December 2019

December 2019

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS Read about the history of this very special holiday | page 3

PLACES THAT COULD USE VOLUNTEER HELP An opportunity to give back this season | page 5

CRAFT YOUR CHRISTMAS Out of Money? Make your own gifts! | page 9

SENIOR SPOTLIGHTS Learn about the athletic careers of our seniors | page 13

St. Mary’s Central High School | 5802 Ridgeland Dr. Bismarck, ND 58503

December 2019

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Reader,

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hope this edition of the Messenger finds you in the Christmas spirit! If it doesn’t, this edition is sure to change that. This month we feature very unique articles ranging from the history of Christmas to the Holy Father’s intention this month. You’ll even experience what a Polish celebration is like!

The Messenger staff and I would like to thank you for inspiring us to provide high quality content. As a gift from us to you this holiday season, we have added a new anonymous section to our paper where students can ask questions and we will answer back. So, grab a cup of eggnog and sit down in your festive holiday sweater to experience the magic of the Messenger’s work.

Merry Christmas!

Allyson Treiber Editor-in-Chief

OUR MISSION

OUR EDITORS ALLYSON TREIBER Editor-in-Chief

JULIA JARAMILLO Layout Editor

MEGHA BHARADWAJ Feature Editor

ALLISON BRAUN Opinion Editor

ANNA BRAUN Entertainment Editor

KENDALL TIBOR Religion Editor

RYAN BROWN Sports Editor

JEFFREY SAVADEL Photography

Here at the Messenger, we love to see the groups of people huddled around our paper, the proud smile when students read articles about themselves, and the slight laughs as students make fun of our bad attempts at jokes. Our mission at the Messenger is to produce a quality newsletter that provides insight into SMCHS by featuring our own students and their accomplishments and goals.

ON THE COVER Merry Christmas! Photo by Alyssa Rud

CONTACT US Instagram: SMMessenger Email: smmessenger@locstudents.org

READ IT ONLINE https://issuu.com/smmessenger

OUR WRITERS Teagan Bauer Kyle Burns Maja Dojs Emma Fleischaker Soraida Pichardo

Alyssa Fortney Hannah Gardner Lilyanne Haag Meg Hepper Jordan Jacobson

Margaret Kathol Hannah Koch Eva Krebsbach Julianna Lengowski Eva Rykowsky

Clare Tamisiea Ruby Tolstad Ainsley Westmoreland

Table of Contents 4 7 10 11 12

The History of Christmas | pg. 3 Christmas Traditions A student talks about some family holiday traditions Morgan’s Fantastic Tips for Finals | pg. 5

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Listening to Christmas Music Early | pg. 6 MOVIE REVIEW Frozen 2 15 Days of Starbucks | pg. 7

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How to Decorate Christmas Cookies with No Cleanup | pg. 8 Saint of the Month: St. Lucy Read about the Patron Saint of the Blind A Polish Christmas Tradition Freshman Maja Dojs shares a special Christmas tradition in her family How to Keep Christ in Your Life | pg. 12 Advent Traditions A season of waiting

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Senior Spotlights | pg. 13

What’s Happening this Month? | Megha Bharadwaj WHAT?

WHEN?

WHERE?

THE ROCK

Jazz Band Concert

Winter Dance

Christmas Choral Concert

December December December December 12th13th16th11th- 7 PM

7 PM

8 - 11 PM

Location SMCHS SMCHS TBA Cafeteria

7 PM

UMary, Our Lady of Annunciation Chapel

CDCC Christmas Concert December 20th & 21st7:30 PM Belle Mehus Auditorium

Catholic Schools Week January 27th -31st

SMCHS

Know Your Faith State Competition

SMCHS Carnival

January 29th

January 31th

SMCHS

Location TBA 2

FEATURE

The History of Christmas

Some background on this very special holiday | Margaret Kathol

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hristmas is the most popular holiday in the United States with a whopping 92% of Americans celebrating it. Not even 92% of Americans brush their teeth or bathe every night! This holiday is a huge part of our culture, and only 51% of Americans see it as religious. But how did the tradition of gathering around a decorating pine tree and waiting for an old man who gives 7 billion people gifts come around?

