America has chosen Barack Obama but most of the world has readily welcomed him with open arms. He brings hope!
It’s been only a day and the history made here has rippled across the world in a very positive way. There were worlwide celebrations on his victory including Israel, India, Italy, France, Iraq, Iran, China, and especially in Kenya, where Obama’s father was born, and Indonesia, where Obama went to school in his early childhood.
The New York Times released an article describing Obama as a “promise” to rest of the world. Fox News even published a story “Obama: President of the World?” wherein there are numerous mentions of joyous celebrations around the planet. The article is accompanied by a picture gallery reflecting the happiness of the inhabitants of the world. The words like “world community” or “international citizen” seems not that hypothetical anymore — at least not for our president-elect Obama.
June 12, 2008 - The Pew Global Project Attitudes [Complete Report 
]
[Source: New York Times, Fox News, Foreign Policy]
Congratulations Sentor Obama! We now welcome our 44th President of the United States of America. We witnessed and participated in an event which made national and international history towards a hopeful future.
President Obama, we had trust in you and your capability as the leader of our great country and I believe you’ll come through the high expectations of millions of people who support you. It was not easy for you to run for the presidential election with almost no experience against seasoned politicians like Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator McCain, but it will be an even bigger challange ahead of you to repair a broken economy, a divided nation, a never-ending war against terrorism, a soiled image of United States in the international community.
You’ve proven again that America is the land of oppurtunities. You are the American dream and you are the living hope to millions of people struggling everyday and look forward to a better future for themselves and for their children. Your mother and your grandparents have set an example in importance of value parenting. Careful upbringing, seeding the right values and focusing more on American youth will yield more leaders and citizens like youself.
As the President of United States of America, I wish you good luck and may God bless you with wisdom and endurance to steer this nation into a brighter future, to have people believe in this great democracy, and have them believe that the American government is of the people, by the people and for the people, once again.
Yesterday was Halloween and children (and some adults) dressed up to celebrate this unique festival. Pirates, mermaid, Satan, monkey, or a zombie surgeon — all to honor our ancestors? Sounds silly as some of the costumes but that was the intention of the Halloween Day.
The Halloween history originates from celebration of harvest to thank god(s), the ancestors, and to ward off evil spirits. The most cited source comes from ancient Ireland.
“This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, Celts (Ireland natives 2000 years ago) celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.”
Similar practices or rituals were practiced by other farming communities around the world around this time of the year — after the harvest and before onset of winter.
Sources: History.com, Wikipedia
