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Winter holidays within the Mercer Island community Emily Yang staff writer
Though Christmas prevails as a common winter celebration on Mercer Island, there are many other holidays observed during the month of December from a variety of cultures, races, and religions. Because of the commercial Christmas frenzy, holidays such as the Jewish Hanukkah, African-American Kwanzaa, and Catholic Saint Lucy’s Day are eclipsed by an overwhelming amount of tinsel and presents, leaving many individuals of other religions feeling ostracized from Christmas celebrations common on Mercer Island. According to a study by Seattle Times in 2015, out of the estimated 9,400 families on Mercer Island, approximately 25 percent are Jewish – a much larger percentage than the international population of 0.2 percent. Despite the atypically large Jewish community, many students at Mercer Island High School still find that their religious beliefs are marred by the pressure to conform to commercial Christmas standards. Gift-giving has never been traditional part of Hanukkah, but freshman Ally Lavin said, “The idea of giving and receiving presents originated from parents feeling bad that their
kids didn’t receive presents during the holiday season like all other kids celebrating Christmas.” The true meaning of Hanukkah – to commemorate the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after its destruction by Syrians – has been buried in modern materialism. Jewish students find it more necessary than ever to educate peers on their underrepresented religion, yet see little space in the flurry of presents and ugly sweater parties to do so. “People mostly focus on just Christmas rather than other holidays,” Lavin said. “The holidays that happen to occur close to each other on the calendar represent different things for the various religions and communities,” said Amy Lavin, CEO of the Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island. “Therefore, we can think about the values we all believe in, and find ways to connect on those values year-round and also at this time of year when people spend more time celebrating with family and community.” By finding common ground to celebrate in each holiday, the Lavins believe the inattention surrounding Hanukkah celebrations will decrease. Kwanzaa, a holiday invented by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 to cele-
brate African culture, heritage, and unity, is seldom observed on the island because of the fact that only 1.3 percent of Mercer Island’s population is African-American. The celebration, lasting from December 26th to January 1st, is associated with the civil rights movement of the 1960s but finds little representation on the island. Saint Lucy’s day, on December 13th, is a Catholic feast day created to honor martyr Saint Lucia. Mostly celebrated in Scandinavia, the day is frequently overshadowed by other Christian holidays in the United States. John Francke, a Swedish native, said, “I like to celebrate Saint Lucia because we get to eat Swedish food and be with my family. We don’t celebrate it at school but it would be fun to show people what we do.” Festivities typically include dinner parties, singing, and making the baked bun Lussekatt, also known as St. Lucy Bun. With no major holiday during the month of December, Muslim citizens of Mercer Island find it difficult to partake in holiday-related events when their beliefs aren’t intertwined. Freshman Munasip Ertakus said, “I feel left out for some things. I wish I could do Secret Santas and
give and get gifts.” Her feelings of exclusion extend far beyond the month of December. “In our holiday [Ramadan] you have to fast for a month. That’s not really represented and people don’t understand. I don’t get any of my holidays off.” Ramadan, a lunar-based holiday to celebrate the 9th month in a Muslim year, takes place from May 16th to June 14th in 2018.
Year lights the large sequoia tree and shrubs with the mayor at Mercerdale Park. Then, attendees are encouraged to stop by the fire station for chili, treats, entertainment, and crafts. Though this event includes a tree, the city shies away from including religious components in their celebrations. “We keep our holiday events generic, and do not affiliate, or celebrate a religion
with them,” said Mortenson. The student body at MIHS ultimately lacks religious diversity during the holiday season, demonstrated by the demographics of Mercer Island. Though the Muslim and African-American community of Mercer Island is small, it is still essential to recognize all beliefs and backgrounds of residents before generalizing a month
o f t h e year as “the season to be jolly”. Though Christmas – and all of its commercial aspects – is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year, the beliefs and religions, or lack thereof, for other students at Mercer Island High School can be acknowledged for not only an inclusive holiday season, but also an understanding com munity t h roughout the school year.