Early Beginnings

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hristmas is an ancient holiday, starting around 335 A.C in Rome. Celebrations in the middle of winter started a long time ago, in fact centuries before the birth of Christ. In Europe, people would celebrate because the days were beginning to be longer. To celebrate, wine and beer were made and most cattle were slaughtered. In other cultures, gods were celebrated with feasts and rituals.

In the earlier days of the Church, Easter was the most celebrated holiday, and Jesus’ birth was not celebrated. Since the Bible does not mention the date of His birth, so Pope Julius I chose December 25th. The holiday was chosen at the same time as the traditional winter festivals in order to increase its popularity. Christmas was originally called ‘Feast of the Nativity’ and it spread throughout Europe. Christmas celebrations were in a carnival-like atmosphere, rowdy and drunken.

In the early days of America, Christmas was outlawed. They believed it was offensive to God because it was associated with ancient paganism so it wasn’t declared an official holiday until 1870. Charles Dickens’ book, A Christmas Carol, put a powerful message into the minds of America and England about charity and good-will. Parents used Christmas to give presents to their

children without appearing to spoil them. It became family-centered, and Americans started making their own traditions, stemming from other customs such as tree decorating, holiday cards, and gift giving.

Jolly Ol’ St. Nick

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o where did Santa come from in the midst of all this? As you may know, the legend of Santa Claus is traced back to Saint Nicholas who gave to the poor and sick. But where did the unusual name come from? In the 18th century, Dutch families in New York would celebrate “Sint Nikolaas” (Saint Nicholas in Dutch). They used “Sinter Klaas” for short, and that is where the name Santa Claus comes from. What really made him popular was the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Dr. Clement Clarke Moore.

There is a legend saying Coca-Cola designed Santa’s red suit and they own the famous figure, but it’s actually a myth. The red coat came from Saint Nicholas’s bishop robes. In 1881, an artist named Thomas Nast created Santa with his big belly, pipe, and a bag of toys, which was the most popular sketch of him during that time. This depiction is the way we see Santa today. The Coke image replaces the pipe with a Coke bottle and makes him seem more jolly.

Santa is different in some other countries. In Russia, his name is Father Frost who leaves gifts on New Years Eve. Traditionally, if you’re a naughty child, he’ll kidnap you. In Finland, their Santa is a goat! The weirdest version of Santa is probably in Spain, where children dress up and paint a log called Tio de Nadal, who defecates gifts and sweets in the morning after the children have fed it and beaten it with sticks.

Christmas has come a long way until today, undergoing many changes. People love this traditional holiday for different reasons, but one thing remains the same: the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Ways of embracing the Christmas cheer | Ruby Tolstad

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hristmas is just around the corner, and some families have had their decorations up since November 1st, while others are waiting till Christmas Eve to put on their Christmas pizzazz.

There are lots of different ways to decorate. There are the people who put up a tree with a few bulbs and maybe a string of lights on their house, and then there is a family with six blow up characters in their front yard. Let’s check out a few people’s Christmas traditions.

Picture provided

by Maja Dojs

Christmas Gifts

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n the United States alone we spend an average of $700 per person on Christmas gifts. That adds up to a shocking $465 billion annually spent on Christmas goodies. That’s more than we spend on Thanksgiving, Halloween, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter… combined! How do Americans spend that much? Some of the most popular treats people spent their money on last year was the Nickelodeon Ultimate Unicorn Slime Kit, a bluetooth speaker, the Feed Me Cookie Monster, and the Google Home Mini.

Does the Time You Decorate Affect Your Mood?

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ccording to psychoanalyst Steve McKeown, decorating early boosts your mood. Adding a little Christmas dazzle to your home can bring back old childhood memories of hot chocolate with your family while watching old Christmas movies, or going sledding with friends on Christmas Eve. Decorating the tree early extends the Christmas cheer, and who wouldn’t want to do that?

In addition to the childhood nostalgia, Christmas traditions can also be bittersweet, bringing back memories of lost loved ones.

They can also take you back to when you believed in Santa or your Elf on the Shelf. Even just putting up a small tree in the corner of your room can boost your mood and add a little Christmas cheer to your routine. Maybe just turning on a few Christmas hits in the car, Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby, you name it and it will put a little jingle in your step.

