F.Y.I. -Kacey. December 11, Happy Holidays! Brushton Moira Central School. This Week in History: Christmas

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "F.Y.I. -Kacey. December 11, Happy Holidays! Brushton Moira Central School. This Week in History: Christmas"

Shanna Jones
5 years ago
Views:

December 11, 2013 Brushton Moira Central School F.Y.I. This Week in History: Christmas 22 nd The repeal of the Don t Ask Don t Tell policy was signed into law by Barack Obama in 2012.

24 th Walt Disney s movie The Aristocats was released in 1970. 25 th The film adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird opened in theatres in 1962.

1 December 11, 2013 Brushton Moira Central School F.Y.I. This Week in History: Christmas 22 nd The repeal of the Don t Ask Don t Tell policy was signed into law by Barack Obama in rd Vincent Van Gogh chopped off the lower part of his left ear in He told a serving wench to guard it carefully. Later he was put in an asylum for acting like a mad man. 24 th Walt Disney s movie The Aristocats was released in th The film adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird opened in theatres in th George Washington s Continental Army won a major victory at Trenton, New Jersey in th Apollo 8 returned to Earth in th The worst European earthquake (estimated at 7.5) took place near Italy, killing about 100,000 people in Santa Claus Santa Claus has many different names around the world. I grew up knowing him as Santa Claus, but he is also called Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and Saint Nicholas. There are many different traditions around the globe involving Santa. In western cultures on the night of December 24 th, Santa brings gifts to the good children. If they are bad, they get coal. European countries have a different way of celebrating Christmas. The children get their presents on the night of December 6 th, instead of December 25th. This is known as St. Nicholas Day. Where did the idea of Santa come from? Santa was inspired by an actual man living in the 16th century in England. His name was Kris Kringle. He was a larger man who wore green robes lined with different types of animal fur. He also had a large full white beard that many people remembered him by. He was a joyful figure who always had a lot of spirit in him. There is a legend about Saint Nicholas in which he helped three poor sisters and their father. The girls father considered selling them because he couldn t provide necessities. Saint Nicholas secretly snuck into their house three different times to slip money into the girls stockings as they dried by the fire. To honor Saint Nicholas, the Dutch continued to celebrate Feast Day on December 6 th. It was common for the Dutch children to place their shoes outside the night before. In the morning they d wake up to presents from Saint Nicholas. Stories can be traced back to the 1820s of Santa living in the North Pole with his magical elves. Santa Claus is a popular story often told to young children around the world. Parents use the story of Santa to their advantage by telling their young ones that if they don t behave, Santa won t come and visit. As the kids get older, they come to realize that Santa Claus isn t real, but they carry on the tradition and tell their children that he is real to bring more holiday spirit. -Kacey

F.Y.I. Page 2 Christmas Traditions Have you ever been decorating your new Christmas tree and thought why is it a tradition to take a tree from the outdoors, put it in your house, and decorate it?

2 F.Y.I. Page 2 Christmas Traditions Have you ever been decorating your new Christmas tree and thought why is it a tradition to take a tree from the outdoors, put it in your house, and decorate it? Yeah, so have I. I ve also always wondered about why we put stockings above the fire and why we have to kiss anyone we meet underneath mistletoe. The tradition of decorating a fir tree began in Germany. It is said that the church reformer Martin Luther was on his way home one winter s night when he saw the stars twinkling through the branches of a fir tree. He thought it was such a beautiful sight that he cut one down for his family and decorated it with candles. The English adopted this tradition in It was brought from Germany by Prince Albert; he wanted something to remind him of his homeland. He had a tree decorated by hand-blown glass ornaments, and soon the Christmas tree was being copied by families all over the country. Eventually, the custom spread all over the world. Now, why do we have stockings? Who thought hey, let s put our socks on the fireplace and have Saint Nicholas put gifts in them. Well, according to legend, a nobleman lost his wife due to illness. After she passed, he was left to raise his three daughters alone. Soon he ran out of money because of bad investments. Knowing how desperate they were to come up with money for marriages, Saint Nicholas threw three bags of gold coins down the chimney and they landed in the girls stockings that were hung up to dry. Since then, children have hung up their stockings on Christmas Eve with hopes of finding gifts in them the next morning. There are many legends and traditions surrounding mistletoe, which is a plant with poisonous berries that grows on willow and apple trees. During ancient Celtic celebrations of the Winter Solstice, mistletoe represented life. It also goes back to the times of the ancients Druids. They believed that mistletoe possessed power that brought good luck and warded off evil spirits. So, why do we kiss under the mistletoe? In Norse mythology mistletoe was a sign of love and friendship, and if you kissed underneath one, then it would lead to marriage. So, make sure that this Christmas you hang your mistletoe to ward off the bad spirits. Always put up your stockings to dry because a Saint might decide to give you gold coins. And don t forget to decorate a tree because some guy thought it was pretty looking a long time ago. -Ploofy New Year s Eve Traditions There are many different traditions that people follow to celebrate the New Year. It isn t just in the United States that people celebrate New Year s Eve. There are many groups and religions that follow different traditions to celebrate. For example, in the Philippines, the Filipinos eat round fruits and wear round objects on their clothing to remind them of the shape of the coin to hope for wealth in the New Year. In Thailand people believe that shooting guns scares away all the demons. The Thai people believe that making a lot of noise scares away all the evil spirits so you can start your new year free of evil. Making noise at midnight is a tradition. There are also groups in China that set off firecrackers. In Spain they celebrate the New Year by eating twelve grapes at midnight so they can have 12 months of happiness. In Greece there is a tradition to bake a cake for the people to split called the Vassilopitta or St. Basil s Cake. The cake has a hidden golden coin inside and whoever finds the golden coin will be very lucky that coming year. In Rome the people give gifts or coins to mark the New Year. Another tradition is in the Netherlands when they burn Christmas trees and launch fireworks to get rid of the old and allow for new things to come. Have fun with your family s traditions! See you next year. -Dylan