During D e c e m b e r, Recreation Superintendent of Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Diane Mortenson ensures that holiday events coordinated are community celebrations for everyone. For over fifteen years, Mercer Island has put on “Tree Lighting and Firehouse Munch” a traditional event that allows the community to convene and kick off the holiday season. Regardless of the holiday or religion one celebrates, this event brings the city together. The Citizen of the
Why trolling NextDoor is so easy...and how I got banned The ‘fake news’ phenomenon is alive and well on Mercer Island. Spencer Klein humor editor
The widely-used app NextDoor features lively discussions about issues pertinent to Mercer Island, such as former city council candidate Joy Langley’s qualifications, bad traffic and the scavenger hunt. However, NextDoor embodies something more dangerous to our community than the free firewood would make it seem. A couple weeks ago, I created a fake NextDoor account with the name “Marie Degler.” I signed up, found a picture of a middle-aged woman on Google Images as my profile picture and I was ready to go. The first thing I posted was the paragraph that follows: “I just caught my son and his cronies turtle fighting. What a despicable thing! He took my
lifelong friend, Gus, and our neighbor’s (Jenny, I am so sorry) and took bets from other students. Make sure your son is NOT participating in this activity.” While the majority of NextDoor users did not believe me, the important thing is that a few actually did. Carole Branom commented, “My brother in Phoenix has two turtles, each about the size of a large dinner plate. Though Tina is ever the little lady, she sparks fury in Tommy whenever he sees her. He tries to roll her over on her back the better to nip at her soft parts. My brother had to build two rock pits to keep them separate, and walks them separately in the back yard. Tina enjoys the outing on the grass but Tommy runs around frantically looking to escape. They can be fast when they want to be. We suspect Tommy was born
in the wild, a road scholar as it were, while Tina was gently raised in captivity from the start.” A man messaged me an even longer paragraph about how I had indicted my son, and even sent links to websites describing the jail sentence given for animal abuse. Before my account was revealed as fake, I had convinced at least five adults that turtle fighting was a legitimate problem in our community. You’re probably thinking that this was an isolated incident. But once I was blocked from NextDoor about ten of my friends found similar success creating fake accounts and posting about similarly absurd things. These posts included warnings about hidden drugs in mole holes, outrage at the phrase “trick or treat,” and the fabrication of a fictional alcoholic beverage known
as “Leem” (it is important to note that Leem is a type of soil). Yes, most of these posts were quickly discovered as fake, and the accounts were blocked, but for the short time that the posts were up, a few people believed each one. As with my turtle post, there were actual people agreeing and telling anecdotes about how they’ve heard middle schoolers talking about Leem. While it might seem funny that someone tricked a few adults into believing that kids were getting drunk off soil, it can be dangerous. What does it say about our community if we can convince part of our decision-making population of insane things, armed with nothing but a stock photo and a generic name? Imagine if we were trying to convince NextDoor of something less insane; for example,
the validity of Joy Langley’s Cornell degree. People communicated on NextDoor, refuting the articles published about her degree or supporting their validity. Regardless of which is true, the problem still lingers: people believe what is written on NextDoor. When Langley’s lack of credentials was finally revealed, Daniel Thompson wrote: “Why did it take ND and a blogger to prove this?” By choosing to cite NextDoor instead of the more thoroughly researched article published by the Seattle Times, Thompson’s post reveals a deeper issue. Whether it’s an essay against I-90 tolls or a pot roast recipe, people believe what they read on NextDoor. In a time when many adults can marginalize CNN and Fox as “fake news,” it is shocking that so many people believe arguments with little to no sources on a local so-
cial media website. While some stories on CNN or Fox have little to no bearing on the north Mercer Island community, the falsehoods that are being spread on NextDoor directly affect Mercer Island. Looking at the example of Joy Langley, the fake journalism on NextDoor could affect who sits on city council in the near future. Phrases like “I heard this thing on NPR” or “I read it on NextDoor” lead to the distribution of misinformation. Because Mercer Island’s older residents grew up in a generation where fake news wasn’t on every Facebook feed, they are less aware of how local and pernicious its effects can be. Parents opining on local issues, just as much as a student writing an English paper, need to be aware of inaccurate sources, especially in a public forum like NextDoor.