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Wish Upon a Star: Why Humans Make Wishes · Faithfully Explore!

0:00
Laura: Explorers, I have a question for you.
0:03
Laura: Have you ever made a wish?
0:05
Laura: Maybe you wished on birthday candles.
0:08
Laura: Maybe you wished on a dandelion puff.
0:11
Laura: Maybe you wished really, really hard that the broccoli on your plate would magically turn into mac and cheese.
0:18
Laura: No judgment, I understand.
0:21
Laura: Today, we're talking about one of the most famous wishes of all, a wish upon a star.
0:28
Laura: Picture it.
0:29
Laura: You're outside at night, the sky is dark, you look up, and suddenly, whoosh!
0:37
Laura: A bright streak of light zips across the sky.
0:42
Laura: A shooting star.
0:44
Laura: Quick, make a wish.
0:46
Laura: Wait, why do people make wishes when they see one?
0:51
Laura: I'm Laura.
0:52
Laura: Today in our Faithfully Explore series, Sky Stories: Wonder Written in the Stars, we are exploring wish upon a star, why humans make wishes.
1:03
Laura: Let's look up, wonder together, and faithfully explore.
1:08
Faithfully Explore! Intro: faithfully Explore!
1:09
Faithfully Explore! Intro: is the name.
1:12
Faithfully Explore! Intro: Learning together is our aim.
1:16
Faithfully Explore! Intro: Beliefs around the globe we'll track, filling up our Belief Backpack.
1:24
Laura: All right, explorers, let's begin with a sky surprise.
1:28
Laura: A shooting star is not actually a star.
1:33
Laura: A real star is a huge glowing ball of hot gas like our sun.
1:39
Laura: A shooting star begins as a much smaller piece of rock or dust moving through space.
1:46
Laura: While it is still in space, it is called a meteoroid.
1:50
Laura: When it races into Earth's atmosphere, the air around it becomes extremely hot and glows.
1:58
Laura: That quick streak of light is called a meteor.
2:02
Laura: So when you see a shooting star, you are really seeing a meteor moving across the sky, which is less poetic, but still amazing.
2:14
Laura: Imagine a tiny space crumb yelling, "Wee!"
2:18
Laura: as it zips through the atmosphere.
2:21
Laura: During certain times of year, Earth passes through trails of rock and dust left behind by comets or asteroids.
2:30
Laura: Then we might see lots of meteors in one night.
2:34
Laura: That's called a meteor shower.
2:37
Laura: Not a shower like in your bathroom.
2:40
Laura: A meteor shower is when many streaks of light appear in the night sky because Earth is passing through a dusty space trail.
2:49
Laura: Some famous meteor showers happen every year, like the Perseids in August, the Geminids in December, and the Lyrids in April.
3:01
Laura: So science says a shooting star is a meteor, but humans say, "Make a wish."
3:08
Laura: Why?
3:10
Laura: Because it is sudden.
3:12
Laura: Because it is beautiful.
3:14
Laura: Because it disappears quickly.
3:16
Laura: Because for one bright second, the sky surprises us.
3:22
Laura: And when something rare and bright happens, people often feel like it means something.
3:29
Laura: And now that we know shooting stars are not stars, does that mean wishing on them is silly?
3:37
Laura: No.
3:38
Laura: A wish is not a science fact.
3:41
Laura: A wish is a way to name what your heart hopes for, and humans have been naming hopes under the sky for a long, long time.
3:58
Laura: Long before movies told people to wish upon stars, children were already doing it.
4:04
Laura: In an English language folk tradition, children watched the evening sky and waited for its first bright star.
4:13
Laura: When one appeared, they recited a little rhyme, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.
4:21
Laura: I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."
4:27
Laura: Then they quietly made a secret wish.
4:30
Laura: No one knows who invented "Star light, star bright."
4:34
Laura: It belongs to the world of folklore.
4:37
Laura: Rhymes, stories, and customs passed from one person to another, often long before anyone writes them down.
4:47
Laura: One of the earliest known written versions appeared in an American book published in 1866.
4:56
Laura: Its words were almost but not exactly the same.
5:02
Laura: Instead of saying "First star I see tonight," it said, "First star I seen tonight."
5:10
Laura: That tiny difference gives us a clue about how folk traditions travel.
5:16
Laura: Children hear the words, remember them, repeat them, and sometimes change them along the way.
