Twin Pines Activity Kit This is Kit #12, the last kit of 2020. “Enhancing the quality of life for the community.” WOULD YOU LIKE TO STOP RECEIVING THESE KITS? CALL US AT 595-7444. 1 NEWS AND UPDATES BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING RETURNS IN 2021 Free Blood Pressure Screenings will be returning in 2021! Screenings will be held on the third Thursday of each month from 11:30-12:30. No appointment needed. Screenings will be held outdoors near the Twin Pines Senior and Community Center and participants must wear a face covering and practice social distancing. This service is provided by a Registered Nurse from Sequoia Hospital. The holidays are a joyful time. Many of us look forward to gathering with friends and family and celebrating traditions. The Covid- 19 pandemic has changed how we celebrate this year. Although we may not be physically present together, there is so much to be grateful for. As we move into the new year, we wish you moments of peace amid the challenges, connections with friends and family even if they can’t be in person, the warmth of memories from holidays past, wonderful glimpses of hope for the future, and joy in each and every day! Have a Joyful New Year! - Cheri & Andrea 2 LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE When you’re in a pinch... Mental note: Actual notes work better 2020 Compliments: You smell great! What hand sanitizer are you wearing? “Social distancing” = Boring “Exiled for the good of the realm” = Cool 3 NAME THIS WINTER HOLIDAY SONG You’ve heard them on the radio, or on TV, for decades. Can you match these popular holiday songs when different words are used? Tip: For an extra challenge, avoid looking at the list of names on the right. 1. The Yule preceding all others 2. Small municipality in Judea southwest of Jerusalem A. Deck the Halls 3. Twelve o’clock on a clement night witnessed it’s arrival B. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 4. Exalted heavenly beings who hearkened C. Santa Claus is coming to Town 5. Embellish the interior passageway D. Let It Snow 6. An emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good giv- E. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus en to the terrestrial sphere 7. Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness F. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth 8. Listen, the celestial messengers produce harmonious sounds G. Angels We Have Heard on High 9. Move thitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief H. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 10. Felicitations for the season I. Merry Christmas 11. Sterling Carillon J. Joy to the World 12. Diminutive masculine master of a skin-covered percussionist cyl- K. Silent Night inders L. Winter Wonderland 13. Tranquility upon the terrestrial sphere 14. Expectation of arrival to a municipality by mythical, masculine M. O Come, All Ye Faithful perennial gift-giver N. Little Town of Bethlehem 15. A hallucinatory phenomenon expecting a natal celebration de- void of colors O. The First Noel 16. Geographic fantasy during the season of Mother Nature’s dor- P. Silver Bells mancy Q. Little Drummer Boy 17. Singular yearning for the twin-anterior incisors R. Peace on Earth 18. Frozen precipitation commence S. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas 19. Parent was observed osculating a red-coated unshaven team- ster 4 WINTER TRIVIA WINTER WORD SCRAMBLE How do people around the world cele- brate the holidays or winter solstice? Let's travel around the world to learn some new traditions! 1. What is the season in South Africa during Decem- ber? A) Winter C) Summer B) Spring D) Fall 2. In North America, children frequently leave the items seen here for Santa. What is often left for him instead in Ireland? A) Lemonade and potatoes B) Water and shortbread C) Guinness beer and mince pies D) Whiskey and haggis 3. Between December 16th and 24th, why are you likely to find streets closed to traffic in Caracas, Ven- ezuela, in the early hours of the morning? A) So the streets can be decorated B) For the daily parade C) So people can rollerskate to church D) So Santa can check on children easily 4. Which British monarch is considered responsible for popularising decorated pine trees throughout the Empire? A) King Henry VIII C) Queen Victoria B) King George III D) Queen Elizabeth I 5. There was never meat in mincemeat. A) True B) False 6. Mulled wine is a popular