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Hanukkah is Here!
Hanukkah is Here!
By:Abigail Valenzuela
December 16, 2022
Filled with fried food, brisket, and cake, Hanukkah has been celebrated for thousands of years. This special holiday, celebrated in November-December, is a Jewish tradition that has been admired since the 2nd century B.C, and is celebrated for eight days and nights. Hanukkah is celebrated to honor the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
There are many different symbols for Hanukkah, but the two most common are the Menorah, and the Star of David. The Menorah is one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish religion. The Menorah started off as a group of seven candles, and lighting the candles is supposed to represent the light of God. On the first day, 2 candles are lit, on the second day, 3 candles, etc. As time went on, the Menorah was changed to a group of nine candles.
Another symbol of the Jewish religion is the Star of David. The Star of David is a sign of Judaism, and got its name from King David, former king of Israel from 1010-970 B.C.E. This symbol is usually used on synagogues and tombstones.
There are many different traditions, like giving presents each day of Hanukkah. One common thing when celebrating Hanukkah is the feasts. These feasts usually consist of bread, brisket, potato latkes, cookies, cake, and more. There’s a lot of fried food as well like jelly donuts.
Ammy Arreola celebrates by decorating her house with blue lights, and enjoying a big feast with family. Her favorite tradition is making and eating bread.
To sum it up, there are many holidays that people appreciate by celebrating with traditions, Happy Hanukkah!
Christmas!
Christmas!
By: Selena Tejeda & Emma Misterly
December 22, 2022
Have you ever wondered where Christmas originated from? Well, Christmas originated from the Christian festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus and later turned into a family holiday around the world. We celebrate this holiday on December 25 every year. Some also celebrate Christmas Eve, the 24th of December.
The common story of Christmas is that a white bearded man in a red uniform would come down your chimney and leave you presents if you were good all year and leave you coal if you were naughty all year. This man is called Santa. Santa originated from a monk named St. Nicholas from over a hundred years ago. He became very important as a legend, known for his kindness.
People have many different traditions that they celebrate during the Christmas season. For example, some people go to a Christmas tree lot,find the perfect tree,and decorate it in the comfort of their house. Other people will open their presents at 12:00 am on Christmas day. Nativity scenes and advent wreaths are also a big part of tradition to the Christian religion.
During the Christmas season there are plenty of things to do, like caroling and viewing Christmas lights. We asked a few students what their favorite thing to do during the Christmas season. Zane Blanchard responded, “My favorite thing about Christmas is opening presents because I like to get new things.” Kaylyn Villalpando said, “My favorite thing to do during the Christmas season is to visit my family and see my cousins. I like to see cousins because they're funny and I have sleepovers with them.” Mr. Mike, a staff member, stated,“ My favorite thing about the holidays is watching Christmas movies. They make me feel into the Christmas spirit.” His favorite movie is the Grinch!
There are many activities you can do during this holiday like decorating trees, cookies, and even your house. Some families take Christmas pictures with nice backgrounds and good photographs. They make cards out of these pictures and give it to their loved ones as a reminder to wish them a happy holiday. Others make gingerbread houses, which originated in Germany during the 16th century. Parties hosted by family, friends, or even yourself are the most common things people do to celebrate Christmas eve and Christmas. These parties can include games, good food, decorations, or just simply talking with the people you care about!
Celebration, Cold, Calmness and Winter Break
Celebration, Cold, Calmness and Winter Break
December 5, 2022
By: Natalia Andrade and Olivia Stockdale
Did you know that almost a quarter of Americans prefer to travel over winter break? People are excited about winter break, especially after finals. It is a time of rest as it breaks the school year into two semesters. Winter break is an exciting time of year with many holidays and traditions. It marks the start of winter. The last day of school for grades 7-12 is the 22nd of December, but if you have younger siblings in elementary school they get out on the 23rd. Students first day back is on the 9th of January.
During winter break many holidays and celebrations occur including many religious celebrations. Once we get out Christmas is the one of the first holidays to take place, with it taking place on the 25th of December and Christmas eve on the 24th. Christmas is a celebration celebrated as a religious and cultural holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus. This has inspired many traditions including decorating a christmas tree, exchanging gifts, attending church, gathering with family, and Santa Claus.
Hanukkah is another holiday that happens to fall over winter break, it starts before winter break on the 18th of December and ends on the 26th. This commemorates the Maccabees ( small group of Jews) who reclaimed the temple and defeated the Syrian-Greeks trying to force them to accept Greek beliefs. When they lit the temple’s menorah the oil lasted for eight whole days instead of the expected one day. To celebrate, people light the menorah, recite special blessings, cook foods that require oil (latkes, which are potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are jelly donuts), and play dreidel games with a spinning top.
