WINTER 2020
cheekwood festival of lights
by Wesley Grace Foster-Hoke and Lucille Block
During winter in Nashville it is usually not as cold, which is why the Cheekwood Festival of Lights makes you feel like you’re walking in a winter wonderland. At the festival they have lots of fun for kids and adults! This year has been nevertheless wonderful even in these bad times.
When you first enter you come upon the reindeer stalls. You first see the reindeer, and you are amazed by what you see. When you enter you will see any number of reindeer. Some have a red collar which means they’re one of Santa’s. Now the others are simply just reindeer. If you are wondering what the reindeer look like, they look like Sven from Frozen and Frozen II.
Now we all know that we have a pandemic in our country, so Cheekwood has found a safe way to enjoy the Festival. There is a mask mandate at Cheekwood, which means that you have to wear a mask at all times. They try to limit group numbers to eight. They also have one way paths to go explore the festival. Since there are so many people who want to enjoy this event they have a certain number of people who can come in a certain time.
If you went before they put up the festival of lights you probably saw the Chihuly exhibit. This exhibit is still here and will stay till the end of the Cheekwood Festival of Lights. Chihuly’s artwork is made of glass and they all have different intricate designs. When you go on the path beyond the Visitor Center, you will find his first piece of work. It is a red, orange, and yellow ball that you can interpret anyway at all. How we interpreted it is that it looks like a Covid ball. There are other Chihuly exhibits all around. There is one that has blue squares in the pond. One of them is near the mansion that is a boat with lots of cool sculptures inside. These pieces are all works of art that are wonderful and unique.
There are many things open right now including Chihuly Nights, Holiday Lights, Holiday at Cheekwood, and Late Night Lights.
Depending on what kind of festival you are going to there, you can experience different kinds of food.
A spotlight from this year was the Chihuly lights. They have been here from July 18th, 2020-January 10th, 2021.
Check out Cheekwood for more information.
There are also some general lights around everywhere that are beautiful at night. Some of these include the snowflakes that light up to the beat of music, trees that look like candy canes, and more! There are trees with flowers that light up and look like cherry tree blossoms. And, the gazebo has lots of lights all around that make it look like it’s glowing.
Another cool spot is a place where there is a train with tracks that light up, blinking trees and big lights, but make sure you get there before 9:30 pm to see the full event. Near that is a story walk with books from the Imagination Library.
In another spot there is a maze, tunnel, tea area, and little obstacle course. This area is called the Bracken Foundation Children's garden. This spot is great for kids and expands into a bigger area. So, it’s something for adults and kids.
Cheekwood Festival of Lights represents many things. It represents joy, love, and more. It is a truly magical event.
Global Winter Traditions
Winter Traditions -Check out this great link for more information on different winter holidays around the world!
WINTER SOLSTICE
by Antonio Patti
Have you ever wondered what is winter solstice? Have you wondered what all the fuss was about? Here is a list of places and reasons why winter solstice is so significant!
1. The winter solstice happens when the earth is farthest away from the sun and also tilted away.
2. There are many significant places that align with the sun on winter solstice.
3. The places are 1) Stonehenge (England) 2) Chaco Canyon (New Mexico, U.S.A.) 3) Tulum (Also Mexico) 4) Newport Tower (Newport Rhode Island) These places are significant because, on every place, a shaft of light filters through a hole and makes some sort of a shape.
4. The winter solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year.
England Winter Holiday Traditions
by Wesley Grace Foster-Hoke
Did you know if you celebrate Christmas in the USA you might hang your stockings above the fireplace? Well, in the UK they hang their stockings above their beds. In England they do many things other countries don't. In the UK they always get a special Christmas message from the queen , Queen Elizabeth the second, and almost everyone in the UK watches because it is such a special event. Now when it comes to the food they have a few different food traditions. For example, they have something called Christmas Pudding which is basically a bunch of dried fruit burnt to a crisp. If you celebrate Christmas you might send your letters to Santa by giving them to your elf. Well, that is not the case in the UK. In the UK they burn their letters in the fire. Crackers are one of the most popular items on the 24th of December. Crackers are basically wrapped presents with ends that you pull and stuff comes out of it, usually a crown and joke cards. Boxing Day is not at all what it sounds like. Boxing Day is basically their Black Friday. Another tradition is that they all take down their decorations 12 days after Christmas because they believe that if you leave them up later than that you will have bad luck. Santa Claus is the man beloved by many children and adults as people in the USA call him.
