Teri Sanders

features Panther Prowler • Dec. 6, 2019 10 Winter Season brings diverse holidays

Reese Kelem Staff Writer

Prasheetha Karthikeyan Features Editor

Emily Augustine Front Cover Editor

Jacob Malone Back Cover Editor

Coo Coo- Pifa Pifi ta, a little white bird, sits on a tree with her baby. Pifa comes around the holiday season to watch over families and deliver Christmas lists. “Pifa would also visit us after Christmas for Three Kings Day, then she would return to the North Pole,” Aitana Sierra-Valdez said. Aitana Sierra-Valdezr/With permission

As the nights get chillier and the holiday season draws near, many students are celebrating the holidays this year. Most celebrate when Santa Claus puts presents under the tree, but some enjoy other unique holidays, as you will see.

Saint Lucia’s Day

As a part of her Swedish heritage, Josephine Duc, senior, celebrates St. Lucia’s Day, a holiday that honors St. Lucia, a Christian martyr. Although St. Lucia’s day is a Swedish tradition, St. Lucia was actually a Roman woman who was killed in the year 304 A.D. during the Roman persecution of Christians. Although much of her history is lost, it is known that she valiantly donated her time to serve others. “We celebrate the saint on December 13th, and people celebrate the idea of bringing food and light to those who need it,” Duc said.

St. Lucia’s Day is traditionally celebrated with candle crowns. Th ese candles are meant to bring hope and light to the cold, Scandanavian winter. Additionally, St. Lucia wore a candle crown when she cared for others. “She brings light throughout the world of darkness, both with her candle crown and with her kindness,” Duc said.

However, there is another aspect of the holiday that cannot be forgotten: the food. Traditionally, families celebrate St. Lucia’s Day by enjoying coff ee and baked goods, such as saff ron bread and ginger biscuits, with other members of the family. “We make gingerbread cookies from scratch and lots of Lusse bullar, which are shaped like an S with raisins in them,” Duc said. “All of the food we eat is connected to either wintertime, Christmas, Lucia, or Swedish culture.”

Th ree Kings Day

“Before Elf on the Shelf, my parents used a little bird called Pifa Pifi ta to watch over us,” Aitana Sierra-Valdez, senior, said. Th e bird fi gure disappears and reappears periodically throughout the holiday season.

“On Christmas morning, (Pifa Pifi ta would) be there with her baby. We still do it because the ornament is super pretty but I still don’t know the secret of Pifa,” Sierra-Valdez said. Her family consists of her parents and her younger sister who is a freshman.

“Pifa is also in charge of delivering your list to Santa when you’re done. You just put it on the tree and it’s gone the next morning,” Sierra-Valdez said. Th e bird is white with a festive red scarf, hat and beak.

“Pifa would also visit us aft er Christmas for Th ree Kings Day, January sixth, then she would return to the North Pole until next Christmas,” Sierra-Valdez said. Also known as Epiphany, Th ree Kings Day is a Christian holiday that marks the day when the gift -bearing three kings met baby Jesus.

“Th ree Kings Day is like a mini Christmas where you get shoes and clothes instead of toys or fancy gift s,” Sierra-Valdez said. Th e holiday is typically celebrated in Spain and Latin America.

“Most of my family on my dad’s side is from Spain, my mom’s side is more native or Latina,” Sierra-Valdez said. Her father brought the family tradition of Pifa Pifi ta to the Sierra-Valdez family, and she hopes to continue it.

Hanukkah

“Hanukkah is the celebration of when the oil in a destroyed temple lasted for eight nights when it should have only lasted one,” Rachel Goldstein said. Rachel’s family is one of many Jewish families in the community who are celebrating the holiday. Th e holiday occurs diff erent days every year since it is based off of the Jewish Lunar calendar, being from Dec.22-30 this year.

One important centerpiece of Hanukkah is the menorah, which consists of nine candles, four on each side of the center candle, called the shamash. Each of the eight candles represents one of the eight nights that the miraculous candle burned in the temple. Th e shamash is used to light each candle for every night of the holiday.

Dutch Christmas

Kamden De Ruyter, sophomore, celebrates a unique version of Christmas compared to the American Version Dutch Christmas. Celebrated on the fi ft h of December, which is Saint Nicholas’s Eve, Dutch families, including De Ruyter’s, wait for Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) to bring them presents. “We put out wooden shoes, and then the next day, he comes in, they’re full of chocolates and stuff ,” said De Ruyter.