So When Do Most People Put Up Their Trees?

Different Ways of Celebrating

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layna Kraft, a Saint Mary’s Academy graduate and a personal friend of mine says, “I decorate almost the entire house since no one wants to help me. [We decorate about] two weeks before Christmas.”

“We put up Christmas lights quite easily because it’s not as cold as it could be. [We put up a] Christmas tree with ornaments.

We do something with the Nativity scene. We eat with both sides of our family on separate days. [We] open presents Christmas Eve night,” replied an anonymous SMCHS freshman, who calls himself Wanye Kest. I don’t know who that is, but let’s hope he can sing Bohemian Rhapsody better than Kanye West.

My own father, Ron Tolstad, informed me that, “We went to the farm and grandma would make lutefisk and Swedish meatballs along with all the treats. My dear Uncle Ray would put a big helping of lutefisk on my plate saying, ‘You can’t be Norwegian if you don’t eat lutefisk!’ Then he’d pass it on laughing without taking any. I grew to liking it.”

Valarie Jundt, our very own Mrs. Chambers’ mom, commented, “Playing and singing Christmas Carols after the dishes were all cleaned up and before any presents could be opened! Placing the baby Jesus on the crib and dining Away in a Manger.”

One of our local Saint Mary’s moms, Angela Plante replied, “Midnight mass every year followed by darting the kids home so they would be in bed before Santa and the reindeer arrived.

Included a classic coke in a bottle and fresh cookies for Santa’s hungry tummy!”

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he nationwide average time to get the holiday bling up is right after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, as soon as spooky season is over, Target has all their trees set up. Most people then have their decorations down around January first. Only about 2% of the population leave their trees up until Valentine’s Day, which seems very reasonable. Who would want a dead tree sitting around in their living room until Valentine’s Day? That’s not the best way to say “I love you” to that special someone.

Main Christmas Dish

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his debate will always be around. Turkey or ham for Christmas dinner? Well, 22 million turkeys are sold annually for Christmas dinner, making them tied with ham at 318 million lbs sold a year. So it’s really a personal choice. Some prefer a beef roast and others like pork chops. It’s all up to you.

What Christmas Means to Me

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remember as a little girl on Christmas Eve at my family farm I would set out a plate of my grandma’s cookies and a glass of milk for Santa then eagerly rush off to bed. I’d wake up early, as most would, and hurry to wake up my parents. It never failed that Santa had left something during the night, and ate all the cookies left for him People from different backgrounds celebrate Christmas differently. Each way is good, and filled with just as much Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas!

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Place That Could Use Volunteer Help This Season | Ally Treiber

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elp the Salvation Army raise money to change lives all year long by ringing the bell! This fundraiser on average make $30 an hour which is enough to give a family two bags of groceries. The bell ringing season begins in early November and goes until Christmas Eve. Go to the Salvation Army’s website to sign up for shifts.

The Banquet, which gives free community meals in the Bismarck / Mandan area, is always in need of extra help!

Everyone is welcome to these very rewarding meals. Meals are served every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 - 7:00pm and Saturday at 11:30am - 12:30pm at Trinity Lutheran Church in the Fellowship Hall which is located at 502 N. 4th Street.

Contact Karla at eisenbeisz@trinitybismarck.com to volunteer!

The Band Invitational | Ryan Brown

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he Band Invitational is an annual band festival on Monday November 4 and Tuesday November 5. The days were filled full of performances and practice. Two guest conductors, Paula Holcomb and Timothy Oliver, conducted two large bands filled with students to perform a concert on Tuesday November 5. All of the Bismarck-Mandan High School bands came together to practice over the two days and perform what they practiced at Legacy High School.

Monday morning all the schools met at Mandan High School to perform their own music to the other high schools until lunch. Oliver’s band reports to Legacy High School and Holcomb’s to Mandan High School to practice their new pieces until the end of the day.

