The Observer Volume VI, Issu e 4 Where the Worl d Comes to Mind' December 15,1999 HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON! The history of Ramadan, Chanukah and Christmas By Bindu Rai (Reprint) The holiday s are around the the Greek-Syrian dictator Antiochus comer, bringing festivities and a time They were trying to "Hellenize" the for familie s to bond together and region by dictating their language an d share in love an d laughter . Thi s customs. month there are three religious festi- Many Jew s resiste d an d vals back to back. Ramadan is the fighting commenced , lastin g fo r holy month of fasting for the Mus- seven years . Finall y a grou p of lims; this forgives them for all the past young fighters lead by the priestly sins they have committed. Chanukah Hasmonean family came forward. is th e Festival of Lights, which is The Maccabees overcame the Syr- ian arm y and won the battle. The celebrated by the Jews. The Chris- These students are just some of the many who enjoyed Jews finally returned to Jerusalem tians celebrate Christmas in honor the semiformal Decemeber 10 (photo by Jamie Savage). of the birth of Jesus Christ. only to find the Holy Temple in ru - Ramadan starts every year ins. Th e Temple was restored to its ten days earlier than the year before. proper order ; th e Jews the n pro - It commences on the night of the full ceeded to light the Holy light, but moon and end s on the next full moon they could find only one jar of pure Stressed? one month later. Ramadan is one of and sacred olive oil. This could only By Robert Reeve the five pillars of Islam and has to light the lamp for one day. Miracu - Wellness Center Counselor be celebrated by every Muslim. Ear- lously, the one cruse of oil burned for eight days and eigh t nights, hence lier, Ramadan was celebrated fo r Will you b e running around can b e counter-productive during more than thirty days, but accord- the Festival of Lights. on caffeine, sugar and tobacco this "crunch time" at the end of a semes- ing t o the Holy Quran the Prophet Christmas is celebrated in last stretch of the semester? Fret- ter. I know this article is appearing Mohammed ros e t o heave n an d full swing every year with Christmas ting and no t sleeping much? Maybe late for much application this semes- pleaded with Allah to shorten it to trees, candy and mistletoe. But ha s even getting some "stress reduction" ter, but changing (improving) stress one month. The Muslims ar e al- anyone ever thought o f how thes e from substance use on the "off" exa m reduction habits is a gradual process; lowed to eat only after sunset and traditions originated? Legend has it days? It is the accepted formula for it is one you will need to press into must stop their eating after sunrise. that evergreen trees maintain their some of you, an d it isn't that smart service your whole life, so this is a Sunrise brings their time to fast, when green color because when Mary, because it further contributes to the good time to start. even water is not allowed. It is a test Joseph and Jesus were on their wa y existing load of physical and mental of their will power to control their to Egypt, they had to conceal them- The evolutionary stress re- stress; for your body it is punish- hunger. After Ramadan, the Mus- selves from Herod's soldiers in a sponse process has been going on ment. Yo u hav e all heard this be- lims observe Eid , whe n they cel - clump of cedar trees. To hide them, for million s of years, and it is one I fore, but do yo u d o i t anyway? Even ebrate the ending of Ramadan by the trees brought forth green needles think that needs to be well under - if this is not your formula, we are all sacrificing goats and donating food and the cedar's white berries turned stood. I t is called the Fight or Flight vulnerable to the grasp of stress. and money to the poor. blue so that Mary's blue robe would Response and works with our sym- Chanukah i s celebrate d blend in. Since then, evergreen trees So, this article is intended to pathetic nervous system. I t was an from th e 25th day of the month of have maintained their color all year expand your understanding of the adaptive response t o an attacking Kislev on the Jewish/Hebrew cal- round. The Christmas candy is the human response t o stress, provide Woolly Mammoth or Grizzly Bear. endar. The celebrations continue for shape o f "j" for Jesu s an d a strategies to try to help reduce it an d It is not particularly helpful to mod- eight days and nights and end o n th e shepherd's cane. The white is there offer a challenge to actually change ern mental stress like being behind second day of the Hebrew month for purit y and the red stripe sym- some of your unhealthful habits. I t in a course an d cramming for an ofTevet. bolizes the blood Jesus shed. The will require serious effort, the same exam, and having three papers due The Jewish day start s a t mistletoe has long been considered as learning any new skill but also tomorrow. The brain signals alarm sunset and that is the first night o f the soul of the oak and regarded a s because you will be fighting a bio- and the body produces adrenalin e Chanukah. The holiday celebrate s a sexual symbol. In the Middle Ages, logical process in our species that and dopamine. Three chemicals ef- the victory of Judah Maccabee over (continued on page 3) (continued on page 3) The Maintenance Department in conjunction with the Ne w Hampshir e College Observer has a customized recycling program . Just deposit your copy of The Observer in recycling bins located in the Studen t Center. December 15,1999 The Observer The From the Editor's Desk: Observer Welcome to another issue of The Observer. I hope you have aU enjoyed reading the past three issues. I NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE have enjoyed helping to produce them. BOX 108 4 As you read through this newest issue, you will notice even more changes in the paper. We have added MANCHESTER, NH 03106 a Creativity Page, and students are invited to send in their poems, shorts stories and drawings for publication on STAFF this page. Editor in Chief Also, with the addition of our new Advertising Manager, Komika Embree, there are many more ads in this TaraCowdrey issue than ever before. Kimik a is dedicated to her new position and we are happy to have her. For everyone who has been involved with The Observer this semester, I would like to thank you for all Managing Editor your contributions and hope you will continue to be involved in the New Year. BenDeGennaro With the end of the semester, students will be going home for break, and most will be returning. One important member of our staff will not be returning though. Bindu Rai has done an excellent job with her News Advertising Manager Editor position. The rest of the staff and I will miss Bindu and her ideas and insights. Thanks for everything. KimikaEmbree With that in mind, we ar e looking for a News Editor for next semester. If you are interested, please contact The Observe r at X9669, or attend one of our meetings on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Observer News Editor Office o r on Thursdays at 12:45 p.m . in the SGA Conference Room. BinduRai As we approach finals, I hope that everyone studies hard and does well on their exams. Enjoy your semester break with family and friends, for it will go by quickly and we will be back at NHC before you know it. Sports Editor We, th e students of New Hampshire College, will be returning to NHC in the new millenium with new Pat Rogers courses and resolutions as well. J f your resolution for the year 2000 is to get involved, then what better way is there man joining the staff of The Observer. We'd be happy to have you in our club. Co-Copy Editors Happy Holidays to everyone, and see you next year. Ma± Williams Matthew Buzzell Tara L. Cowdrey Editor in Chief Photograpy Editor David Snuffer Photographer Jamie Savage StaffWriters Melissa Cowdrey Amy Eastman Jaye Friday Jaime Libby MattTheroux Honors Correspondent RyanEberman SGA Correspondent Nicole Sirote Advisor AusraKubilius Contributing Writer s Jessica Brennan Amanda King College Press Service Peter Lopez Crystal Maruszak The Observer welcomes correspondence and articles from MattNeily readers. Please include your name, address and daytime telephone Robert Reeve number. Letters and articles are subject to condensation. Articles Chris Thompson and letters should be submitted on disk (will be returned upon re- Peter Tufts quest) with (1) hard copy; and please double-space and use Times Mudar Anthony Zahran New Roma n font, 12 point. Please be sure to use Microsoft Word Quote of the issue: to ensur e compatibility and faster processing. Letters must be signed and accompanied by a phone number. 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