Who came up with Santa Claus?

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, The Father of Christmas, or just Santa, is described as a fat jolly man (or an elf) who brings gifts on Christmas Eve or Day. He became popular in the U.S. during the 19th Century due to Thomas Nast, a famous caricaturist and political cartoonist. In the Uk Santa is called the Father of Christmas but still maintains the same image as the American Santa Claus. The American version says he lives in the North Pole, and the Uk version says he lives in Finland. Other descriptions say he lives with his wife Mrs. Claus and has a list of nice and naughty children who he gives presents to. However some Christians say the teaching of Santa detracts from the religious origins and purpose of Christmas. Others say Santa is a lie and it is unethical to teach his existence to kids. But still some see him as the commercial advertisement of Christmas.

What is the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites?

We often hear of them in the news associated with the Muslim people. However not too many people actually know who the Sunnis and the Shiites are, or what the difference between them is, or why they do not agree with each other. It all started when the ruler of the Islamic religion Muhammad died in 632 A.D. Muhammad had never chosen or instructed who his successor would be. It was decided that the first four caliphs or leaders, would be leaders for life and be family of Muhammad. The Caliphs were chosen to protect and spread the Islamic religion. The first was Muhammad's father-in-law who was Abu Bakr and the last was Abu's son-in-law Ali. Ali's rival was the governor of Syria named Mu' awiyah. Ali was unfortunately killed by a fanatic follower. This gave Mu' awiyah the chance to seize power and so he became the first caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. However, Ali's son Husayn refused to allow the Umayyad Dynasty to seize control of the throne. In return Husayn and his followers were killed by Umayyad troops. This sparked a division in Islam. Those who agreed and felt it was okay for the Umayyad Dynasty to take over were the Sunnis and were the majority of the Muslim community. Those who did not agree belonged to a smaller Muslim community called the Shiites. This feud still lives on today and is sometimes reported in news often ending in violence.

Buddhism

Intro

If you have ever been to a china shop, then more than likely you have seen a statue of a heavy man named Buddha. But is he a god or a regular man? What did he teach?

Founder

The founder of Buddhism was a Kshatriyan Prince named Guatama. Since he was a prince he was always in his palace, sheltered from the outside world. One day though no one was watching Guatama, and so he decided to leave and explore his kingdom. As he walked the streets he saw people suffering and dying from poverty and disease. This led him to abandon his priveleged life to search and travel India to find a way people could end their suffering. He practiced meditation,

which is a when you go without food to separate yourself from the material world. One day while meditating under a tree, Guatama had a

vision and found a way to end suffering. He developed the Four Noble Truths which are: Everyone suffers and knows sorrow, people's desires blind them to the Cycle of Rebirth, to end your suffering you must separate yourself from the material world, and that you must use the Eightfold Path

to end your suffering. The Cycle of Rebirth is a traditional Hindu belief that when you die you will come back to life as another physical being whether it is human or animal. Guatama also developed the Eightfold Path, as mentioned before. They are: To know truth, resist evil, control your thoughts, work for the good of others, respect others, practice meditation, separate yourself from the material world, and and to free your mind of evil. Once Guatama discovered the way to end suffering, he shared this knowledge with friends. His friends started calling him Buddha, or " Enlightened One"(who is pictured above). Although he was once a Kshatriyan prince and was born into believing in Hinduism, Buddha had rejected the idea of the Caste System, which Hindu people used to determine a person's place in life based on their birth. However, he believed it was the person who decided what his or her place in life was. Buddha's teachings had spread and he had thousands of followers. After his death, his followers expanded his teachings to places in Asia such as China, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East. However as Buddhism spread, disagreements rose within itself. Eventually there became two branches of Buddhism. The Theravada branch was the same and still saw Buddha as a teacher. The other branch,

was the Mahayana, which was the same as the Theravada, except they worship Buddha as a deity or savior.

Number of Followers and Locations today

Today there are over 376 million Buddhist followers. Most are in East Asia, in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Cambodia, and Thailand. However there are also over 300,000 Buddhists in the United States.

Holy Books and Sacred Texts

Some sacred texts of Buddhism are the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which describes in detail of the stages of death in the Tibetan point of view. The Mahayana Sutras are a collection of texts that the Mahayana branch of Buddhism consider sacred. The Tipetaka is the earliest collection of Buddhist teaching that was passed down orally until the third century.

Religious Holidays

Religious Holidays Buddists celebrate are Vesak (Buddha Day) which celebrates Buddha's birthday. This is celebrated on the first full moon day of May and celebrated by Buddhists around the world. The Elephant Festival is held on the third Saturday of November. It is celebrated because Buddha used a wild elephant as an example to show that a person new to Buddhism can be tamed and learn Buddhism by an older Buddhist.

Rituals/Customs

Buddhists still practice meditation as they always have which is an ancient ritual to separate yourself from the material world. Other rituals of Buddhism are doing Mantras (sacred sounds), Mudrus (symbolic hand gestures), and Prayer Wheel (reciting Mantras while spinning a wheel).

Particular Dress/Clothing

Clothing most

Buddhist monks wear are prayer robes called Zens (pictured left) which looks like a robe, but with a darker piece of cloth over the shoulder of the robe. Some Buddhists also wear shauls.

Hierarchy/Organization

Buddhist hierarchy is in the order of importance. The Dalai Lama which is the leader, next is the Panchen Lama who is second in command to the Dalai Lama, then there are the Monastics who are regular Lamas, and at the bottom are the laypeople who are non-monastics.

Why do people volunteer to help and get no money?

The reason people may volunteer to help someone (even though they are aware they will get no money) can be for various reasons. It could be someone's principle whether it has to deal with religion or personal moral.It could also be because the person they are volunteering to help is a friend, relative, or maybe a co-worker. Some people will volunteer because they are associated with an organization that volunteers it's services. You may also feel sorry for someone who may be deathly sick, lost a relative, or they just can't help themselves. However I can tell you from personal experience as a volunteer is that I volunteer because I get a feeling of pure joy that I cannot describe or get from material things. I guess it is because I made a difference in someone's life even if it is in the slightest way.

Get along with Anyone website evaluating

After reading http://www.wikihow.com/index.php?title=Get-Along-with-Anyone&printable=yess I found that there were things I already know or that I do naturally when interacting with other individuals such as avoiding people you just do not click with or that you should first study how someone interacts with other individuals and study their behavior. However I was reminded that people may be grumpy but possibly because possibly they are having a bad day. But i recommend you take the time to read this blog and the hyperlink if you find that you sometimes misread how people may interact or behave with other people or you can just read it to read it. If yo do read this I hope you get something out of this blog and the website.