The Bearprint

Upper Moreland High School 12/1/2015 Vol. 15, issue 3

Cultural Around the World Top Ten Holiday Songs By Katie Harkins for the Season By Katie Harkins and It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the season that gets Dakota Hornak shoppers into a frenzy and families celebrating together. No matter what religion they observe, many people all over the world rejoice No matter who you are or what you celebrate, there is during the month of December. In our country, Christmas is the always a song to get you in most widely celebrated holiday. We commemorate the holiday by a merry spirit! Put on some decorating trees, hanging lights, gathering with friends and family fuzzy socks and get cozy and exchanging gifts. Children go to bed with visions of Santa and under a blanket when you his elves leaving presents under the tree. However, in other parts listen to our Top Ten of the world, some very different holidays and traditions exist. Let’s Holiday Songs! take a look at how the rest of the world celebrates the Christmas 1. Mariah Carey - All I holiday! Want for Christmas is (continued on page 3) You 2. Band of Merrymakers - Snow Snow Snow 3. Michaels Buble - It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas 4. Andy Williams - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 5. Adam Sandler - The “How Smart Are You?” No. Try “How Chanukah Song 6. Band-Aid - Do They Are You Smart?” Know It’s Christmas? 7. Jimmy Eat World - Last By A.G. Godshall Christmas 8. Daryl Hall & John Oates With midterms coming up after the break, everyone is stressed - Jingle Bell Rock out! Whether your goal is to get a solid B, simply avoid failing the 9. The Decemberists - darned tests, or get little less than a perfect score, stress is Please Daddy (Don’t unavoidable. Schools throughout the country and throughout the Get Drunk this world have used standardized tests as an a measure of intelligence Christmas) 10. The Mighty Mighty for years. School aged children are brainwashed to believe that Bosstones - The Time one’s ability to read words off a page or solve a math problem of Year shows how much “brains” one has. We are divided into remedial, CP, Honors, or AP courses based on this assumption. Listen to them here! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Today, I consider it my duty to inform my loyal having exceptional motor skills, used by athletes, readers that no matter how bad your score on dancers, and surgeons. the midterms may possibly be, it’s no reason to doubt your intelligence. And this is not some -Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart): Finding the corny article preaching “everyone is special.” right words to express what one means, used by Okay, it sorta is…. just keep reading. public speakers, novelists, journalists, and poets. During the 1980’s, Dr. Howard Gardner published a book called Frames of Mind: The -Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self Smart): Theory of Multiple Intelligences. He was the Understanding oneself, what one feels and pioneer of an idea that was very at the wants, used by researchers, theorists, and time—that I.Q. tests cannot handle the intricacy philosophers. of the human mind. His book speaks of how there are nine components to intelligence. The bulk of our learning in school, such things that would be found on the average I.Q. test, is only one type of smart. Listed below is the official name for each branch of intelligence, and the skills associated with it.

