his country ached for. He was not alone; as the leader of the M16, “the guerrilla” of Cuba Fidel Castro was a young inspiring powerful figure. Even when his first attempt (the mission to take over the “Cuartel Moncada”) failed, it was the act that not only triggered the revolution, but also gave the Cubans hope and trust in Castro in order to emancipate from the U.S.A.
It was only after some victories and defeats, that Fidel achieved his goal of throwing out Batista from political power and establishing his government. As a result of these events, the United States got very angry because their puppet (Batista) was now out and in his place was a leader whose strong character and principles forbade the submission of the country to the U.S. Therefore, the powerful country decided to punish Cuba with an economic block out. Which meant that any country that decided to commercialize with Cuba would no longer be friendly to the its eyes. To this day such economic block is still having consequences in Cuba. In other words, for sixty years the relationship between Cuba and the U.S.A has been frozen. Until tis very March 20, 2016.
Let’s hope that everything goes right between Cuba and the U.S.A, and that eventually they might rebuild their relationship once and for all. Furthermore, let's also hope that with this rebuilt relationship, Cuba may move forward towards progress and that as a country, it may too provide the means in order for the people to stop living in deplorable conditions.
By: Maria Paz Salazar Ocampo 10B
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Belgium Attack
By: María Alejandra Becerra 10A.
As you may know, this is not the first attack organized by the Islamic group and,as they have declared, it won’t be the last. These events and many others going on all around the world are a clear example of how humanity is being destroyed by the ones who want power and by the ones who don’t accept others as equals; this type of behavior is transforming the world into everything we once feared it could become. Many authors, singers, artists, among others, have tried to warn us about everything that is happening right now but, unfortunately, we didn’t pay attention to it and, instead, we kept on making of power, money and selfishness the most important things on earth. We have to consider these attacks as a warning, more so, as the last warning, because unfortunately the world is changing; We are creating a place where the word freedom has no meaning, where the word love is just important for the selling industries, and where the word peace is not something used anymore and, instead, is just an idea of something we want to reach. We have to make a change and leave the selfishness behind, because it’s our world, it belongs to us and no one else. If we don’t do something, we will have to face World War III in some years.
“More than 30 people are believed to have been killed and dozens injured in attacks at Brussel’s international airport and a city metro station.” This is what BBC news said after the attack Brussels, Belgium’s capital, suffered in the morning of Tuesday, 22 March 2016. As shown in the images, two explosions occurred at the departure area in the Zaventem airport after 8 am, and another explosion occurred at the Maelbeek metro station at 9:11 am, when the metro train was leaving from the station to Arts-Loi. Eight hours after the attacks, the ISIL (Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant) terrorist group, accepted the responsibility and admitted to having planned the occurred events, declaring Belgium as “a country participating in the coalition against the Islamic State.”
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