2022 Winter Pilot

WISCO PILOT

Articles by and for students

Vol 29 no 2 December 2022

by Kirstin Neuwirth

Congratulations to The Matchmaker cast and crew for such amazing performances! The set and costumes brought 19th century New York to life in the minds of the audience. The cast did an amazing job of portraying the accents and styles of the 19th century, making it feel like one had traveled back in time. The play itself was a fun adventure, giving the audience tons of laughs. Along with that, there was lots of useful advice hidden between the jokes The long hours of work put in by the cast, tech team, directors, stage crew, make-up crew, and set designers was greatly appreciated Being a part of

something as big as a drama production can really have an impact on one’s life Anna Pufahl, who played the cook in The Matchmaker said, “The Matchmaker was an experience like no-other. The friendships and memories made during rehearsals and performances will stay with me forever!” Evidently, those long hours brought the cast closer together, creating lifelong memories for themselves and a thrilling experience for the audience! Many are looking forward to Wisco's next theatrical performance, Big Fish, coming in early March!

(more pictures on page 5)

Jesus, Savior, pilot

AN OLD CHRISTMAS MOVIE WELLWORTH YOUR TIME

by Ryan Parker

A lot of Christmas movies, such as Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol have already been canonized These movies (and more) have been justifiably well-loved For many, the Christmas season would feel incomplete without watching these films that get to the heart of what Christmas is all about: charity, kindness, and love.

That said, many films have not received this treatment. For every Christmas classic, there are, give or take, ten-thousand identical Hallmark Christmas movies that are, for lack of a better word, contrived

Sure, some may be better than others, but I don’t have the time, strength, or soundness of mind to watch through A Christmas Wish, A Wish for Christmas, A Christmas Prince, A Princess for Christmas, and all the other million variants of this type of movie in order to tell you which ones are worth your time Leave it to your friend or relative that watches Hallmark Christmas movies with religious fervor to tell you which one is the best; that’s not my job.

Rather, what I intend to do with this article is re-evaluate a Christmas movie that’s considered somehow lesser than the canon of Christmas classics, and explain why I feel it still deserves to be watched and remembered, regardless The film that I feel best fits this description is Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It is a movie that, though arguably remembered, isn’t revered. It seems to have fallen by the wayside of other stop-motion Christmas movies that have become staples of the holidays, namely Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Now, I’m not here to claim that Santa Claus is Coming to Town is on par with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; it isn’t Although good in its own right, it simply doesn’t possess the same whimsy and timelessness that causes Rudolph to endure as a Christmas classic to this very day.

However, it does contain something that Rudolph doesn’t: intrigue. We all know the story of Rudolph, because it’s a tale as old as time Someone is cast out of society, then, eventually, welcomed back into it

Santa Claus is Coming to Town has no such message or theme Nothing about its story is familiar, because it tells a story that not many people even consider: Santa Clause’s origins.

What Santa actually did to become the cultural icon that he is today isn’t something most people think about because, frankly, it doesn’t really matter The myth of Santa isn’t meant to be delved into; he’s just supposed to represent the best parts of the holiday and the good parts within all of us that we ought to share with others, especially during the holiday season Why he does what he does isn’t really important The only important thing is that he does it

But Santa Clause is Coming to Town dares to ask a revolutionary question: “How did Santa become Santa?” And it dares to answer this question in an equally revolutionary way: utter insanity.

like I’m just hyping up Santa Clause is Coming to Town with exciting buzzwords so that you’ll listen to the intended purpose of this article and actually watch it

You’re right But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong This movie answers questions about Santa that nobody cared to ask. These questions include, but are not limited to: Why Santa has his signature belly laugh (which the film claims is a trait he learned by hanging out with seals), and why Santa delivers toys (which - and I’m being totally serious - the films says he does to continue the tradition he started in a small, depressive village, in which he would deliver toys to miserable children living under the reign of a cruel German bureaucrat.

And that’s just the beginning. There are many more illogical and bizarre plot points in this movie that most do not care about, which ultimately makes for a movie that people, understandably, don’t care about much, either

But I care. I care a lot. And I care because I firmly believe that this movie is special. It’s entirely unique. In a world where certain Christmas movies that most of us could quote frontwards and backwards are played over and over again, and where new Christmas movies are almost indistinguishable, a movie as unique as Santa Clause is Coming to Town certainly deserves a place in your Christmas movie rotation.

FUN FACTS ABOUT

Christmas is an annual holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ Its interesting traditions and rich backstory make it one of the most popular times of the year, so what are some interesting facts about Christmas?

When it comes to Christmas, we all know this holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus on December 25th, but was Jesus really born on that specific date? Actually, the day of Jesus's birth is not mentioned in the Bible According to The Washington Post, it was initially believed to have taken place on January 6, which is when Epiphany is hosted. Epiphany is when Christians celebrate how a star led the Magi - also known as the Three Kings or the Wise Men - to visit the baby Jesus after he had been born. However, for reasons unknown, the celebration of Christmas was moved to December 25 during the 4th century. Some historians claim that it was moved because it coincided with the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which honored the agricultural god Saturn with celebrating and gift-giving

In America, the main Christmas holiday traditions include decorating trees, baking Christmas cookies, writing letters to Santa, and attending a Christmas service However, in other countries, there are many different ways to celebrate this holiday

In Kirchseeon, a German market town, a parade of "monsters" dances and plays music to scare away winter. It sounds more like Halloween, doesn't it?