Naturalist Intelligence (Nature Smart): Understanding living things and reading nature, used by scientists, environmentalists, and landscape artists

Rhythmic Intelligence (Music Smart): Discerning sounds, their pitch, tone, rhythm, and timber, used by singers, musicians, composers, and -Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart): Capacity to conductors think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly, used by sculptors, -Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number or painters, inventors, architects, mechanics, and Reasoning Smart): Quantifying things, making engineers hypotheses and providing them, used by How can I find my intelligence in each of scientists, engineers, accountants, and the nine categories, you ask? Well, while mathematicians. scavenging the Internet for more information about Dr. Gardner, I stumbled upon a free online -Existential Intelligence (Philosophy/Religion questionnaire that’ll do the calculations for you. Smart): Tackling the questions of why we live, It’s a quiz that gives the users thirty-six and why we die, used by philosophers and statements to which they must respond whether theologians they agree, disagree, or are neutral. When I took the test myself, I discovered some new insight -Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart): about what’s lurking behind the curtain of my Sensing people’s feelings and motives, the ability mindset. I scored highest in Linguistics, with a to empathize, used by counsellors, salespeople, whopping ninety percent (yes, that is considered politicians, businessmen, and ministers. a generous score on these tests, where the average is about a fifty). No surprise there. -Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart): However, close behind my Linguistics score was Coordinating one’s mind with one’s body and Interpersonal Intelligence, or People Smart, shockingly, and the outlier at the very bottom of theory of the multiple intelligences proves that my scores was Self Smart. To say that I’m not there is a niche somewhere in society for much of a social butterfly is an understatement. everyone. So if you pull a mere seventy on your Personally, I never expected I’d be so adept at next math test, don’t beat yourself up over it too reading others, yet my results show that I much. The next time someone tells you that Art struggle to read myself. If you wish to take the and Band and Gym don’t count as real school test for yourself and see where your strengths subjects, be sure to correct him or her. The strict lie, here’s the link: conformity schools impose on us with http://lonerwolf.com/multiple-intelligence-test/ standardized testing is chipping away at what makes each person an individual. In conclusion, being “School Smart” is not the only kind of intelligence that matters. This

also to WinterFest which is a 3D light show Cultural Christmas Around that displays light decorations on the sides of the the World cities’ buildings. Christmas themed attractions proliferate throughout the city at this time, (continued from front page) giving restaurants and other eateries booming China business. 圣诞快乐!

Christmas in China is not similar to what we have in Denmark the United States. Since Glædelig Jul! China is predominantly a non-Christian country, There’s something Christmas is focused on jolly in the country of the commercialization Denmark! Jul is the from the West rather than Christmas holiday as a day to recognize the celebrated in Denmark. birth of Christ. Younger generations are Traditionally, the people of Denmark observe beginning to celebrate the holiday due to the this by using calendars and having increased availability of communication with the elaborate Christmas lunches. Advent Calendars Western countries. Christmas is only celebrated start at the beginning of December and go until on the Mainland of China in big cities. In Hong December 24th. These calendars vary in shape, Kong, Christmas is very popular as a commercial size, and material. Some homemade calendars holiday. The decorations we see everyday also are small and constructed of cardboard made to decorate the streets and homes of the Chinese. hold small chocolates and candy. Other Christmas trees are known as “Trees of Light” elaborate and manufactured calendars can be and are strung with paper chains and flowers. big enough to hold small gifts to open each day. The skyscrapers in the city have decorative lights Each person has their own calendar and every and can be seen from miles afar. Hong Kong is day they open a box to reveal a surprise. Other Danish traditions include having is supposed to be Santa’s assistant, who takes Julefrokost and Familiejulefrokost. Julefrokost is care of the bad child while Santa focuses on the when friends or groups of people join to have a good children by rewarding them with presents. scrumptious meal before December 24th. It is St. Nicholas’ Day takes place December 6, while celebrated on a Friday or Saturday at lunch time. Krampusnacht is the night before. During this Familiejulefrokost is another culinary feast, time walks among the streets and visits similar to Julefrokost. This meal takes place on houses to check in on the children. If they have December 25th. It is a longer gathering, usually been naughty, the creature will take away all the from noon until dusk, where parties are held child’s presents and occasionally snatch up the between groups of friends, families, and clubs. A child in its bag. Krampus also bears a stick that he typical Dane will attend multiple parties on this drags to alert the children of his arrival. Sounds a day, thus its long lasting time. Danish Julekage is bit extreme for a child’s tale? There have been a type of cake that is eaten at Christmas time in debates within the countries that recognize this Denmark at both Julefrokost and figure, such as Austria, if this tale should be put Familiejulefrokost. to rest or not.