Santa Claus in the UK is called Father Christmas. Christmas is one of the many holidays we celebrate in the USA. In the UK they celebrate Christmas too except they don’t call it Christmas, they call it Chrimbo. Merry Christmas we say in the USA; Happy Christmas they say in the UK. In the UK they use happy instead of merry when saying Merry Christmas. They say Happy Christmas because “Merry” is associated with the rowdiness of the lower classes. The joy of the season is the most important thing when it comes to winter and even though the USA and the UK have very different winter traditions they all spread the same amount of joy, happiness, love, and most importantly, faith!
Chanukah
by Libby Friedman
Story
If you don’t know what Chanukah is, Chanukah is a Jewish celebration that started a long time ago in Israel (Is-ra-ele). It all started when a temple in Israel got destroyed by an evil governor. This temple was very, very old and important, so the Jews were immediately devastated. They needed to rebuild the temple, but they couldn’t do it in the day time because everybody would see. They found a Chanukkiah/Menorah, and a jar of oil that would last they night. They needed to keep the oil burning so they could see, so they sent out a man to get oil from the next town over. This trip would take eight nights, which wasn’t the amount of time the oil could withstand. But, as days passed, the oil kept burning, a bright menorah lit. Each day, they moved the Shamash (Helper Candle) to a new candle for eight nights. When the man got back, the oil was finally out. “We thank God for this blessing of light,” a woman said. Everyone started to recite a prayer of gratefulness. Today, we celebrate the eight nights by lighting a new candle each day and getting a present!
Games!
A very popular game among Jews is Dreidel. It starts where a dreidel, a wooden shaped cube with a pointy bottom for spinning, is spun. When it stops, it can mean 4 different things. Shin means you need to put in one Gelt (Chocolate Coin). Many say “Shin Shin, put one in!” You can also have Gimel, which means you get all the Gelt in the center. People usually say “Gimme Gimel!” You can get Hay, which means you get half of the Gelt in the center. Most say "Hay sounds like Half." Then, there’s Nun, which sounds like None. Better luck next time! This means you get no Gelt at all. Each person goes around in a circle taking turns spinning the dreidel. You each start with 8 Gelt! Have fun!
Food!
As I finish talking about Chanukah, there’s one last thing, FOOD. The most legendary food of all time are Latkes. Even if you aren’t Jewish, you will LOVE these. Latkes are fried potato pancakes, and you eat them with applesauce or sour cream. *Chef's Kiss* You have GOT to try and make these! The last one are Jelly Filled Donuts, which pretty much explain themselves. I’ll drop some links below for games and everything else!
three kings day
by Larkin Boyd
Three Kings Day is a Christian Holiday celebrated in many countries. The holiday celebrates the Three Kings who visit Baby Jesus. This holiday is usually celebrated by having a cake and hiding a baby or candy in the cake. Whoever finds this surprise becomes traditionally El Rey (King) or in some cases La Reina (Queen). This holiday is celebrated on January 6. Some festivities include feasts and parades. On Three Kings Day eve children place their shoes by their beds for the Kings to fill up with treats. Kids also leave things for the Kings' camels, like hay. For more info visit these sites:
Three Kings' Day Celebration in the Hispanic Culture
christmas
by Lucille Block
Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. Lots of people celebrate it in different ways. But, like all the other holidays, it is made to bring family and friends together.
For some, Christmas is the religious holiday that celebrates Christ's birth. If you are celebrating and are more religious you would go to church. Now, many religions celebrate different holidays, but the religion that celebrates Christmas is Christianity. Christmas for believers in this religion would be like going to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas, reading their Bible, and blessing the Lord for the presents and such they get.
There are lots of traditions that families use all different or the same. Some of the most common traditions that aren’t religious are decorating inside and outside with things like Santa’s, reindeer, snowmen, colorful lights, and more. Christmas trees are one of the things that most people who celebrate Christmas get. Christmas trees go many places and are decorated with personalized ornaments, lights, tinsel, and more! Another thing most people do on Christmas Eve is leave out milk and cookies for Santa. The next morning they wake up with the milk and cookies gone and presents in their place! Sometimes there are presents exchanged by family and friends on Christmas Eve, but other times they are exchanged on Christmas.
Have you ever had an elf come for Christmas to watch over you? Many kids have. They’ve had them at school, home, and other places too! The elves come around the beginning of December and stick around until Christmas is over. Once they come they travel to a new place each night so you have to find them. Sometimes they leave you gifts! But to make sure that they stay, don’t touch them because if you did they would lose their magic! Then, they would report you, and they wouldn’t be able to come back. These elves are a joy, but they are certainly not a toy.
Because of Covid-19, some things will be a little bit different. But, as long as you keep the Christmas cheer and believe in the good, Christmas will find its way to you.