Grinds My Gears You want to know what really grinds my gears about Christmas? Trying to recap the entire past year of your life in three sentences or less.

3 Grinds My Gears You want to know what really grinds my gears about Christmas? Trying to recap the entire past year of your life in three sentences or less. Everyone has those relatives who you generally only see during the holiday season who, without fail, always ask the same so, how have you been? Every year it s a dilemma for me. I don t want to leave it at good because so many things have happened! But not all of my relatives have the attention span to sit down and hear every detail of the last 365 days of my existence. This year I'm thinking about putting together a pamphlet or something. But that s not all that grinds my gears about the holiday season Take a mental trip back in time to when you were in elementary school. What were the two biggest and most exciting days of the whole year? It should be easy- the two days a year when presents were involved: Christmas, followed by your birthday. My birthday is exactly one week before Christmas, on December 18 th. Now, one way that this could be taken is: Whoa, that s awesome! One week you get presents and then the next week it s Christmas! Double presents!! Except, it s not all that awesome. Some friends and family of mine have come up with clever ways to really get on my nerves. Christmas themed birthday gifts. Really? Snowflakes and candy canes get pretty boring year after year, especially for someone who detests wintertime. Also, what s up with Christmas wrapping paper? Not cool. So, this year I m sending out a plea to end the Christmas themed stuffed animals, candles, jewelry you name it. I m not saying I m all Bah Humbug or anything; I just appreciate regular old presents like anyone else. But wait- there s more! Let me introduce to you the song and dance I get every year - Merry Birthday Happy Christmas presents. Oh yes, it s a thing. Because my birthday is so close to Christmas, just mash them together! Most people have balloons to decorate their birthday cards, while I get Christmas trees and candy canes. This Christmas I m giving those people a 1000 piece puzzle with half of the pieces missing and see how they like it. Happy Holidays! -Kate Frozen Review Frozen came out on November 10, 2013 and will be in theaters until mid- December. It is an adventure movie with some comedy thrown in. People are saying that it is the best Disney movie since the classics came out. The plot of the movie is very adventurous and fun. The movie is rated PG, and I thought the movie was family friendly for all ages. Fearless main character Anna, voiced by Kristin Bell, sets off on a journey with friend Kristoff to find her sister Elsa. Elsa is voiced by Idina Menzel. Elsa has been given winter powers which she can t control and has trapped the kingdom in eternal winter. They go through the journey in snow, ice, blizzards, and extremely cold weather. They are accompanied by a hilarious snowman named Olaf, who can be quite annoying! The movie made me laugh and was very entertaining. I went with my younger cousin, who is only five and loved every second of it. I give this movie 4 out of 5 paws! It s still in the movie theater so go with your family and watch it! -Kiki Page 3

Brushton Moira Central School The Times Square Ball Drop New Year s Eve is a time of celebration, a nation wide happening that can be seen on television and in person by every American (however, the

The ball is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that differ in size.

Each part contains 48 LEDs for a total of 8,064 of EACH color (red, green, blue & white).