Germany The Log Frohe ! We’ve all heard the Nat King Cole rendition of The Christmas Song, where the Christmas is a traditional holiday in opening lines mention the “yuletide carols” that Germany, yet celebrated many different ways. are sung by a choir. Did you ever wonder from St. Nicholas’ Day, December 6th, is the most where the word “yuletide” originated, or what it recognized symbol of Christmas. Children would means? Yuletide is just an older, archaic way to put their shoes out on December 5th, and say ‘Christmas’. It is also commonly associated throughout the night hope that St. Nicholas with the Yule holiday. The is traditional would come around and visit their houses. He to the Nordic holiday celebrations. In Northern checks up on the children and see if they have European countries, the Yule Log would be been good or not. If they have been polite and burned in the fireplace of a home during the well-behaved, he leaves goodies in their shoes; if . Surprisingly, the not, the children will wake up to find a stick in tradition used to be to burn whole tree their shoe signaling they were misbehaving. throughout the twelve days! Of course now, in Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of modern times, only a log is used. There are December, and on , Germans set different chemicals that can be put on the log to up their tree and give gifts. The Christmas feast change the color of the flame when the log often takes place on Christmas Eve or Christmas burns. The Yule Log is considered a symbol of Day. Traditional German foods usually served are Yule and remains a tradition when celebrating goose, duck or roasts, as well as sausage the Yule holiday. So keep in mind next time you and dumplings. A favorite dessert is hear The Christmas Song, that the Yule Log is a , or as we know it, . timeless symbol of Yule and Christmas.

Krampus It is a little known fact that in Austria, Bosnia, Croatia and other Southern Europe countries, exists a folklore creature known as “Krampus”. This character is an evilly depicted creature that is intended to scare children into behaving well for the year. Krampus traditionally The Bullet Journal: “The DIY Holiday Treats Analog For the Digital Age” By Andi La By Taryn Painter Hot chocolate stirrer - Hot chocolate is the Sometimes life gets a little hectic, especially for ultimate beverage for the wintertime. To spice it the average high school student. With life up, you could add in a hot chocolate stirrer, throwing obstacles at us left and right, it’s hard which is a straw with decorated marshmallows to not feel overwhelmed and frustrated at times. A man named Ryder Carroll understood this on the end. To make this, you will need ordeal, and needed a system that could keep chocolate, marshmallows, straws, and sprinkles. track of events in the past, the present, and First, you’re going to melt the chocolate. The future; a system that could tackle anything that best way to do this is to place them in the life launched at him. And so, after spending week microwave for 20 seconds and stir. Repeat this upon week struggling to devise a method that process until the chocolate melts. While that’s in worked for him, he developed the bullet journal. the microwave, you can get started on the next A bullet journal, in its simplest definition, is a customizable organization system. What sets step. You’re going to it apart from conventional agendas and planners stack the marshmallows is that it can also serve as a journal, diary, to-do on top of each other. list, or, as it usually is, all of the above. Bullet The amount depends on journals use a system known as ‘rapid logging,’ how big your mug is. which, as explained by creator Carroll, “is the You’re going to want to solution to making tasks seem less of a chore”. It consists of several different components, have the height of the marshmallow tower be including topics, page numbers, short sentences, shorter than your cup. After that, you skewer bullets, and signifiers. These journals also your straw through the marshmallow tower, incorporate four module methods (the index, making sure it goes through all the way so they future log, monthly log, and daily log) to collect won’t fall off. Next, you get your bowl of and sort rapid logging entries. At the end of each chocolate and dip the bottom marshmallow on day, the user glances back at previous entries the straw into it. Immediately after, you’re going and makes note of any unresolved duties that may still be relevant. Tasks are then ‘migrated’, to dip the chocolate covered marshmallows into and added to their newest daily log to (hopefully) sprinkles. Get out your hot chocolate, place the complete in the upcoming day. marshmallow straw in, and drink up! The Interested in creating your own bullet journal? marshmallows will still melt into your drink but Just grab a durable and high-quality notebook makes it a bit more special. To jazz it up even and