Families also eat traditional Dutch desserts during the holiday like the stroopwafel. “You can fi nd them at Trader Joe’s, they’re extremely good. It’s basically two wafers with caramel in between,” De Ruyter said. “Th ey (also) make cookies in the shape of windmills and they’re not necessarily less sweet but more like fl avorful.” Th ere is also pepernoot, a popular cinnamon biscuit commonly eaten by the Dutch as well as a Dutch Christmas Ring Cake.

Th is holiday also has its own unique traditions and folklore. Dutch children are told about Santa’s helpers called “Zwarte Pieten”. As the tale goes, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten arrive in a steam boat at the port of Rotterdam and leave presents for good children. Th ey put treats in dutch wooden shoes, or clogs, that children put by the window.

Happy Hanukkah-The Mensch on a Bench, sits atop a desk holding a potato and potato peeler. The Mensch on a Bench, is a popular toy that is said to watch over the Menorah and bring joy to jewish families during Hanukkah. Rachel Goldstein/With permission

During Hanukkah, many delicacies cooked in oil (representing the candle oil that lasted eight days) are enjoyed, like latkes, or potato pancakes. “You say the prayers over the candles and eat lots of good food, like most jewish holidays, and it’s customary to give gift s to your family and friends,” said Goldstein.

It is also common to play a game of dreidel where people spin a top and try to win coins. Th ere are four sides to the dreidel, “Nun,” “Gimel,” “Hey” and “Shin,” and whichever one faces up aft er the dreidel is spun tells each player how much to give or take from the “pot” in the center. Overall, the four letters mean “Nes gadol haya sham,” meaning a great miracle happened there, referring to the temple.

While there is an up and coming popularity around the Christmas tradition of Elf on Th e shelf, an elf that watches kids if they are good or bad and reports to Santa, Hanukkah has its own unique version of this. “My family has a Mensch on a Bench, it’s like a Jewish Elf on the

Shelf, we put that out every year,” said Goldstein. A Mensch is a person who is relied on for his or her integrity and honor. According to the stories, Moshe the Mensch (Th e Mensch on a Bench) was in the temple with Judah the Maccabees when they won the war against the Greeks. He now brings joy to families globally and watches over the menorah.

Diwali

Another holiday celebrated by many people all over the world is Diwali. Diwali is an Indian holiday, loosely translated as the “Festival of Lights.” Diwali is celebrated diff erently depending on the part of India. Annika Kanugo, sophomore, celebrates it with the South Indian custom. “[Diwali] celebrates the defeat of the demon king,” Kanugo said.

Diwali is oft en celebrated with fi recrackers, symbolic of the name of the festival. Many people also go to temple to worship and eat a big meal with family around the table. “My favorite part is getting to eat food and spend time with friends and family,” Kanugo said

Diwali is also a very personal holiday, so diff erent families engage in various activities.

For Kanugo and her family, they tend to stay in. “We have our own ceremony in our house to worship the gods,” Kanugo said. “And we have a big dinner aft erwards.”

Every year, a Diwali party is held for all the Indians in the community. Although it was on Nov. 9, over two weeks aft er the actual holiday, it was still successful and enjoyable. “Th e Diwali party is held in Dos Vientos and has performances and food and entertainment. Everyone dresses up and it’s a lot of fun,” Kanugo says. Th is event was one of many across the globe to celebrate a special holiday cherished by the Indian culture.

Emily Augustine Front Cover Editor

Ryan Younes: a musician, an Eagle Scout and an aspiring pilot. His unwavering positivity and friendliness makes him one of the most approachable seniors on campus. I had the opportunity to share some tea and fi nd out more about him.

So, my plan for that is I’m going right now to the EAA chapter in Camarillo and basically the EAA is this organization that helps young people like me get their pilot’s license; it gets them into aviation. You may know or you may not know about this but there’s a big pilot shortage, and it’s growing quickly, and airline jobs are getting to look a lot more on the market. You can become basically higher up member and get a good pay much quicker now, because of the demand for the pilots.”

What are doing right now in preparation for becoming a pilot? What is your favorite movie?

My favorite video game is fortnite cause it’s the only game I’m kind of good at. I’ve been playing fortnite for about two years, and I started playing because a lot of my friends were. I don’t play as much now due to a busier schedule, but I defi nitely still try to play when I can. What is your favorite video game?

