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Merry Christmas all around the world By Malena Tewari Most people think that at Christmas, everybody hangs a stocking over the fireplace, gets a Christmas tree to decorate, and invites family over. Well, Christmas can be celebrated differently in other parts of the world for different reasons, and some places don’t even celebrate Christmas at all. Here is how Christmas is celebrated in a few places. In Russia and Ukraine, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January instead of the 25th of December. The people there celebrate it on this day because the Orthodox Church uses the old “Julian” calendar for religious celebration days. The Russians say special prayers, and people fast, sometimes for 39 days until January 6th, which is Christmas Eve for them. When the first evening star appears in the sky, they do a twelve-course supper in honor of the twelve apostles. In Spain, Portugal, and Italy, a tradition that people do is they set up a model village of Bethlehem with model people as well. The figurines include Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. In the Czech Republic, single women do a really weird ritual on Christmas Eve day to find out if they will get married in the following year. They stand with their backs to the front door of their houses, and they throw one of their shoes over their shoulders. If the shoe lands with its heel towards the door, the woman will definitely stay single for another year. If the shoe points towards the door, she will move out of her parents’ house, and she should start making wedding preparations. For over 40 years, the town of Gavle in Sweden has made a giant goat made of straw each year. Every year, vandals do everything they can to burn down the goat before Christmas day. Since 1966, the goat has survived until Christmas day only 10 times. People disguise themselves as Santa Claus or elves to get past the guardians so they can set the straw on fire. In Slovakia at Christmas dinner, the head of the family takes a spoon of loksa, which is a traditional Slovak Christmas dish. Holding the spoon, the head of the family throws it at the ceiling. The more of the mixture that stays on the ceiling, the richer his crops will be next year.
Volume 28 Issue 2 D e c e mb e r 2 0 1 5
Inside this issue:
Tech News
2
Christmas Poll
2
Tiger Look Book
3
Student Fiction
4-5
Dear Diary
6-7
Christmas Riddles 6 Student Fiction
8
Special points of interest:
You can play games and learn to speak Klingon through special Google searches.
Cool Lokai bracelets can bring happiness to you and others around the world.
Dolphins are a lot smarter than we know.
Christmas riddles will make you and your family laugh.