Raritan High School’sRARITAN Official Newspaper REVIEW BY: KRISTIN HUNGERFORD AND MICHELLE NESTOR Christmas is a time of celebration and remembrance. It is a in which the catholic community praises ’ birth. The Three Wise Men followed the brightest star in the sky, the North Star, to bring them to Jesus’ manger. Once the Wise Men arrived, they presented Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh; which is the reason we receive presents on Christmas day. In the fourth century, St. Nicholas was a was very wealthy and generous bishop. had a reputation for helping the unfortunate and giving presents to people in need. St. Nicholas, better known as , was created because of him. Originally, Santa Claus was known as Kris Kringle in the United States. In other areas of the world, he began to be referred to as “The Father of Christmas”. The Dutch name for this was “” and people in the United States translated that as Santa Claus. To get into the Christmas spirit, many people go door to door singing Christmas Carols. Christmas caroling was a tradition that started in Europe and was passed BY: LAURA TUCKER AND NOELLE ZWEIDINGER down from generation to generation. Legend has it that in the seventh century, a Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, is a Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days. The holiday is in monk from Crediton, Devonshire, used a Fir remembrance of a temple that was released from Greek control which was under the region tree for the triangular shape to describe the of Antiochus IV, a descendant of Alexander the great. He oppressed the Jewish people in their Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the religious practice and forced them to worship the Greek gods. It was in a rebellion during this Holy Spirit. Then the first Fir tree was deco- time that the temple was re-dedicated into the Jewish religion. rated “Riga in Latvia”, in 1510. The mistletoe When it was re-dedicated there was only a small amount of oil; enough to light the became a Christmas tradition because it candle for only one day and there were no more supplies coming until the next week. The oil was lit anyway and instead of only burning for one day it lasted for eight nights; enough time was hung in ancient Druin households. It for the oil in the temple oil to be replenished. It was a miracle! was said that it brought good luck to the Today Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a menorah. Each candles represents a house and warded off evil spirits. Kissing night that there was light from the small amount of oil back then. The candles are added each under the mistletoe originated in England. night from right to left like the , but are lit from left to right to pay honor to The original tradition was that a berry was the newest thing first. Three differentberakhot (blessings) are said after the candles are lit. The picked from the sprig of the mistletoe dates change from year to year between the end of November and month of December, this before someone could be kissed and when year the holiday started on November 27th and lasted to December 5th, but always falls on all the berries were gone there would be the 25th of Kisler on the Jewish calender. no more kissing. Today if two people were is a gambling game played with a square top, each side with its own symbol. found underneath mistletoe they would This game started during Antiochus’ oppression when people wanted to study the , have to kiss. Not only can you celebrate which was illegal, they would conceal their activity by playing dreidel. Four Hebrew letters Christmas with these traditions, but also mark the dreidel; , , Hei and which stands for the phrase, “Nes Gadol Hayah you can create your own traditions for the Sham.” This phrase means a great miracle happened here, referring to the miracle of the oil. holidays! Raritan High School’sRARITAN Official Newspaper REVIEW BY: KAITLYN LALLY AND MATTHEW GIOVE Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26th thru Janu- ary 1st, its origins are in the first harvest celebra- tions of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. It is an expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture which was being conducted in the general con- text of the Black Liberation Movement of the ‘60’s and in HOLIDAY MUSIC the specific context of The Organization Us, the founding BY: ASHLEY MIR AND LAUREN CHRIST organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of It’s the holiday season again and music is in the air. Every its tradition. It was officially introduced to America by Dr. holiday has their own songs that help to bring the good Maulana Karenga in 1966. Kwanzaa has seven basic sym- spirit to life! bols and two supplemental ones. Each represents values Along with trimming the and stringing and concepts reflective of African culture and contributive the lights comes the music that pulls it altogether. The to community building and reinforcement. top five Christmas songs are, “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole, “Silent Night” by The Temptations, “White There are seven main traditions which take place over the Christmas” by The Drifters, “Let It Snow” by Frank Sinatra and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. course of a week. These traditions are symbolized through seven candles. Each candle represents the following: Hanukkah’s songs include, “The Hanukkah Song” by , “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah” by Barenaked Ladies, Umoja (oo-MOH-JAH) -- Unity “Happy Joyous Hanukkah” by The Klezmatics and Woody Kujichagulia (koo-ji-chah-goo-LEE-ah) -- Self-determination Guthrie, “Hanukkah Song” by Kenny G and “Feat of Lights” by They Might Be Giants. Ujima (oo-JEE-mah) -- Collective work and responsibility Ujamma (oo-jah-MAH) -- Cooperative economics Last but certainly not least is Kwanzaa. Top songs for Nia (NEE-ah) -- Purpose Kwanzaa include, “Happy Kwanzaa” by Kamal Imani , Kuumba (koo-OO-mbah) -- Creativity “The Kwanzaa Song” by William Scott, “White Kwanzaa” Imani (ee-MAH-nee) – Faith by Jess Marx, “The Lights of Kwanzaa” by Paint the Town December Children’s Choir and “Seven Joyous Days” by Celebrate Kwanzaa.

