THE
Columns St. Agnes Academy
9000 Bellaire Boulevard Houston, TX 77036
What’s Inside Today in the World Find out what is happening in the world today.
See what the students at St. Agnes are hoping to find in their stockings this year. See pages 5.
Hit the Books Read about some advice on how to prepare for the upcoming exams. See page 6.
Lights, Sweaters and Holiday Cheer Read about all the holiday events available in the Houston area. See page 7.
A New Year, A New Slate Find out what students at St. Agnes are promising to do in the new year.
Volume 63 Issue 2
Holiday Traditions Wherever You Go! Catie Eichler Around-School Layout
See page 3.
All I Want For Christmas
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ndy William’s Christmas classic, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” is now being played on every radio station. Christmas tree farms are being set up and Starbucks has started serving their renowned gingerbread latte. Ladies, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Every family has their unique traditions and customs for this time of year that all originate from their family’s countries or religions. Many Americans that differ in religions such as Catholic, Methodist or Baptist all celebrate Christmas similarly. They get together with family, decorate Christmas trees, sing Christmas carols, watch holiday movies and set out cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Most of the children receive their presents on Christmas morning. Christmas is celebrated almost everywhere, but every country tends to do it a tad differently. Families of Hispanic descent celebrate Christmas by exclaiming, “¡Feliz Navidad!” and hosting posadas (small parties) at different houses every night between the dates of December 16th and Christmas Eve. They play games such as Piñatas, where children are blindfolded and they try to hit the piñata until sweets fall out. The children also receive their presents at Epiphany (January 6th), the Day of the Three Kings. The Three Kings, El Ninito Dios (Baby Jesus), and Santo Clós (Santa Claus) are all possible people who deliver
WWW.ADADDYSDELIBERATIONS.WORDPRESS.COM Tis’ the season to be jolly: Many join in the worldwide tradition of decorating a Christmas tree- hanging the lights and ornaments- awaiting the gifts to be found Christmas morning.
presents to children. While some Christmas traditions in the United Kingdom differ from American traditions, most are very similar. They participate in decorating Christmas trees, singing carols, hanging stockings and feasting with family on Christmas day. Instead of leaving out milk and cookies for Santa, or Father Christmas to some, it is normal to leave out mince pies and brandy. The main meal eaten on Christmas day is traditionally roast beef or goose and “Happy Christmas” tends to be the saying over there. Families of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese descent celebrate differently as well, but they have some traditions similar
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Index Page 2...................Editorial Page 3........................News Page 4-5.......Center Spread Page 6-7................Features Page 8.................Tiger Tail
2013 Quarter 2
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Gathering around the table: Families gather together for the traditional candle-lighting of the Menorah during Hanukkah.
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to American ones. In China, Christmas traditions are not widely celebrated. Some trees are lit up, citizens sing Christmas Carols and their version of the gift-bringing man is named “Sheng dan lao ren” (Old Christmas Man). In Vietnam, people celebrate Christmas decorating, throwing confetti, attending church, and they like to give presents of food, such as the traditional cake called reveillon. In Japan, Christmas is more of a time of spreading happiness rather than celebrating religion. Christmas is not a national holiday there, but parties and presents are still part of it. Their version of Santa is called “santasan”, and after he comes, families eat fried chicken on Christmas day. In the religion of Judaism, Christmas is not celebrated, but Hanukkah is. Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks in the 2nd century BC. It starts on the 25th day of Kislev (late November) and goes until December. A strong tradition in Jewish families is the lighting of the Menorah every night, and each of the eight branches represents something. After candle-lighting, families sing, and children often receive gifts from their parents. As you can see, numerous holiday traditions in the months of November, December and January are being celebrated all around the world! It is extremely interesting to recognize each country’s unique traditions as you carry on your own as well. No matter where you travel during the holiday season, tradition and spirit will most likely be surrounding you!