Kwanzaa is another holiday, and starts on the 26th and ends on January 1st. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga and combined parts of different harvest festivals. It honors African Heritage. One candle is lit every night and represents a different principle including, unity, self-determination, responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
After all those holidays we celebrate New Years. New Years is the start of the new year in the Gregorian calendar, and lots of people celebrate it by going to parties and/or making resolutions or goals for the new year. New Year's Eve is on December 31st and New Year's Day is January 1st.
The last major holiday during winter break is Three Kings Day on January 6th. Three Kings day (El Dia De los Reyes) is celebrated mostly in Latin America and Europe. This holiday is about when The Three Kings visited Jesus when he was born and brought him fine presents. People in Mexico and in different Latin American countries celebrate this holiday by putting a shoe box or normal box with grass under your bed in hopes of receiving gifts. Something else that occurs during that holiday is a treat called “Rosca de Reyes” (King’s Cake) this treat is shaped like a circle to signify a king’s crown and has little figurines representing baby Jesus, and if you get the figurine while cutting/eating it you have to host an upcoming party on February 2 (Dia De la Condelaria)
Due to the colder weather people usually do activities that they usually wouldn’t do any other time of the year. Many people travel to escape from the cold, or some people who live in warmer climates may travel to enjoy the snow. Speaking of snow, lots of people enjoy the snow during winter break. Some people make snowmen, snow angels, sled down snowy hills, have a snowball fight, and play with the snow making the best out of the cold weather. People also participate in winter sports like ice skating, hockey, skiing, and snowboarding.
You probably have been feeling cold lately due to the changing weather. Based on the Earth’s journey around the sun, winter starts around December 21. This day is called the winter solstice, and on this day the Northern Hemisphere is farthest away from the sun, which makes the day short. The winter solstice is the shortest day with the longest night, but after this we will start gaining light. Meteorological winter starts in December and ends in March according to the NOAA. This is based on the temperature cycle and calendar.
Overall, Winter Break is a unique and special time of the year with holidays, colder weather, many traditions and activities occurring. From joyful celebrations with family, to time playing in the snow, traveling to a new place for nicer weather, or even just staying at home, we hope you are having a relaxing, fun, joyous winter break!
https://www.livescience.com/25124-winter.html
https://www.travelagentcentral.com/your-business/stats-23-americans-prefer-winter-vacations
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas
Hello 2023
Hello 2023
By: Alison Smet
December 7, 2022
2022 is drawing to a close, and, as usual, it will get a spectacular sendoff all around the world. But why do we celebrate the coming of the new year so much? The answer is simple and has a surprising amount of history.
The tradition of celebrating the new year started 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia with the Babylonians. Their new year started in late March, when the vernal equinox took place. On this day there were equal amounts of daylight and darkness and the Babylonians celebrated by crowning any new Kings and planting crops. They even had their own form of New Year’s resolutions where they vowed to pay back any debts they may have accumulated over the year.
New Year’s continued to be celebrated during late March until 46 B.C, when Julius Caesar moved the new year to January 1st to honor Janus, the god of new beginnings and January’s namesake.
There are many cities that go all out to celebrate the coming of the new year. Some of the biggest celebrations are in Rio’s Copacabana Beach, London, Sydney Harbor, Disney World, and, of course, New York with its famous Ball Drop.
Many have questioned why people take New Year’s so seriously, and psychologists think it might be because humans like the thought of being able to have some control over their lives by “refreshing” in the new year and making resolutions for the year to come.
About 38.5% of adults are recorded to make New Year's resolutions every year and almost 60% of young adults participate in the common tradition. The vast majority of these resolutions include promises to exercise more, eat healthier, and spend less time on social media.
Over the millenia, cultures have developed unique ways of celebrating the new year. In America, sparklers, making toasts, and banging pots and pans are common ways of bringing in the new year, but other countries celebrate the transition very differently. For example, in Spain many people eat twelve grapes on December 31st in an effort to bring good luck into the next twelve months. In Denmark, people show their love for their neighbors by throwing old or broken china at their doors. On January 1st, the more pieces of china on your doorstep, the more people appreciate you.
So, as this year wraps itself up, make sure to appreciate the joys that came in the last year and work on making 2023 even better than the year before.
Christmas trees
Cristopher Islas
December 20, 2022
Do you have a Christmas tree in your house and not know the story behind it ?
Saint Boniface (680-754), evangelizer of Germany, took an ax and cut down a tree that represented Yggdrasil (although it could also be a tree consecrated to Thor), and in its place he planted a pine tree, which represents eternal life because The tree is green all year long and Decorating them symbolizes the love of God, Germans began to emigrate to other countries and other people began to adopt that tradition .
Also the most recommended trees that you can find are douglas fir, it is less expensive but its branches are more delicate, there is also the noble fir, it is more expensive, it has stronger branches, it is more leafy and has smaller needles.
Christmas colors are Red represent the blood of Christ green represent eternal life . The red color is exquisite with white, wood, silver or gold. Without a doubt, most Christmas trees always have a base in this unbeatable color.
Now you know the ideal colors and history of the majestic and beautiful Christmas trees. I wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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