The Week Junior - USA (2021-11-19)

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This week’s big news

IT’S AN AMAZING WEEK FOR...

November 19, 2021 •The Week Junior

F

rom November 4 to 8, more than one billion

people who follow the Hindu religion observed

the fi ve-day festival of Diwali (pronounced de-

VOLL-ee). Known as the Festival of Lights, Diwali is

a celebration of good over evil and knowledge over

ignorance, and spreads a message of joy, peace,

and unity. Nearly 80% of India’s population is

Hindu. Diwali is also marked by people who follow

the religions of Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

The meaning of Diwali varies in diff erent

places, but each version includes the legend of a

hero’s triumph over evil. People in Southern India

mark the day Lord Krishna, a Hindu god, defeated

a demon. In northern India, Hindus celebrate the

return of a prince named Rama after many years.

Diwali gets its name from the Sanskrit word

Deepavali, which means “row of lights.” During

Diwali, Hindus light diyas, or lamps, outside

their homes to honor the Goddess Lakshmi. She

represents wealth, good fortune, and happiness.

Some people fl oat diyas on the Ganges River in

India, which Hindus consider holy. During the fi rst

two days of the festival, people clean their homes,

put up colorful decorations, and take baths. The

third night is the main celebration, called Lakshmi

Puja. On the last two days, families gather to

celebrate and exchange gifts.

Last year, due to the pandemic, people were

unable to celebrate Diwali in big crowds. This year,

celebrations across India included fi reworks, laser

shows, and music. In New York City, the Empire

State Building glowed bright orange and fi reworks

lit up the sky. NASA shared a photo of shining stars

in space with a “Happy Diwali” message.

Diwali is celebrated across globe

A NEW STAMP
The US Postal Service
said it will honor
groundbreaking
newspaper publisher
Katharine Graham
on a new stamp.
Graham led The
Washington Post
through major
historical events in
the 1960s and 1970s, when there were few
women working in journalism. She later won a
Pulitzer Prize for her autobiography.
ON THE COVER: HEYDAY FILMS/WARNER BROS. (3); WARNER BROS.; GETTY IMAGES (2); TEAM WU; ALAMY; THE POKÉMON COMPANY INTERNATIONAL; ON THIS PAGE: TISHMAN SPEYER; CLEVELAND METROPARKS ZOO; USPS; GETTY IMAGES (2); ON LEFT PAGE: MERIDITH KOHUT/THE NEW YORK TI MES; GETTY IMAGES (2)

CHOOSING A CHRISTMAS TREE

The holiday tree that will be showcased in the

plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York City

has been chosen. The

tree, a 79-foot-tall

Norway spruce, came

from Maryland for the

fi rst time. It will be

decorated with more

than 50,000 colorful LED

lights and a 900-pound

crystal star. The annual

tree-lighting ceremony

is set for December 1.

GREETING A GORILLA

It’s a boy! The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in

Ohio announced the birth of a baby gorilla

for the fi rst time in its 139-year history. The

western lowland gorilla was born to mom

Nneka and dad Mokolo and is being bottle-fed

by zoo sta. The public will get to help choose

the baby’s name in an upcoming contest.

Climate meeting

starts second week

L

eaders from 197 countries gathered for the

second week of a 13-day climate summit called

COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. COP26 stands for

the 26th Conference of the Parties. Participants

discussed ways to combat climate change (long-

term changes in weather patterns, largely due

to human activities), including steps for reducing

greenhouse gases that stay in Earth’s atmosphere

and trap heat, causing the planet to warm up.

During the fi rst week, the US and more than

100 countries agreed to end deforestation (cutting

down trees), which is harmful because forests

absorb a greenhouse gas called carbon dioxide.

The US and 104 other nations also committed to

reducing emissions of a gas called methane by 30%

by 2030. The countries will spend the second week

mapping out how to deliver on these promises.

On November 6, about 100,000 people rallied

outside COP26 and on the streets of Glasgow to

urge world leaders to do more to fi ght climate

change. About 25,000 of them were students led

by 18-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

At the

rally on

November 6

This year’s tree

Lighting sparklers

for Diwali

MAJOR

RELIGION

Hinduism is more than

4,000 years old and is the

third largest religion in the world.

The baby boy