a pen, and start following the tips and more, you could add frosting to transform the instructions listed on the official bullet journal tower to a snowman, substitute the straw for a site. For inspiration on different pages, lists, , or have different colored chocolate printables, and decorations to add into your and sprinkles. Drinking hot cocoa can be filled bullet journal, see here and here. Have fun, get with more fun and flavor. creative, and happy bullet journaling! Pretzel Kisses - Pretzel Kisses are a fun twist on chocolate covered pretzels. For this treat, you’ll need snap pretzels, Hershey Kisses, and M&Ms. First, lay out the pretzels on a sheet sheet pan. Next, place the tray into the fridge for pan with parchment paper. Then, place the about 5-10 minutes for the chocolate to harden. Kisses individually onto the pretzels. Next, throw While you’re waiting, you can smash up as many them into the oven for 3 minutes at 200 degrees, candy canes as you want in a Ziploc bag. Once which will make the chocolate slightly melted. the milk chocolate has hardened, you can take it After you take them out, lightly press one M&M out and melt your white chocolate. After it’s in a on top of the Hershey kiss. All you have left to do liquid form, spread the white chocolate over the is to let them cool and you’re finished! harden milk chocolate. Then, just sprinkle the Snowman pancakes - Bright and early in crushed candy canes all over. After you’re the morning, you could make snowman finished with your masterpiece, put it back into pancakes! For the batter, you’ll need an egg, ¾ the fridge to let it all harden. When it hardens, cup of milk, a cup of flour, two teaspoons of you can cut or simply break the peppermint bark baking powder, a tablespoon of sugar, ½ with your hands into different shapes and it’s teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of ready to serve! butter or margarine. First, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Next, add the wet ingredients. The butter, however, should be melted in the microwave first. Whisk until the batter is all Monthly Horoscope combined. Grease a pan and set the stove to By A.G. Godshall medium-low. To make the snowman shape, use a ½ tablespoon. Do one scoop for the head and 3 If your birthday is between scoops for the body. This should result in a little December 22—January 19 you circle on top and a bigger one on the bottom. When you start seeing little bubbles, you can add are a… Capricorn! in mini chocolate chips for the eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons. Then flip the pancake over. Capricorns are famous for being stable, calm, In another pan, you could also get started on reliable, and utterly dependable. You have the cooking bacon. Cook the bacon on medium-high sure-footedness of your symbol, the sea-goat, heat and place them on a plate with paper and the tenacity to get to the top of a mountain, towels to catch any oil that drips off. After or the bottom of a problem, that would defeat everything is finished cooking, you can then almost anyone else. Capricorns tend to move in assemble your snowman. The bacon is used as a and make a success of things that other, more scarf while marshmallows, whipped cream, or flighty, signs have pioneered—it’s true that they powdered sugar represent snow. Enjoy! like to run the beaten track. Nonetheless, if it Peppermint bark - For a delicious snack, I weren’t for the Capricornean spirit, nothing recommend homemade peppermint bark. You’ll would ever be 100% done. They act in such a need 10 oz of milk chocolate, 10 oz of white dignified manner that you’d think they were fit chocolate, and candy canes. First, melt the milk for a throne and they are very capable of chocolate in the microwave. The best way to do expressing their strong opinions in a logical way. this is to place them in the microwave for 20 Manners are very important to Capricorns. They seconds and stir. Repeat this process until the are simply never impolite. Capricorns are also chocolate born with the gift of patience. Even when around melts. You the most ignorant people, they do not lose their will want heads. They make for great teachers with their to spread direct way of thinking and they won’t it onto wax condescend toward other people who don’t paper on a immediately understand their clever ideas. For all their greatness, Capricorns tend to have a melancholic air. They so rarely smile, and they Sadie take realism to extremes. Capricorns strive to Hawkins avoid the limelight whenever possible. Nothing makes them more uncomfortable than having to By Andi La talk about their feelings. As with any sign of the zodiac, Capricorns The 2015 all have mental similarities as well as physical Snowball Dance at ones. Males born beneath this sign tend to be Maggio’s was a shorter than average, have a stocky build, with blast! Beforehand, penetrating eyes, very strong teeth, swift everyone was told