Tuesday morning both bands reported to Legacy High School and at 8 the bands begin to practice. At 7pm, both bands performed a concert at Legacy High School. Oliver’s band was first, playing four pieces and Holcomb’s next playing three. At the end both bands simultaneously played “Clarinet Polka“ and the clarinets stood in front of the audience as they play. The concert ends and Ryan got his Dairy Queen.☺

Morgan’s Fantastic Tips for Finals Quizlet: morgansalwei | Morgan Salwei

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2.

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ith final exams just around the corner, you may be wondering, “How can I best utilize my time in order to get an ‘A’ on all my exams?” As a finals taking expert, I have a couple of tips and tricks that will get you through finals week.

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ake sure to utilize the final exam study guides.

Teachers usually give out out study guides a couple of weeks before. My tip to you is to fill out your study guides as soon as possible and spend at least twenty minutes per class every night reviewing. By studying weeks in advance, you are ensuring yourself that you understand the content and allowing yourself time to ask questions on any topics you may still be confused about.

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o NOT cram the material the day before the test!!! The day before the final exam is a day for you to relax and give your brain a break. By studying the material weeks in advance you will be able to give your brain a break and allow for your body to relax. You will still need to look over the content of the test, however, this should not be the only day you look over the material.

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y last tip is to check over your answers. I know there are kids out there who just hand in their final without looking over their answers. Checking your answers is a great way to gain back lost points.

Most students try to get their tests done as fast as they can. However, with speed comes more room for error. By checking over your test you are able to catch those errors and give yourself back those unwanted lost points.

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at nutritional food the day before your exam.

Eating chips and cookies the day before the exam will result in you having a lack of energy and loss of brain power. If we fill our bodies with healthy and nutritional food, we are giving our bodies the proper nutrition that will help us stay engaged in the test and will not make you feel sleepy and tired. Eating the proper food will absolutely help you when taking your final exams.

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I wish everyone luck on their final exams and remember, if you put in the time and effort into studying for finals, you will do great!

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OPINION Listening to Christmas Music Early | Teagan Bauer

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here are many perks about listening to Christmas music before the Christmas season. Christmas music brings a type of merry joy that brings a smile to people’s faces. Christmas music is also a way to get into the spirit of the wintery wonderland about to enslave us for the next ten years. Christmas music brings joy to people. When people listen to Christmas music before the holiday season, they tend to be happier and more excited for Christmas to come. Christmas music brings about the Christmas spirit to everyone, including those who may not like Christmas as much as many. Christmas music is also known for being soothing and letting a glimpse of God into our daily life through art.

Opportunities Hallmark Holiday

Settle down with some generic Christmas stories | Anna Braun

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h, it’s that time of year again where the snow glistens and sleigh bells ring. That also means that it is time for everyone’s favorite pastime: watching Hallmark Christmas Movies! They’re only the most predictable movies on the planet. You will say that you hate them, but I love them. I consider it my guilty pleasure to watch countless individuals fall in love in the exact same way that they did in the last movie I watched, only with different characters.

It sounds like the best way for me to waste my time on a weekend and be the least productive I could possibly be. So if you are really bored one day, I recommend you turn on the Hallmark Movie Channel and see if you can guess the plot of each of the movies at the beginning. Of course you will have to watch the whole movie before you find out if you were right or not (you usually are), but that’s the best part. You get to watch a bunch of horribly picked actors on their quest for love in the Christmas season. What’s not to like? They have already started playing them in November so turn on your television to make sure to not miss that movie that will be played a total of nine times during the winter season. You can make a running tally on how many times you’ve seen the same movie in the past week and while you’re doing that you can count how many times you’ve seen the same Target commercial in the last two hours. Merry Christmas!

Obstacles

| Alyssa Fortney

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t’s 11:59 on October 31st. My friends and I are driving in my car, jamming to my cleverly named spooky season playlist ‘monstober,’ as we drove back to my house from our late night breakfast at Denny’s. Our favorite Halloween song, Calling All the Monsters, by China Ann McClain, played through right before the clock struck twelve. My friends noticed the time and yelled, “Play Mistletoe by Justin Bieber!” Clearly, it was now November 1st and time to start getting into the spirit of things, so I handed my phone to my friend in the passenger seat and said, “Play it.” After we sang Mistletoe I felt like maybe it was too early to listen to Christmas music, I mean spooky season had only ended three minutes ago. Now, I know what people are thinking after reading the last sentence, “There’s no such thing as listening to Christmas music early.” But, what if I pointed out the fact that when you start listening to Christmas music right away in November a part of your excitement you’ve been building up for the Christmas music in December fades away. For example, last year I started listening to Christmas music halfway through November, so by the time December rolled around and the Christmas station on Pandora became all the teachers favorite, I was already getting out of the Christmas music state of mind.