4 Brushton Moira Central School The Times Square Ball Drop New Year s Eve is a time of celebration, a nation wide happening that can be seen on television and in person by every American (however, the west coast doesn t get to view it live like we do). The ball itself is a sphere, 12 feet from side toside and weighs an astounding 11,875 pounds! The ball is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that differ in size. The pieces are cut to give people an illusion of endless reflections in colors and patterns and appears to be a giant 3D kaleidoscope. The ball is armed with 32,256 LEDs. Each part contains 48 LEDs for a total of 8,064 of EACH color (red, green, blue & white). Despite all these amazing facts, there is always one thing I remember about the new ball from when it came out in 2008 it is capable of creating more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns. Together it appears as a spectacular kaleidoscope. The first New Year s Ball Drop celebration was in 1907, but the first Times Square celebration was in Seven different versions of the ball have been created since then. The first ball weighed only 700 pounds and was made of iron and wood. It was lit by 100 light bulbs. In 1920 a 400 pound iron ball replaced the iron/wood ball. In 1955, a 150 pound aluminum ball with 180 light bulbs replaced the iron ball. In 1995, the ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, and computer controls. In 1999, the crystal New Year s Eve Ball was created to welcome the new millennium. In 2007 the ball we see every year was recreated, replacing old lights with new LEDs to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the ball drop. In 2008 it was revealed atop Times Square where it sparkles above Times Square throughout the entire year. We aren t the only ones who drop things in order to celebrate the coming of a new year. In fact, in St. George s, Bermuda a papier mâché Bermuda onion covered in Christmas lights is dropped. In Florida, a 200 pound tangerine was dropped from 40 feet to celebrate the coming of In Bangor, Maine, a beach ball covered in Christmas lights has been thrown off the top of a local restaurant since In Lewiston, Pennsylvania, a bag of Hartley's potato chips is dropped. So, not everyone watches the ball drop because they re too busy watching their own strange things drop to celebrate a new year, but at least some people know how to be! In Lebanon, Pennsylvania a 100 pound stick of Lebanon Bologna is dropped. The bologna itself is distributed to a local food bank and animal shelter following the drop. What a great way to start the New Year for some people! How will you be celebrating?! Have a great vacation and enjoy. - Morgy Sam s CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST: 1. Christina Aguilera- Santa Baby 2. Tim McGraw- Dear Santa 3. Toby Keith- Santa, I m Right Here 4. Sugarland- Gold and Green 5. Darius Rucker- Candy Cane Christmas

Mrs. Phippen s Christmas I recently interviewed Mrs. Phippen to see what Christmas is like for her. Did you know that she never had Christmas when she was a kid?

5 Mrs. Phippen s Christmas I recently interviewed Mrs. Phippen to see what Christmas is like for her. Did you know that she never had Christmas when she was a kid? When she was younger her family didn t celebrate Christmas due to religious differences. You re probably thinking it was weird for her not to have Christmas, but when she lived in Florida there were a lot of other kids in her class who didn t celebrate Christmas either. Once she moved to New York, she realized it was different to not celebrate Christmas. Now, Mrs. Phippen loves Christmas. She loves waking up on Christmas morning with her kids to open their presents. Sometimes she thinks she s more excited than they are. On Christmas Eve, they go to her cousin s house for dinner. Then they go to church. On Christmas day, they open their gifts at home, then go to Mr. Phippen s family Christmas. She said that his family goes over the top with Christmas. They have three trees and when they walk in, the living room is filled with presents. Like everybody else, she loves the dinner, the music, opening presents, and seeing her kids faces on Christmas morning. Some of her best memories from Christmas were when she got engaged in 2001 to Mr. Phippen on Christmas day. She said that he put the ring into a bunch of bigger boxes until it got to the small box and she cried tears of joy. Last year, they got a trip to Syracuse for the weekend from her inlaws and she had a lot of fun. Even though she didn t have Christmas, Mrs. Phippen says she wouldn t change anything from the past. With a lot of love from Kiara and Destiny! -Ploofy Top Movies and Songs of 2013 Movies Songs 1.) Man of Steel 1.) Miley Cyrus- Wrecking Ball 2.) Iron Man 3 2.) Eminem- The Monster 3.) World War Z 3.) Lorde- Royals 4.) Fast and Furious 6 4.) Pitbull- Timber 5.) Pacific Rim 5.) One Republic- Counting Stars 6.) The Wolverine 6.) Avicii- Wake Me Up! 7.) Pain and Gain 7.) Imagine Dragons- Demons 8.) Elysium 8.) One Direction- Story of my Life 9.) This is the End 9.) Katy Perry- Roar 10.) Riddick 10.) A Great Big World- Say Something Page 5

I LOVE CHRISTMAS VOCABULARY

I LOVE CHRISTMAS VOCABULARY I LOVE CHRISTMAS I love Christmas. I love the Christmas lights in the streets in December and the s in all the shop windows. I love going to the shops and buying presents for my family. And I love getting