5:23
Laura: The custom of wishing on the first evening star might be even older than the printed rhyme.
5:30
Laura: By the early 1900s, the rhyme had reached Britain, and it eventually became familiar in many other places.
5:39
Laura: And here is a sky-watching surprise.
5:43
Laura: The first star a child spotted may not have always been a star at all.
5:49
Laura: Sometimes it could have been Venus, a bright planet that often appears shortly after sunset.
5:57
Laura: But the important part was the pause.
6:00
Laura: For one quiet moment, a child looked up at the enormous sky and thought about something they deeply hoped for.
6:11
Laura: Children who say the rhyme today are joining a chain of wishers stretching back more than one hundred fifty years.
6:25
Laura: Now, let's travel to Japan for a festival filled with stars, wishes, and bamboo.
6:33
Laura: In Japan, there is a summer star festival called Tanabata.
6:38
Laura: Tanabata is connected to an old story about two stars, Vega and Altair.
6:45
Laura: In the story, the star Vega is connected with Orihime, the weaver princess Altair is connected with Hikoboshi, the cowherd.
6:57
Laura: Orihime and Hikoboshi love each other, but they are separated by the Milky Way, imagined as a wide river in the sky.
7:08
Laura: Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, they are allowed to meet.
7:16
Laura: Birds called magpies form a bridge across the sky so the two can cross.
7:22
Laura: If you listened to our Milky Way episode, you may remember the River of Heaven.
7:28
Laura: During Tanabata, people often write wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches.
7:40
Laura: These tanzaku wishes might be about school, friendship, family, health, dreams, creativity, or becoming better at something.
7:50
Laura: The beautiful part of Tanabata is that the wish is written down.
7:55
Laura: It becomes visible.
7:57
Laura: It hangs in the breeze.
7:59
Laura: It is shared with the stars.
8:02
Laura: Writing a wish can make it feel more real.
8:06
Laura: Tanabata wishes are not only about wanting, they are often about becoming.
8:12
Laura: Becoming braver, becoming wiser, becoming more skilled.
8:18
Laura: A wish can point us toward who we want to be.
8:28
Laura: Now let's talk about another way humans share hopes: prayer.
8:33
Laura: In many religions, people do not call their hopes wishes.
8:37
Laura: They might call them prayers.
8:40
Laura: A prayer can be a way to speak, listen, thank, ask, praise, or hope with the heart.
8:48
Laura: Some people pray to God.
8:50
Laura: Some pray to many gods.
8:52
Laura: Some pray to ancestors, saints, or spiritual beings.
8:56
Laura: Some meditate.
8:58
Laura: Some send loving thoughts.
9:01
Laura: Some people do not pray at all.
9:02
Laura: That is okay too.
9:05
Laura: Faithfully Explore is a place where we learn with respect.
9:10
Laura: A wish and a prayer are not exactly the same thing.
9:14
Laura: For many people, prayer is sacred.
9:17
Laura: It is connected to their faith and relationship with God or the divine.
9:23
Laura: But wishes and prayers can both show us something.
9:27
Laura: Humans hope.
9:29
Laura: We hope when someone is sick.
9:32
Laura: We hope when we feel scared.
9:34
Laura: We hope before a big day.
9:37
Laura: We hope for food, safety, friendship, courage, forgiveness, and love.
9:49
Laura: Think about that.
9:51
Laura: A kid whispering a prayer before bed, a family lighting a candle, a person writing a wish on paper during Tanabata, a child looking up and saying, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight."
10:07
Laura: All of them are saying in different ways, "This matters to me."
10:13
Laura: "I hope."
10:14
Laura: "Please."
10:16
Laura: But here's the tricky part about wishes.
10:19
Laura: Saying the wish is only the beginning.
10:23
Laura: If I say, "I wish to learn to ride a bike," but I never touch a bike, my wish may just sit there wearing a tiny helmet and waiting.
10:33
Laura: If I say, "I wish to be kinder," but I never choose kind words, my wish stays in the sky.
10:42
Laura: If I say, "I wish to make a friend," but I never smile, share, or say hello, My wish may not know where to go.
10:54
Laura: Wishes need action steps.
10:57
Laura: Let's practice.
10:59
Laura: I'll say a wish, and you tell me an action.
11:03
Laura: Wish: I want to be a better reader.
11:11
Laura: Maybe an action could be read a little bit each day.