December Poll

Snowman Vs. Elves: Who’s better? | Kendall Tibor

Snowman: 22 67%

Elves: 11 33%

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ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIE REVIEW Frozen 2

| Julianna Lengowski

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he sequel to the overwhelmingly popular hit from 2013, hits theaters just in time for the start of the winter season.

The famous voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad are back for the sequel to the famous franchise. The movie follows Elsa, Ana, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven outside of the kingdom to a mysterious and enchanted forest where Elsa attempts to discover the origin of her powers along with protecting her kingdom. The movie is bound to do well at the box office, given the immense turn out from the preceding film. Almost exactly six years later, the newest animated film is sure to reel in more Disney fans.

The release date is November 22 and is rated PG.

15 DAYS OF S

I tried starbucks for 25 day in a row to get int

| Alexis Maher

DAY 1

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ERE ARE THE RULES:

• • •

Get a drink everyday for 25 days, couldn’t get the same drink twice, Had to be a custom drink / couldn’t be on the menu.

The last thing I did was post my results of my instagram story. If you want to see the results or try one of my creations go to my instagram maher_alexis and all of them will be in my starbucks highlight.

Here are some of my favorites!

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Grande matcha green tea latte 2 Pumps of sugar free Almond milk vanilla

DAY 2 Venti mango dragon fruit refresher Strawberry acai base

Apple juice Light ice

DAY 3 Grande pumpkin frappuccino 1 pump of white mocha Extra caramel drizzle

Cinnamon dolce topping

DAY 4 Venti Londan fog

Sugar free vanilla

No water

DAY 5 Venti Passion tea No liquid cane sugar

Sugar free vanilla Heavy cream

How to Decorate the Best Cookies With No Cleanup!

A super simple way to enjoy some Christmas cookies | Anna Braun

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veryone loves a good cookie on Christmas. Especially Santa. So here is one of the best ways to have decorative cookies with minimal cleanup.

First you will want to grab your keys and go to the nearest grocery store You will go in there and find the best decorated cookies for the Christmas season. They can be any flavor of cookie too.

You will then purchase them Take them home and place them on a platter to pass them off as your own There you go, it’s that easy! Now go enjoy yourself some Christmas cookies.

F STARBUCKS

et into the Christmas spirit. And you can too!

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DAY 6 Venti passion tea 2 pumps of raspberry

2 pumps of sugar free vanilla No liquid cane sugar

DAY 7 Venti chestnut praline iced latte 2 pumps white mocha

4 pumps of chestnut praline 4 pumps of caramel brulee 2 pumps of caramel brulee

DAY 10 Grande peppermint white hot chocolate

Coconut milk Extra caramel drizzle Light ice

Grande iced chestnut praline 1 pump of cinnamon dolce 1 pump of hazelnut Light ice

DAY 14

DAY 9 Grande caramel brulee iced latte 2 pumps of caramel

Venti iced caramel macchiato Two pumps of white mocha

DAY 13 - Christmas in a cup

DAY 8 Venti caramel brulee iced latte 2 pumps of white mocha

Venti toasted white 2 pumps of Toasted white mocha cream frappuccino chestnut praline mocha sauce No whip DAY 12

Grande caramel macchiato 1 pump of sugar free Two pumps of caramel brulee chestnut praline Light ice

DAY 15 Two pumps of caramel

Grande violette drink Two pumps of vanilla

Light ice

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Craft Your Christmas!

If you can’t buy one, make it yourself! | Anna Braun

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veryone knows that it can be hard to find the perfect gift for your best friend, but you don’t have to stress about it. I have a couple ideas for the perfect Christmas craft that you can make for anyone, even yourself, to enjoy this winter season.

Make a tie blanket!