purposeful movements, and he looks older than that it was a Sadie Hawkins dance. That means his years. The Capricorn woman has a petite and that it was girls ask guys, and the guy had to say trim figure, a slender neck, full lips with very yes since she got the courage to ask him. white teeth, and shapely legs with small feet. However, why is it called “Sadie Hawkins”? Was Oddly enough, the ladies born beneath this sign this a real person? have the mind-boggling effect of looking older It turns out that Sadie Hawkins’ renown when young, and younger when old. Go figure. didn’t originate from a dance, but rather from a race. Sadie Hawkins is actually a figment of Al Capricorns have the ambition, mental Capp’s imagination. She was a character in his strength, and willingness to work hard that they popular comic strips entitled Lil’ Abner, set in the could secure any career they set their hearts on. town of Dogpatch. Sadie was the daughter of a Seriously. The following are just some mild man named Hekzebiah Hawkins, one of the suggestions (as if you need them!). A profession town’s first settlers, and Sadie, unfortunately, in politics, perhaps even as president, would wasn’t considered to be the prettiest gal out perfectly suit the Capricornean sense of there. After turning 35, she still didn’t have men leadership. They would be successful bankers as asking for her hand in marriage. Her father well. Thanks to their great organizational skills, decided to step in and gather all the unmarried Capricorns are great at managing money, and a men together. job that takes place behind-the-scenes greatly The actual race was simple. All of the appeals to them. Capricorns are more interested bachelors would start at the finish line and when in money and prestige than in blatant power, a gun was fired, the men would start running for something that has both its ups and downs; their life. Shortly after, another gun would be examples include financial stability, an obvious fired, signaling Sadie to start running to try and up, and loss of intrinsic value within items, a catch a man. If she draged the gentleman back clear-cut down. Other potential careers are an across the finish line again by sunset, it was by antique restorer, historian, archaeologist, law that they would marry each other. Many of property developer, architect, or builder. the other single women in the town thought it Some famous Capricorns are: Jeremy was a great idea so it became an annual event. Renner, Meryl Davis, Benjamin Franklin, LeBron Soon, there was a Sadie Hawkins dance the day James, Meghan Trainor, Andy Biersack, Elvis before the races. To cheat, the women wore Presley, Pitbull, Liam Hemsworth, Gabby hob-nailed boots to “unintentionally” stomp on Douglas, Ellie Goulding, Martin Luther King Jr., feet of the single men who attended. This was to Michelle Obama, Logan Lerman, Jim Carrey, Kate affect their ability to run the next day during the Middleton, Betty White, Psy, Bradley Cooper, race. Howard Stern, and Blue Ivy Carter. Sadie Hawkins Day began to spread quickly by 1939. The question is - why? One reason could be that the nation was taking its be involved in the development of cancer. When first steps out of the Great Depression, and this looking at the ovaries of Macaque Monkeys, was a down-home, low-cost activity in which those under significant stress have many more anyone could participate. This was also a way for clogged artieries. This prevents blood from females to state her choice without being quickly getting to the while in stress, and judged. Eventually, Sadie Hawkins Day fell on the can ultimately lead to heart attacks. Stress can Saturday after November 9th. It now has also take a toll on the brain. When looking at influenced real-world Sadie Hawkins dances, mice exposed to stress, we see dramatically such as our Snowball Dance. smaller brain cells with fewer branch extensions than normal mice. This is particularly prevalent in the area associated with memory and learning Can Stress Actually Kill which may stir up memories for you of those You? wonderful all night study sessions; the acute stress and sleep deprivation can make it By Nicole Cortino increasingly difficult to remember the things we want. Perhaps the most telling story is in our In a busy world with unending work and DNA. We contain something called telomeres at responsibilities piling up, stress can get the best the end of our chromosomes which decreases in of us. But how bad is it for you? Can stress size with age. Eventually, the telomeres run out, actually kill you? From a biological perspective, at which point the cell stops duplicating and dies. stress makes perfect sense. If you’re about to get Therefore, telomere is directly related to aging chomped on by a bear, your stress hormones and length of life. It turns out that stress may better kick your butt into gear. However, as it actually accelerate the shortening of these