11:16
Laura: Wish: I want to make a new friend.
11:25
Laura: Maybe your action could be to say hello or invite someone new to play.
11:31
Laura: Wish: I want to help the planet.
11:38
Laura: Action: pick up litter, recycle, or use less waste.
11:43
Laura: Wish: I want to be brave.
11:51
Laura: Action.
11:52
Laura: Try one small, scary, but safe thing.
11:56
Laura: You are turning wishes into action steps.
12:00
Laura: That is powerful.
12:03
Laura: Now, before we cross our friendship bridge, let's return to the night sky and meteor showers.
12:16
Laura: Imagine with me Imagine laying on a blanket outside at night.
12:26
Laura: The air is cool.
12:27
Laura: You are looking up.
12:29
Laura: At first, nothing happens.
12:33
Laura: Still nothing.
12:35
Laura: Still nothing.
12:37
Laura: Then whoosh, a meteor streaks across the sky.
12:42
Laura: Everyone gasps.
12:44
Laura: Then another whoosh, and maybe another whoosh.
12:48
Laura: Meteor showers teach us something about patience.
12:52
Laura: You cannot rush a meteor shower.
12:54
Laura: You cannot stand outside and shout, "Excuse me, sky, I ordered three shooting stars."
13:01
Laura: You wait, you watch, you keep looking up.
13:06
Laura: That is a little bit like hope.
13:09
Laura: Some hopes happen quickly, some take time, some require patience, some need us to keep showing up.
13:18
Laura: And sometimes, after waiting in the dark, something bright happens.
13:25
Laura: Let's do a meteor shower movement.
13:28
Laura: Start by crouching low like a quiet night.
13:32
Laura: Now, slowly look up.
13:35
Laura: Wait.
13:37
Laura: Wait Wait.
13:41
Laura: Now shoot one arm across the sky.
13:44
Laura: Whoosh.
13:45
Laura: Crouch down again.
13:47
Laura: Wait.
13:49
Laura: Wait.
13:51
Laura: Shoot the other arm.
13:52
Laura: Whoosh.
13:53
Laura: Now stand up and make tiny star fingers all around you.
13:58
Laura: Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.
14:01
Laura: Beautiful meteor shower.
14:04
Laura: Again, we waited first, then we moved.
14:09
Laura: Hope often asks us to wait and act, both.
14:16
Laura: Not just wait, not just run around wildly yelling, "I have a dream."
14:23
Laura: Hope needs patience and practice.
14:35
Laura: Let's cross our Friendship Bridge.
14:39
Laura: Today, our friendship bridge is made of wishes tied to stars.
14:43
Laura: On one side, we have science.
14:47
Laura: A shooting star is really a meteor, a bright streak caused when a tiny space rock or dust particle burns through Earth's atmosphere.
14:59
Laura: Meteor showers happen when Earth passes through trails of space dust.
15:04
Laura: On another side, we have kids saying, "Star light, star bright."
15:09
Laura: On another side, we have Tanabata, and people writing wishes on colorful Tanzaku paper and hanging them on bamboo beneath the stars.
15:20
Laura: On another side, we have prayers and hope.
15:24
Laura: People around the world lift up what matters to them in many different ways: prayer, meditation, wishes, songs, candles, silence, and action.
15:38
Laura: Different cultures, different words, but one shared human feeling: hope.
15:46
Laura: Hope says things can change.
15:49
Laura: Hope says I can become.
15:52
Laura: Hope says the future is not finished yet.
15:55
Laura: And now, my hopeful explorers, it is game time.
16:08
Laura: It's game time.
16:14
Laura: Welcome to Wish, Star, or Step.
16:18
Laura: Here is how it works.
16:20
Laura: I will say something.
16:21
Laura: You decide if it is a wish, a star fact, or an action step.
16:27
Laura: If it is a wish, put your hand over your heart.
16:30
Laura: If it is a star fact, point to the sky.
16:34
Laura: If it is an action step, march in place.
16:38
Laura: Ready?
16:39
Laura: Round one.
16:41
Laura: I hope I can learn to swim.
16:45
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
16:52
Laura: Wish.
16:53
Laura: Hands over your heart.
16:55
Laura: Round two.
16:57
Laura: A shooting star is really a meteor, not an actual star.
17:02
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
17:08
Laura: Star fact.
17:09
Laura: Point to the sky.
17:11
Laura: Round three.