holiday drink that is served warm with spices. A) True B) False Answers on page 9 & 10 5 HIDDEN PICTURES Can you find the hidden pictures? Tip: It may help to turn the image around. For some extra fun, you can add some color to this picture! Answers on page 9 6 NEW YEAR’S TRIVIA 1. Throughout Scotland there are many traditions for 7. What happens to the crockery, perhaps collected New Year's or Hogmanay celebrations. One tradition throughout the year, in Denmark on New Year's is to link arms and sing the words of which Robert Eve? A) Smashed at front doors Burns' poem? B) Plated with a special meal A) A Red, Red Rose B) Scots Wha Hae C) Thrown away in community dump- C) Auld Lang Syne D) Ae Fond Kiss sters D) Painted with the Queen’s portrait 2. Many New Year's Eve celebrations in Russia are visited by Ded Moroz and Snegurockka (Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden). Do they bring pre- sents? 8. In Greece, which fruit will you often see hanging A) Yes B) No by or above the front door, which is smashed on New Year's Day during the Kalo Podariko? 3. Some of the new year celebrations A) Pomegranate in Brazil honor the Afro-Brazilian god- B) Apple dess Iemanjá. Though many things C) Banana are offered, which of these is given D) Orange by throwing them into the sea? A) Fires B) Flowers 9. Since the Christmas season ends in the Feast of C) Clothes D) Rocks the Three Kings, in Spain and Latin American coun- tries there is a tradition that you need to eat 12 4. It is a New Year's tradition in Panama to construct pieces of this food at midnight on New Year’s Eve by one or more muñecos de año viejo (old year dolls) to the end of the 12th bell toll. What is this round symbolize what should be left behind with the old food? year. What happens to these on New Year's Eve? A) Chocolates C) Cookies A) They are stomped on B) Grapes D) Cheese cakes B) They are thrown in the water C) They are burned or exploded 10. In Mexico and some other Latin American coun- D) They are torn apart tires, there is a superstition that if you want to trav- el in the new year, you must do what at midnight? 5. The Chinese New Year celebration is sixteen days A) Pack your bags long. It starts on New Year's Eve with a reunion din- B) Make reservations to a hotel ner for the extended family. The start date is always C) Dress in traditional clothes of the country you a few weeks later than the western date. Why? want to visit A) They celebrate the date set by the Ming Dynasty D) Carry suitcases around the block of your house B) They celebrate the lunar new year C) Their solar calendar is different from ours D) To give people a chance to travel back home 6. One of Germany's traditions for Silvester (New Year's Eve) is to eat Pfannkuchen or Krapfen. Anoth- er tradition started in 1963 with the New Year's Eve showing of which British comedy sketch? A) The Two Ronnies B) Mr Bean Goes to the Restaurant C) The Four Yorkshiremen D) Dinner for One Answers on page 9 7 LET’S WORK THAT BRAIN Answers on page 10 Answers on page 10 Three friends live in houses next to each other in Frosty Lane and they have built one snowman. Can you work out where each friend lives, and what item each of them brought to dress the snowman? Clues: A) Mark lives in house 1 but wasn’t the one who brought a carrot for the snowman’s nose. B) Katie brought a scarf to put on the snowman. C) Sarah doesn’t live in the house next door to Mark. D) One of the friends brought a hat. House 1 House 2 House 3 Name Item 8 Winter Holidays Trivia Answers 1. C Summer South Africa, as well as other countries like Australia and New Zealand are located in the southern hemisphere, which means their seasons are the complete opposite as ours. 2. B Guinness beer and mince pie. Christmas pudding might be substituted for the mince pie. Santa can also be left beer in Australia or England. The fact that it's specifically Guinness in Ireland must be influenced by the fact that Guinness is made in Ireland. Santa is likely to get a bowl of porridge in Sweden or Norway. 3. So people can roller skate to church. Between December 16th and 24th, Venezuelans go to a daily service called Early Morn- ing Mass (Misa de Aguinaldo). In keeping with tradition, many people roller skate to this mass and many streets are closed to traffic before 8:00, particularly in the capital city of Caracas. 4. C Queen Victoria Decorating trees with nuts and fruit has been around for centuries.