I personally love this idea. I have way too many blankets at my house, but I love to find cute fabric and make some new ones, to keep myself or give to others. You can learn some pretty cool ways to tie the outsides too. Make them unique for that person. You can find some pretty unique designs at the fabric store.

Make an ornament Working at Joann’s has taught me that you can literally make anything. Including ornaments. You can take a styrofoam ball and you can push/pin different pieces of fabric in them. You can even take some paint and some plastic ornaments and roll the paint around on the inside to make a cool swirl effect. Any way you choose will for sure turn out awesome!

Make a wreath Spice up your door with a diy wreath. They are super easy to make. All you need is a wreath form the size of your choice and ribbon, fabric, or ornaments to decorate it. You can literally do anything you would like and you can use this diy for other holidays as well. Have fun with it!

Paint a canvas There are many cute ideas all over the internet about how you can decorate your canvas to be festive for the holidays. You can paint a snowman or even the grinch. Anything you choose will turn out great.

Gift Ideas

Tis of the season of giving | Eva Rykowky

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hristmas is the season of giving, but do you sometimes feel like you have no clue on what to give? Here are five cute, cool, and simple gift categories that your friends and family are sure to love!

Cards Although making the perfect card is difficult, it is definitely appreciated! All you have to do is choose some colorful paper, write a nice, festive message (or whatever type of message you’re going for) and decorate around the card. Even if the card doesn’t turn out perfect, the one receiving it will have a great time reading what you’ve written! It may

not look like much, but a card is one of the best

gifts you can give.

Gift Bag Why just choose one category, when you can combine a few into one gift?

A gift bag can include a homemade gift, something bought, a treat, or even a card. You can arrange them however you like. Whether you include all categories, or just some of them, make sure to add a festive/decorative bag to put the gifts in. Have fun with it!

Bought Gifts Sometimes a gift that’s bought is even better for that person. There are so many options on what to buy, so here’s something I would recommend.

A Christmas Ornament. It’s gender neutral, plus decorative. Although most of us have lots of ornaments on our Christmas trees, receiving an ornament from someone else feels special. Whether it’s a certain style that describes the person, or one you customized yourself.

It’s fun to buy and give!

Homemade Gifts Whether you’ve made a craft for a family or friend, or even knitted/sewed a gift, everyone loves something you made yourself. It feels extra special to give the gift, and it makes the person receiving feel special as well! Some examples of homemade gifts could be bracelets, something sewn yourself, a framed picture with that person, or any type of artsy craft.

Sweets Most people love receiving gifts that are edible! Personally, I love baking something for a family member or friend. All you have to do is choose a dessert recipe (preferably a Christmas dessert), and organize the baked goods into a decorative box. Then you’re done! It’s easy and enjoyable for you and that person.

But don’t think you have to bake something, you can totally buy something too! There are so many fun Christmas sweets and candies at multiple stores, and their fun to give and receive as well.

RELIGION

SAINT OF THE MONTH St. Lucy

Patron saint of the syracuse, Italy, and the blind | Allison Braun

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aint Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily in the late 200s. She grew up in a wealthy household. She vowed to remain a virgin her entire life, like St. Agatha. Once, a suitor of hers became very angry so he reported her to the Roman authorities. Her sentence was to live in a brothel and practice prostitution. This order, however, was ended by divine intervention for she became immovable and was not able to be taken away. She was to die in a fire, but the flames were impenetrable. She was pierced with a sword in her neck and she died. Legend also has it that her eyes were gouged out and that God replaced them with new eyes. In some versions she plucked out her own eyes to give to her pagan suitor, while other versions say that they were removed by her \ persecutors. She will often be seen holding a plate with two eyes on it in art depictions. Her feast day is celebrated on December 13 and she is the patron saint of Syracuse, Italy and the blind.

1. Before the year 1000, there had 2. On what date was Vatican City truly founded? been how many Pope Johns?

A. 3 B. 15 C. 12 D. 9

A. February 14, 1929 B. February 11, 1929 C. March 15, 1929 D. January 28, 1929

3. True or False: There are 194 archdioceses in the United States?

Answers

1. B 2. B

3. True

Questions by Allison Braun

KNOW YOUR FAITH

The Know Your Faith Competition happens in January! Here are some questions that might be asked:

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A Polish Christmas Tradition Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve | Maja Dojs

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veryone celebrates Christmas in different ways. All families and cultures have different traditions they celebrate year after year. My family celebrates it in a very different way, we have Wigilia. Wigilia (pronounced vee-GHEE-lee-uh) is the Polish Christmas Eve. This is a tradition in my family and has been for many years.