turns out, your mortgage, unemployment, and telomeres. But not all hope is lost for the exams all trigger the same stress response in perpetually stressed. Another hormone, your body. Unlike most animals, which oxytocin, has been shown to reduce this stress eventually experience a major decrease in these response. It helps your blood vessels relax and hormones, humans can’t seem to find the off even regulates the heart from stress-related switch! Even though it’s not a life or death damage. So how do we get more oxytocin? It's matter, our physiological woes consistently something called the “cuddle hormone” because bathe our bodies in these hormones, making our it’s released during the positive social heart pound, stomach churn, and muscles tense. interactions while caring for others. People who In Japan, they have the term “Karoshi” which spend more time with others create a buffer or literally translates “death to overwork”. Now, resilience to stress. So when life gets the best of what is deemed as an overworking epidemic, you, just remember, you don't have to go these individuals who are seemingly healthy and through it alone. Spend some time with those in their prime suddenly die. After being officially you love- it may just save your life! recognized and documented in Japan, these Need some tips on how to cope with sudden heart attacks and strokes were quickly stress? Here are some healthy decisions to help linked to stress. But how does stress cause this? you create new habits that allow you to face Cortisol is one of the main stress hormones uncertainty with confidence and ease, calm which helps divert energy to where you need it down your nervous system so you can and away from nonessential functions of the experience inner peace of mind, improve the body. But with chronic stress, problems arise: the quality of your thoughts and your life, and immune system shuts down, inflammation is understand how to deal with the stress inhibited, white blood cells are reduced, and effectively. The top 5 common mistakes people susceptibility to disease is increased. Some make that shoot stress and anxiety straight evidence also suggests that prolonged stress may through the roof are avoidance, setting high Overwhelmed by the fast paced world expectations, fearful or ruminating thinking and excessive, external demands and patterns, multitasking, and poor time internal pressures? When we are under management skills. stress, our mind begins to process by 1. Start off by being proactive! Avoid trying to solve problems and gain a sense avoiding! If you deny that problems exist, of order, which is control and certainty; or prolong decision-making, you are however, trying to do too many tasks at making matters worse and making your once can lead to not only reduction in our fear of rejection, fear of making mistakes, productivity, but also increases our level and fear of missing out even more in stress. Your productivity goes up by powerful than you. Instead, face your 40% if you stay focused on one thing! fears and take action. You will reduce 5. Slow down and get organized! People your level of stress and you will build up living with high levels of stress and you confidence. anxiety are in survival mode. When our 2. Change habits! What are your bad habits bodies are in survival mode, we are in your way? Instead of having an constantly releasing stress hormones unrealistic expectation, focus on what is such as adrenaline and endorphins. If we important, organize your time wisely, are under large amounts of stress under follow through on your commitments and long periods of time we start to lose our take care of yourself. concentration because it becomes 3. Get out of your head and into your life! difficult. In addition, we grow a rapid Overanalysis leads to paralysis. If you heart rate which affects our mood. We ever catch yourself worrying or filled with also can see a decrease in our immune self-doubt, tell yourself to stop and look systems and stress makes us feel at how you can make the situation better fatigued. You can shift from this negative instead of trying to find all the ways that cycle by learning to simply slow down, it could go wrong. prioritize, and organize. By doing this, not 4. Focus on one task at a time! Has your only are you reducing the level of stress computer crashed because you have too in your life, you are figuring out how to many tabs and windows open all at once? cope with any stress you do feel Do you feel like your computer? naturally.

Bearprint Staff 2015-2016:

Nolan Wenik – Editor We are always willing to welcome new student writers to our team! Listen to the morning Taryn Painter – co-editor announcements for information about our Dakota Hornak – co-editor meetings, which are held on certain Wednesdays in Room 902! Triniti-Lynn Thornhill – Writer Sarah Daring – Writer Katie Harkins – Writer A.G. Godshall – Writer Andi La – Writer Nicole Cortino – Writer