17:13
Laura: I will practice kicking in the pool with a grown-up helping me.
17:17
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
17:22
Laura: Action step.
17:23
Laura: March, march, march.
17:26
Laura: Round four.
17:27
Laura: During Tanabata, people write wishes on tanzaku and hang them on bamboo.
17:33
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
17:38
Laura: That one is a star tradition fact.
17:40
Laura: Point to the sky and maybe pretend to hang a paper wish.
17:46
Laura: Round five.
17:48
Laura: I hope our family has a peaceful year.
17:51
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
17:57
Laura: Wish.
17:58
Laura: Hands over your heart.
18:01
Laura: Round six: I will use calm words when I feel frustrated.
18:07
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
18:11
Laura: Action step.
18:13
Laura: Round seven: I wish my room would clean itself.
18:18
Laura: Wish, star fact, or action step?
18:24
Laura: Wish, and a very popular wish.
18:28
Laura: But what action step could help?
18:31
Laura: Maybe I will put away five toys.
18:36
Laura: Let's march in place and pretend to pick up five toys.
18:40
Laura: One, two, three, four, five.
18:46
Laura: Look at that.
18:47
Laura: Your wish just became an action step.
18:50
Laura: Give yourself a round of applause.
19:00
Laura: What's inside our belief backpack this week?
19:06
Laura: Today we explored why humans make wishes.
19:10
Laura: We learned that shooting stars are really meteors, bright streaks of light from tiny space rocks or dust burning through Earth's atmosphere.
19:20
Laura: We learned that meteor showers happen when Earth passes through trails of stardust.
19:26
Laura: We learned that American kids have been wishing on stars for over 150 years.
19:32
Laura: We traveled to Tanabata in Japan, where people write wishes on tanzaku and hang them on bamboo.
19:40
Laura: We thought about prayers, hopes, and wishes, and how people around the world lift up what matters to them in many different ways.
19:49
Laura: So what goes in our Belief Backpack?
19:53
Laura: Today's Belief Backpack takeaway is: Hopes become stronger when we turn them into actions.
20:01
Laura: A wish is not bad.
20:03
Laura: A wish is a beginning.
20:05
Laura: A wish says, "This matters."
20:08
Laura: But an action step says, "I will help."
20:13
Laura: If you wish for friendship, try saying hello.
20:17
Laura: If you wish to be brave, try one small brave thing.
20:22
Laura: If you wish to help the world, start one kind action.
20:27
Laura: This week's challenge is called Star Seed Steps.
20:32
Laura: Here's how it works.
20:33
Laura: First, choose one hope.
20:36
Laura: Second, write it, draw it, or say it out loud.
20:41
Laura: Third, choose one tiny action step.
20:44
Laura: Not a giant step.
20:46
Laura: Not, "I will become the world's best soccer player by Thursday."
20:51
Laura: A tiny step.
20:53
Laura: "I will practice for 10 minutes."
20:56
Laura: Then do the step.
20:58
Laura: That's it.
21:00
Laura: That is how a wish becomes a star seed.
21:04
Laura: Thank you for joining me for the final episode of "Sky Stories: Wonder Written in the Stars."
21:10
Laura: In this series, we have followed rabbits on the Moon, hunters and bears in the constellations, rivers of stars, Moon phases, and wishes carried into the sky.
21:23
Laura: And do you know what we discovered?
21:25
Laura: The sky is not just above us, it is a mirror.
21:30
Laura: People look up and see stories, questions, calendars, memories, hopes, and directions.
21:38
Laura: The sky helps us wonder, and wonder helps us grow.
21:43
Laura: So the next time you see a constellation, the Moon, a meteor, or even one tiny sparkle through a cloudy sky, remember, you are part of a world full of stories.
21:57
Laura: You are part of a universe full of wonder, and your hopes matter most when you help them grow.
22:06
Laura: I'm Laura, and this has been Faithfully Explore.
22:09
Laura: Until next time, stay curious, stay kind, and keep faithfully exploring that wonderful world around you.
22:17
Laura: Oh, and if you see a shooting star tonight, go ahead and make a wish.
22:22
Laura: Then tomorrow, take one tiny step.
22:25
Faithfully Explore! Outro: Faithfully Explore!
22:28
Faithfully Explore! Outro: is about you.
22:33
Faithfully Explore! Outro: Let's grow kinder together it's true!