MY FAMILY

FAMILY DEFINITONS:
"A family includes a householder and one or more people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. All people in a household who are related to the householder are regarded as members of his or her family. A family household may contain people not related to the householder, but those people are not included as part of the householders family in census tabulations. Thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but family households may include more members than do families. A household can contain only one family for purposes of census tabulations. Not all households contain families since a household may comprise a group of unrelated people or one person living alone." "One or more persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, exclusive of household servants. A number of persons but not exceeding two living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood, adoption, or marriage shall be deemed to constitute a family."

TYPES OF FAMILIES:
The distribution of family structure in India, following classifications are considered:

FAMILY TREE:

CELEBRATIONS IN A FAMILY:
Birthdays A birthday celebrates the date a person was born. On birthdays, family and friends celebrate by giving cards and gifts.Sometimes, a party is held to celebrate. A party for children may include games such as 'musical chairs' and 'pass the parcel'. The birthday cake is decorated with candles and everyone sings 'happy birthday'. The birthday person blows out the candles and makes a birthday wish.

Weddings A wedding is celebrated when two people are married. Family and friends are present when the bride (woman) and groom (man) make a promise to each other. Sometimes they may exchange wedding rings as a symbol that they are will now spend their lives together. Weddings can take place almost anywhere the couple feels is special to them. Some couples may marry in a church in front of a priest or minister, others may marry in a park, on the beach or in a government office called a Registry Office.

A special meal is enjoyed by all the guests - this is called the 'wedding breakfast'.The bride may wear " something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue".After the couple are married, rice or confetti ( coloured bits of paper) are thrown over the couple for good luck!The couple may have a holiday after the wedding and this is called a "honeymoon". This term may have come from the honeyed wine that was drunk for the first month of a couple's married life.

Mother's Day Celebrated on the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day was first celebrated in Britain in the 1600's and was called "Mothering Sunday". It began as a day that allowed servants the day off to visit their mothers. By the 1800's it was largely forgotten, but began again after 1945. Both Mother's and Father's Day are times when children may thank their parents by making a card or doing something special for them. The may make breakfast, do some housework, clean the car or give them a gift.

Father's Day An idea came to Sonora Dodd in Washington, USA in 1909 as she was listening to a sermon on Mother's Day. She wanted to do something special for her father who raised six children on his own. So in 1910 on June 19 ( her father's birthday month), she held the first Father's Day celebration. Although this date ( the third Sunday in June) is celebrated in many countries, it is held on the first Sunday in September in Australia, and in March in Italy and Spain.

Festivals All the traditional festivals are being celebrated in my family with the precense of all the family members.The following are the list of festivals 1. Pongal:(14th JANUARY)

Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals of southern India, mainly Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Pongal happens in the middle of January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan (sun's journey northwards). The Pongal festival lasts for four days. Celebrations include a drawing of Kolam, swinging & the cooking of delicious Pongal.

2.Ganesh Chaturti

The spectacular eleven day Ganesh Chaturthi festival honors the birth of the beloved Hindu elephant-headed god, Lord Ganesha. The start of the festival sees huge, elaborately crafted statutes of Ganesha installed in homes and podiums, which have been especially constructed and beautifully decorated. At the end of the festival, the statutes are paraded through the streets, accompanied by much singing and dancing, and then submerged in the ocean.

3.Deepavali

Deepavali which means "row of lights/lamps" in Tamil and Sanskrit is called "Divali" in North India, Deepa means lamp and in Hindi a lamp is mostly called a Diya or Di. The festival is celebrated on the occasion of Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama killing a demon Narakasura. Another story says the festival is celebrated for the return of Rama and Sita to the kingdom Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile.

4.Tamil New Year (APRIL 14th): The Tamil New Year follows the Nirayan vernal equinox. it falls around 14 April of the Gregorian year.The starting month in tamil is Chittirai which commences on april 14th.