Raritan High School’sRARITAN Official Newspaper REVIEW ROCKET RECIPES HANUKKAH: Holiday Edition BRIDGET BAKES: DELICIOUS POTATO KWANZAA: JAM PASTRIES FOR MINI SWEET POTATO PIES BY: JENNA MURPHY CHRISTMAS BY: BRIDGET FAHY BY: BRIDGET FAHY

Ingredients: • 2 lbs (1 kg) potatoes • 2 large eggs • Salt • Oil for frying Directions What You’ll Need: 1) 12 graham cracker crumb tart shells. Delicious Jam Pastries 1.Peel and finely grate the pota- 2) 1 egg white, lightly beaten What You’ll Need: toes. Put them straight into cold 3) A teaspoon of water * 1/2 cup softened butter water, then drain and squeeze 4) 23 ounces canned sweet potatoes, drained. * 3 ounces softened cream them as dry as you can by pressing 5) 2/3 cheese them with your hands in a colan- cup whipping cream * 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour der. This is to remove the starchy 6) ¼ cup pure maple syrup * 1/4 cup strawberry jam or any liquid, which could make the Directions: jam of your choice! latkes soggy. 1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place tart * About 1/4 cup of sifted confec- 2.Beat the eggs lightly with salt, shells in a baking pan. Combine egg white and tioners’ sugar add to the potatoes, and stir well. water. Brush the beaten egg white over crusts. Directions: 3. Fill the bottom of a frying pan Bake for 5 minutes; Let cool. 1. Beat the butter and cream with oil and heat. 2) For filling, combine sweet potatoes and cheese in mixer bowl until it cre- 4. Take serving-spoonfuls, or as whipping cream; stir until smooth. Stir in maple ates a light and fluffy texture. much as 1/4 cup (50 ml), of the syrup, egg yolks, and spice. Put 2. Gradually add the flour and mixture and drop into the hot oil. filling in tart shells. Bake for 30 minutes. Let beat well. 5. Flatten a little, and lower the cool. 3. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick- heat so that the fritters cook 3) Preheat broiler. For meringue, in top of dou- ness on lightly floured surface and through evenly. ble boiler combine sugar, 4 egg whites, vanilla, cut into 2 inch circles. and salt. Beat for 30 seconds. Place over boiling 6. When one side is brown, turn 4. Spoon 1 teaspoon of jam into water (upper pan must not touch water). Cook, over and brown the other. the center of each circle. 7. Lift out and serve very hot. beating constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes or until fluffy, holds soft peaks, and reaches 160 de- 5. Fold opposite edges together, *You may add black pepper, grees F on instant read thermometer. Remove as shown in picture above. chopped parsley, and finely from heat. Beat 30 seconds more. 6. Place 2 inches apart on a chopped onion to the egg and 4) Mound meringue mixture on baked pies, greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 potato mixture. Adding 4 table- forming peaks. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat for degrees F for 15 minutes until spoons of potato flour binds the 1 to 2 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. dough is a golden color. fritters into firmer, more compact Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serv- 7. Let cool and then sprinkle cakes, easier to handle but not ing. Cover and refrigerate to store. Enjoy! confectioners’ sugar atop! quite as lovely to eat. Raritan High School’sRARITAN Official Newspaper REVIEW HOLIDAY MOVIES BY: LAURA AGUINAGA AND MATT HAGBERG

Top 5 Christmas Movies:

1. Home Alone: Kevin McCallister a young boy from , Illinois is left home alone when his family travels to Paris for Christmas. 2. A Christmas Story: Set in the 1940’s Ralphie must convince his parents a Red Ryder B.B. Gun is the per- fect for him. 3. The Polar Express: A young boy that has lost his belief in Santa travels to the in a Polar Ex- press and rediscovers his love for Christmas. 4. A : A story of how the grumpy Scrooge discovers the true spirit of Christmas from 3 inspiring ghosts. 5. How the Stole Christmas: Whoville, an imaginary village, where the “Grinch”, a hater of Christ- mas, gets a change of heart from Cindy Lou Who, a little girl.

Top 5 Hanukkah Movies

1. (2002) – Adam Sandler based this movie on the famous song he sang on SNL. Rated PG-13 2. (2003) – Rachel Dratch and star in this comedy about Santa Claus’s son stealing Hanukkah. Rated R 3. Shalom Sesame: Chanukah Special (1987) – Sesame Street teaches children about Hanukkah with its Israeli counterpart, Rechov Sumsum. Rated TV-Y 4. A Chanukah (1996) – This Rugrats special teaches the story using Rugrats characters. Rated TV-Y 5. The Gift of Chanukah (2006) – This really fun interactive special tells the story of Hanukkah right in your home. Rating NR

Top Kwanzaa Movie 1. The Black Candle (2008) – A documentary about the struggle of an African-American community and how they overcame their struggles through their heritage. Rated NR