EDS: Refiles with correction of age in para 13 BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- What does a festival mean for children? Don't think it only means eating and playing. Actually, during traditional festivals, children can learn to use their eyes and souls to enjoy stories about their ancestors carried forward by customs and games, to experience the happiness of life and to inherit national cultures. HALLOWEEN IN CANADA: WE ARE NOT STRANGERS Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on Oct. 31 in Canada. It is one of the festivals that children love most. Every year on the eve of Halloween, at numerous parties celebrated by Canadian families, schools or communities, people dress up as animals, drama characters or ghosts. The usually formal, serious and cold atmosphere is replaced by humor and equality. When Amy was in her second year at school, one of her teachers was pretty serious and the students were afraid of her. But after a Halloween party, children became fond of her. 'Because she dressed herself as a kangaroo, with a big tail sewed in her trousers. That's funny! She's such an interesting person,' Amy said. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a 'cold politician' described by the media. But on Halloween, he decorated his residence like a 'ghost paradise', dressed himself as a ghost, and gave, along with his wife and children, candies to those children who came for trick-or-treating. People could see the warmhearted and kind aspect of the premier. Halloween originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain, meaning Summer's end. Today, it has largely become a secular celebration, especially for children. On this day, children are the protagonists. Parents usually come back home early to decorate the house. They also carve pumpkins and go after children for trick- or-treating. On the night of Halloween, almost every street and every house is lightened and open to 'ghosts'. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candies with the question 'Trick or treat?' The word 'trick' refers to a 'threat' to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. At most time, homeowners would open their doors and give children bonbons they have prepared. The adults following their children also go to the door to chat with their neighbors. Halloween belongs to children. Yet what Halloween leaves on their mind are more than excitedness and 'horror'. They are love, friendship and happiness. SHICHI-GO-SAN IN JAPAN: PARENTS' LOVE On Nov. 15, 2007, seven-year-old Japanese girl Reina Ueshima got up at 6:00 in the morning to attend the 'Shichi-Go-San' ceremony, a festival for children of three, five and seven years old. With mum's help, Reina made herself up, put on her pink Kimono and pink hairpins, and then went to a Shinto shrine with her parents. They carried a good-luck candy bag with a 'Chitoseame' inside, a long stick of red and white candy made by her mum. On the surface of the bag was an auspicious painting with turtle, crane, pine, bamboo and plum blossom, indicating longevity and lifelong safety for the child. 'Lifelong' might not be understood by a seven-year-old girl. But she knows 'Chitoseame' contains the deep love from her parents. In front of the shrine, Reina put the palms together, praying for a 'healthy and rapid growing-up'. In pre-modern times, many children died of hunger, malnutrition and lack of medical care. The Shichi-Go-San festival was introduced to pray for the subsistence of children. Nowadays, it has become a nationwide festival and children's first experience of wearing the traditional Japanese clothes normally happens on this day. Talking about the festival, Reina said she was most delighted for wearing Kimono, making herself up and having the long stick of Chitoseame. Her parents were also happy on the day that was so special for children. 'The Shichi-Go-San is an important festival that blesses children with a healthy growth,' Reina's mum Yasuko Ueshima said. 'In whatever form or wherever the ceremony is held, it represents parents' love for their children. It should thus be preserved as one of traditional Japanese cultural properties.' MASLENITSA IN RUSSIA: LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING Maslenitsa originated from Orthodox Church. It is celebrated during the last week before Great Lent, the seventh week before Pascha (Easter). During Lent, meat, fish, dairy products and eggs are forbidden. Lent also excludes parties, secular music, dancing and other distractions from the spiritual life. Thus, Maslenitsa represents the last chance to eat dairy products and enjoy social activities. Nowadays, it has become a national festival. Every year between February and March, with the advent of Maslenitsa, the Russians celebrate ceremonies to say goodbye to the boring winter and receive the bright spring. During this year's Maslenitsa, six-year-old Mikhail, along with other children, was frying pancakes and making a scarecrow 'Lady Maslenitsa' with the help of his teacher. On the last day of the festival, 'Lady Maslenitsa', representing winter, should be burned while people eat golden pancakes which symbolize the sun to hail the warm spring. Mikhail's mum Oksana Ivanova also took him to the Red Square in central Moscow to see the Maslenitsa folk market. Larisa Tkachuk, director of the kindergarten which Mikhail attends, said they would teach children knowledge about many festivals including Maslenitsa. 'We will teach them folk dancing, dressing, to play traditional instruments and to know traditional food. All this will help cultivate children's patriotism and enhance their love and respect for national history and culture,' Larisa added. DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN CHINA: CARRYING ON ANCESTRAL SPIRIT The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It is one of the most important festivals in China. Celebrations include eating zongzi, large rice wraps, and racing dragon boats and commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet living in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. For the children in Zigui, Hubei province, where Qu was born, they celebrate the festival by writing and reciting poems. At this year's Dragon Boat Festival, 12 students from a primary school in Zigui, dressed as ancient boy attendants at school, recited Qu's famous poem Ju Song to remember the poet who threw himself into river thousands of years ago as the State Chu he had served was destroyed. For Zheng Yi, a 13-year-old student in Zigui Middle School, writing poems has become one of her habits. In reality, writing and reciting poems are very common in Zigui because Qu Yuan set a good example for later generations. RAMADAN IN AFGHANISTAN: LEARNING PEACE Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain, from dawn till sunset, from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill- natured. Ramadan and the Festival of Breaking Fast are the days 13-year- old Farid expects most during the year. 'I like Ramadan, because I can eat well.' His father is a teacher at Kabul University with a monthly payment of 300 dollars. Although the five-member family is not very rich, Farid's mother tries to make rich breakfast before dawn and delicious dinner after sunset during this period. After Ramadan, during the three-day Festival of Breaking Fast, Afghans go and visit their relatives and enjoy delicious food, especially desserts. People can forget temporarily the annoyance the war has brought to the country. But Sharif, a ten-year-old boy, is not that lucky. His father died in the war. The family can hardly survive with the little salary his mother earns. During Ramadan, when rich people are enjoying dinner, on the table of Sharif's home, there are only nangs (pancakes) and tea. Sharif often goes to mosques nearby to have some free food donated by rich people. He appreciates the food very much. He said, 'If I become rich, I'll donate a great amount of money to poor people.' According to government data, due to the wars in the country, among its population of more than 30 million people, 30 percent do not have enough food or clothing, including 3 million children. Islamic culture tells people fasting can purify the soul and teach people to be kind. Ramadan is considered the most propitious and honorable month in the year. But in reality, bombs often destroy the originally peaceful atmosphere. In Afghanistan, children are often disheartened by the unbridgeable gap between their ideals and the reality. For them, the arrival of peace is a prerequisite for their enjoyment of festivals. Festivals are celebrated in diverse ways, by dancing, praying, thinking, playing games and reciting poems. They can also take the simplest form, as simple as a child's heart. Let festivals belong to children. Let the sharing of happiness be the theme. Let colorful festivals tell children that they are important and they play an indispensable role in social life. 