There is much to prepare for before Wigilia. My family works all morning on the twelve-dish meal for that evening. The meal consists of many dishes, traditionally including beet soup (barszcz), mushroom soup (zupa grzybowa), a poppy seed dish, pieogri, and fish (carp or herring). The other dishes are usually passed down from the family. The more poppy seed you eat during Wigilia the more prosperity will be given to you that year.

No meat is used on Christmas Eve because it helps us remember the animals in the stable where Jesus was born. Instead we use fish because the apostles were fishermen.

The table is decorated with a white tablecloth and underneath the tablecloth we place hay. This hay, known as sianko, represents the stable where Jesus was born. The white tablecloth represents the swaddling cloth. Next, we set the table leaving an extra place for an unexpected guest or even Jesus. Also, the candles on the Advent wreath are changed to white.

The decoration of the Christmas tree traditionally has apples, candy, and live candles. The tree is fresh so the risk of fire is little. The Polish had to make due with what they had because during the world wars, they didn’t have any ornaments that survived.

Once the meal is prepared we wait until the first star appears in the sky. Then we take the oplatek, which is similar to the hosts at mass but isn’t blessed, and go around to everyone in the family, breaking off a piece of their oplatek, wishing them Merry Christmas, or in Polish, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia (happy holidays of the birth of Christ)! If you and another person exchange oplatek then you are their friend. This is a big Polish tradition that most other cultures don’t have.

Once everyone has eaten then you sing carols and tell stories from the bible. The children (usually teenagers) would go

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out to the neighbors and sing carols dressed up as shepherds and the three kings. If someone comes to your door you are obliged to give them some candy or a sweet from your Wigilia celebration.

At midnight the family usually goes to midnight mass, but my family always had to go to the earlier vigil because we can’t stay awake.

You´re probably wondering when Santa comes. St. Nicholas, known as Sw. Mikolaj, comes and puts the gifts under the tree before Wigilia starts. The children have to wait until after midnight mass to open them.

We’ve had to alter our Wigilia a bit from tradition, for example we don’t have a live tree, but we’ve tried to stay pretty close. My family is both English and Polish so that changes it even more. Christmas Eve is mostly Polish and Christmas Day is English. I can’t pronounce some of the words either so you are not the only one!

Advent Traditions A season of waiting | Hannah Gardner

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oogle defines Advent as “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” Advent is a season of recognizing that an important person is going to arrive into our hearts. Your family may have memories from your own traditions you use to prepare for Christmas. While there are familial traditions that are special to the individual, we also prepare for this season through common traditions such as the Advent Wreath, the Jesse Tree, and Saint Nicholas Day. The Advent Wreath has 4 candles on it. Three of the candles are purple and signify the act of penance and reconciliation that we should remember as we prepare for Christmas. The fourth candle is pink, which signifies joy. It reminds us to be happy and anticipate the coming of Jesus. The Jesse Tree is a collection of symbols that represent stories from the old testament about characters in the line of David. It is reminds us of the heroes of history and are good reminders of how our ancestors prepared for the coming of Jesus. The last significant tradition we celebrate is Saint Nicholas Day! You might be able to recall a time when you were a child and Saint Nicholas stuck candy in your shoes when you were sleeping, or maybe there was a time when Mr. Emmel gave you a candy cane in honor of his feast day during class. Saint Nick is a good example of kindness and reminds us of the reason for the season. Christmas is an exciting time and should be celebrated with much spirit, but we should always remember that we are ultimately honoring the Incarnation, when God became flesh in order for our salvation.

