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December Features
 The Candy Cane Story A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.The candymaker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray. Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. AMJ www.kidtokid.org/candycanestory Santa Claus The American version of Santa Claus got the name from the Dutch legend Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century. In 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A. Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicolas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback each Eve of Saint Nicholas. This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.) The American image of Santa Claus was further elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. Nast added such details as Santa's workshop at the North Pole and Santa's list of the good and bad children of the world. A human-sized version of Santa Claus, rather than the elf of Moore's poem, was depicted in a series of illustrations for Coca-Cola advertisements introduced in 1931. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toy-shop workers are elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company. In looking for the historical roots of Santa Claus, one must go very deep in the past. One discovers that Santa Claus as we know him is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures. The basis for the Christian-era Santa Claus is Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna (Izmir), in what is now Turkey. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very rich, generous, and loving toward children. Often he gave joy to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows. The Orthodox Church later raised St. Nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of great esteem. It was in his honor that Russia's oldest church, for example, was built. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church honored Nicholas as one who helped children and the poor. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children and seafarers. His name day is December 6th. PZP Christmas in Brazil While Christmas traditions in Brazil are sometimes not all that different from those in the United States, most of Brazil sizzles in December, so Santa has to exchange his fur suit for something more comfortable as he delivers presents. Brazilians are a mix of people from many parts of the world; we have many Christmas customs which originate from the Portuguese Colony. We also have a huge Christmas dinner, unusual in the hot summertime, includes turkey, ham, colored rice, and wonderful vegetable and fruit dishes. "Papai Noel" (Father Noel) is the gift-bringer in Brazil. In my house we usually put up a tree, decorations all over the house, lots of gifts and a huge dinner. AGBB Mistletoe Mistletoe
was used by Druid priests 200 years before the
birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it
had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter. The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used
it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward off evil spirits. The
plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans,
enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace. Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it
may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe.
Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck
in the following year. DPA Math Science Day Math and Science day was held on the 13th of December at Halsey National Forest. It was held in the 4-H buildings. The freshmen, and sophomores attended with Mr. Yost. There were four stations that they had to go to, three of them were science, one was math. AJM Christmas Memories At Christmas time its not Christmas Day that my family looked forward to. We looked forward to Christmas Eve. We would get to open all of our small presents on Christmas Eve. My three uncles and I would go to sleep all in the same room. That way the first one to wake up would wake the others up so we could go open our presents. Most times it was really hard for us to go to sleep. We would wake up at 12:01 a.m. or so and open our stockings on Christmas Day. When every one woke up we would open our big presents. Our dinners were always interesting to say the least. I would get stuck in between D.J. and Kevin (my uncles) and they would put unwanted food on my plate and I would do the same thing to them. But we would gather as a family and have a good time. Now that people are married and moved away we don≠t get to do that any more but the good memories will always be there. Christmas is a time to celebrate and to have a good time so you can make fun memories to look back on. JLS Christmas Program The annual Christmas concert was held in the high school gym on December 18th at 7:30. First the choir sang several Christmas selections. Then, the choir presented Mrs. Neal a Christmas gift to thank her for playing the piano for them. While the band was changing into their outfits Mr. Thelen had everyone sing some Christmas carols. The band played several pieces as well. Everyone did a good job. There was even a visit from Santa! AKWDecember Birthdays 4--Tui; 11--Gabe; 14--David The answers to last month's Mystery Person Are: QUESTION OF THE MONTH Duell--family get togethers, Ben--waking up to see what Santa brought, Meka--waking family up at 2 a.m., Amanda--having a white Christmas, Jalyn--food fight, Amy--NA, Tui--going to the beach, Petar--none. What is your favorite Christmas memory? Chris--opening presents on Christmas Eve, Matt--NA, Nicole--believing in Santa, Tyrell--snowboarding, Jordan--sledding with friends, Tasha--being with family, Kate--Christmas Day at home with family, Jake--eating sugar cookies. Logan--getting a .22, Eric--first snowfall. David--getting cars, Ashley--spending time with family, Dillon--believing in Santa, Molly--too many to list, Samantha--going to Miami, Gabe--falling asleep waiting for Santa at Grandma's house, Mara--I have an inifinate amount, Angie--seeing cousins I haven't seen in awhile. Mrs. Britton--getting up to check if Santa had been there with my sister and brothers, Ms. Clinebell--Christmas Nickel, Kathy Fisher--too many to list, Mr. Johnson--the first one as a Grandpa, Mrs. Lester--getting engaged on Christmas Day, Mr. Miller--, Roxane Munson--getting up early with parents, Ms. Neal--having Santa come early, Mrs. Porter--making Christmas gifts with Dad, Mr. Porter--working in Mom's Dime Store on Christmas Eve, Mr. Thelen--finding out the next generation has carried on Christmas traditions, Mr. Yost--getting presents. |