Favorite video game. Oh yikes. I don’t know. I’d say Terraria because it’s just got so much to deal with like you can play with your friends, one, there are a lot of possibilities you can run with, a lot of things you can explore, and it’s a challenge for sure. I mean, if you hadn’t seen it as a challenge you’d get bored of it just like that. I like Terraria, man, it’s good stuff .

Who is your favorite celebrity?

James Hetfi eld. I really liked him because basically he is who I looked up to basically throughout my freshman/sophomore year and a little bit less now that I am moving into diff erent interests, with the aviation thing, because that is pretty all encompassing. Th ere is a lot less time for me to play guitar, but he is still a big role model for me because he is somebody that went through a lot of strife and trouble within the band, with himself, with all of that, and moved on to become one of the biggest rock stars around the world. Metallica sells out in stadiums everywhere. It’s crazy, and you watch him on stage, you go to a show, and there is something about the air there, and it doesn’t have to be in the music. You may not like the songs, but it is what he creates in that stadium that keeps him so electrifying” What is your favorite melon?

Watermelon, duh. What kind of a question is that? I could throw honeydew and cantaloupe out the window for a watermelon. Jacob Malone/Prowler

How does the pop music genre compare to rock music?

It is obviously a diff erent kind of music made for diff erent reasons and I am not trying to legitimize one and delegitimize the other, but it’s a diff erent art style for sure.

Turkey Day Dashers race in the rain

Adalia Luo Staff Writer

Cheering-Youth and Government club members help to set up the backdrop for runners at the Turkey Dash to take photos after the race. Jolie Mehner, sophomore, arrived at the event at 6:30 a.m. to help in any way she could. “The environment around the dash was really positive. People were kind and were willing to help you out if you needed it and generally just very friendly.” Mehner said. There were multiple races that participants could run in, including a timed 5K for those who wanted to run competitively. Jolie Mehner/With permission

Th is past Th anksgiving Th ursday was the 15th Annual Turkey Day Dash held at California Lutheran University. Including a 5K, 1K, and a costume contest, the race raises money for the Conejo Valley YMCA’s youth and senior programs.

Senior Director of membership at the YMCA, Allison Wilson, loves her longtime job of being the Race Director for the Turkey Day Dash, even with the early start times. “We arrive to setup at about 4:30 in the morning,” Wilson said. “Th e kids race is a one mile race that begins at 7:30, and the 5K race begins at 8:00.”

Th is year’s race made history as the fi rst time in 15 years that the runners raced in the rain. “We had over 2,000 runners,” explained Wilson. “It was so inspiring to see so many people brave the rain, to support both our Conejo Valley YMCA, but also their community.”

Th e Turkey Day Dash serves as an annual fundraiser for the YMCA. “Th e money raised from

the TDD is used to give scholarships to people needing fi nancial assistance,” said Wilson. Activities like their Safety Around Water program and Youth and Government would not be possible without this event.

An offi cer in the YMCA’s Youth and Government program, Jolie Mehner, sophomore, spent the day with her club volunteering. “I was there from 6:30am to 10am,” Mehner said. “We like to do stuff for the YMCA since they run our organization.”

Although this Turkey Dash was her fi rst experience with the annual event, there was never a quiet moment as a volunteer. “I was just helping out where I could. I helped set up things, helped out with the kids race, and handed out applesauce to the runners aft er they fi nished the race,” Mehner said. “Th e YMCA always has really nice people volunteering and it sets up great events.”

Fellow Youth and Government member, Morgan Ashamalla, junior, also spent the morning volunteering for the Turkey Day Dash. “Our delegation asked for volunteers to help make pancakes for the runners,” said Ashamalla. “We ended up just supervising and handing out snacks and medals to the runners and I personally supervised the children’s race making sure nobody slipped and fell in the rain.”

Arriving at 6:30 a.m. and staying til 9:30 a.m., this was Ashamalla’s fi rst year as well. “I would totally do it again,” she said. “Th e people were super nice and it was a cool hangout with my friends. Th e environment is super fun and relaxed.”

Despite the unexpected rain and freezing temperatures, Turkey Day Dash 2019 was full of grinning faces and glowing smiles. “Everyone is just there to have a good time and support the YMCA,” said Ashamalla.