The Holy Father’s Intention | Hannah Gardner

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ope Francis requests that Catholics take an extra moment to pray for the very young, especially those who are suffering, during the month of November. As we prepare for Christmas, please take some time to reflect on the gifts that we have been given. Even having access to warm food and running water means that we are blessed beyond belief. It is our obligation to provide that same nourishment to those around us, and especially to people who have vulnerabilities that prevent them from being able to experience basic needs. We can make a difference in our own community in simple ways such as partaking in the giving tree events or by volunteering in a soup kitchen.

We can also pray for children, especially those in need, as our Holy Father asks us to.

Have a blessed Christmas season! Extend your blessings to others!

The Feast of the Holy Family A season of waiting | Hannah Gardner

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he Feast of the Holy Family is the celebration of the family unit of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It is also meant to honor all families.

All three members of the Holy Family were extraordinary beings, and the love they shared as a family is a perfect example for all families to follow. They would have dealt with all the normal troubles any family would: earning money, providing food, dealing with the troubles or deaths of family and friends, and countless other ways. Jesus, the Son of God, taking part in family truly shows us how important families are.

God desires to love and be loved in the part of a family. Using the Holy Family as an example, we can see how members of a family should act with each other. Mary and Joseph protected and raised Jesus following God’s plans. Jesus willfully submitted himself to his parents, obeying them and showing the utmost humility. The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas, or on December 30th if Christmas lands on a Sunday.

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SPORTS 20 SENIOR SPOTLIGHT 20 An inside look into some of the athletic careers of our seniors.

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EVA CHURCHILL | HOCKEY MESSENGER: How long have you been playing hockey?

EVA CHURCHILL: I’ve been playing for around 13 years.

M: What’s your favorite memory from hockey?

E: Literally every memory is my favorite whether it be our team being kicked off the ice at practice because we were doing terrible or winning state championships.

All of it has been so much fun!

M: What are you excited about for the season?

E: I am super excited for my final year of Blizzard hockey with my teammates and keeping up the standard and culture of our program.

M: What has hockey taught you?

E: Hockey has taught me the importance of leadership, teamwork, and pushing yourself. Every life lesson that I have learned has been instilled through this sport Interview by Meg Hepper

ELIZABETH FEDORCHAK | SKATING MESSENGER: How long have you been skating and what initially got you into it?

ELIZABETH FEDORCHAK: I have been skating for 12 years. Me and Lauren Leidenix wanted to take figure skating lessons, so we signed up and I loved it.

M: What teams have you skated on and what events have your teams competed in?

E: I compete individually and on a synchronized team. I have competed on six different teams starting in 1st grade on the youngest team, the Cubes, and working my way to the highest team, the Chips M: What is your favorite part of skating E: My favorite part about skating is traveling around the country with 20 girls.

We go on so many fun trips and the long 14-hour bus rides are fun.

M: Do you plan to continue skating after high school?

E: No, I don’t plan to continue after high school.

M: What is your favorite memory from skating?

E: My favorite memory is probably when I skated on two teams and both made it to nationals in Portland, Oregon. It was so much fun!

M: Do you have anything you’d like to say to those considering getting into skating?

E: I would recommend skating to anyone; I have learned so much and I know I have made friendships and memories that will last forever.

M: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

E: I would live in the mountains in Big Sky. 13

Interview by Jeffrey Savadel

JESSICA ZENKER | DANCE MESSENGER: How long have you been in dance?

JESSICA ZENKER: I am going on 12 years of dance.

M: How did you get into dance?

J: I did not like gymnasites, so my parents put me in dance with Just For Kicks (JFK) M: What is your favorite thing about dance?

J: Being able to express myself without words M: Favorite memory?

J: My 5th grade year going to the Outback Bowl to dance halftime. The funny thing is I had to lie and say I was a seventh grader so I could dance with the older girls.

M: Hopes for this years season?

J: Doing well at competitions and improving throughout the season.

M: Any honors or awards/ how do you help out your team?

J: Seventh grade year we took 4th at state. I also try to be the best leader I can and bring my strengths to a routine.

This year I choreographed Pom. M: What are you going to miss the most about dance?

J: The creativity that I can have and being able to be myself out on the floor.

M: Does dance hold a place in your future some how? If so how?

J: Yes, I plan to come back and help out wherever I can. Dance has been apart of my life for a long time and just leaving it would be different. It is weird to think that this year is my last Interview by Alexis Maher

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