In Sweden, people have the tradition of making large statues of Yule goats made up of straw (and also the tradition of burning them down, illegally). If you have a chance to travel to these countries during Christmas, try these different activities (at your risk)!

Even in the midst of war, people's love for Christmas doesn't wane On

Christmas Eve in 1914, on the Western Front of World War I, some German soldiers hung up lanterns above their trenches to celebrate the coming Christmas, and carols gradually sounded over the battlefield Soldiers started saying Merry Christmas to their enemies No shots were fired that night

It came to be known as the Christmas Truce and is one of the most legendary and strangest moments in history

Have you ever wondered about the gender of Santa's reindeers? Santa's reindeers all have male names such as Biltzen, Comet, and Cupid. In reality, male reindeer will shed their antlers at Christmas time, so the reindeer that help Santa Clause pull the flying sleigh are actually females.

Most times, we tend to think of Christmas as the season of joy and love. However, a 2010 analysis of breakups via Facebook status found that the number of breakups appeared to increase immensely in the two weeks leading up to the holidays, with the highest number of heartbreaks occurring on December 11, two weeks before Christmas Is it because of the difficulty in choosing a Christmas present for your partner?

by Sarah Lin

Thinking of Christmas, you may begin to sing the song Jingle Bells in your mind, but did you know that Jingle Bells became the first song played in space? On December 16, 1965, it was broadcast during NASA's Gemini 6A space flight. If you meet an alien in space one day, try singing Jingle Bells in order to find a common language Another song stuck in your head could be All I want for Christmas is You Since the song was released by Mariah Carey in 1994, it has been sung every year until now Have you ever wondered how much money Mariah Carey can make with this song? In 2017, The Economist reported that Mariah earned $60 million in royalties for All I Want for Christmas Is You alone That doesn't include her profits from holiday merch, concerts, books, and film and TV productions. In 2019, the American website Celebrity Net Worth calculated that the song’s royalties alone would be between $600,000 and $1 million every December.

I hope these fun facts can make you look forward to this Christmas a little more. Merry Christmas!

A LUTHERAN CHRISTMAS TRADITION

by Anastasia Landowski

THE SCIENCE BEHIND RUDOLPH

by Mason Marrari

The Christmas season is one of the most emphasized holidays during the Lutheran church year Over the centuries, we have developed new ways to remember the birth of Christ and his reason for coming to us One of the most popular in many Lutheran churches and households is the tradition of lighting the Advent wreath The five candles are lit one by one as the Advent season progresses, and each has a significant meaning

The first candle to be lit, “The Prophet’s Candle” represents hope and those in the past who waited for Christ’s coming. This candle, along with two others, is purple or blue which represents royalty, repentance, and love.

During the second week of Advent, another candle is lit to represent faith. It is often called “Bethlehem’s Candle” and is a reminder of the faith Christian’s have in God’s promises

The third candle is pink as a representation of the joy we have in Christ’s birth It is known as “The Shepherd’s Candle” and reminds us that Jesus came for even the lowliest of people

The fourth candle is a representation of peace, known as “The Angel’s Candle” as it ties in with their declaration of peace The final candle is lit on Christmas day, colored white to represent the purity of Christ.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, has undoubtedly been one of the most prominent symbols of Christmas and easily the most famous fictional reindeer in the world. Created in 1939, Rudolph has been widely known for not only being the leader of Santa’s entourage, but the only reindeer in the world to wield a glowing red nose While many questions have been raised and answered regarding the physics of Santa, there is seemingly one question that remains: How does Rudolph’s nose glow?

A very popular theory is that Rudolph produces his own light through the use of bioluminescence For context, bioluminescence is the chemical reaction that produces light energy in particular organisms. Within the light producing organs of bioluminescent creatures, there must always be two special substances called luciferin and either luciferase and photoprotein, which are both enzymes used to catalyze the reaction. In the presence of oxygen, this reaction yields oxyluciferin and light Over a thousand types of fish use bioluminescence,

especially in the deeper, darker regions of the oceans. Several insects retain this ability as well such as fireflies and glowworms How exactly would this work in a reindeer? Apparently, Rudolph would need to have a unique light-producing organ in between the skin layers of his nose Consequently, this layer of lightproducing tissue would have to be fairly thin in order to fit within a regular sized reindeer nose As mentioned earlier, this organ would need to contain a luciferin and its luciferase A final component needed for Rudolph to emit red light instead of the usual green light emitted by other bioluminescent creatures, is a red phosphorescent layer on the outer layer of his nose. With everything in place, Rudolph would be able to glow bright red all throughout the night. Obviously, the entire idea of a biologically-gifted reindeer producing light from its nose to guide Old Saint Nicholas on Christmas Eve night is ridiculous Clearly, this theory raises more questions than answers, especially if Rudolph were to actually exist

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Photography by Susu Yang

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