RARITAN REVIEW RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL’S OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER LOCAL CHRISTMAS EVENTS ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BY: KAITLYN LALLY BEFORE CHRISTMAS ORIGINS BY: MATT HAGBERG One of the most recognizable Christmas sto- ries is Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicho- las”. Doesn’t sound familiar? You may recognize it by its alternative titles “The Night Before Christmas” or “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular- Every year The poem was first published anonymously in since 1933, Santa and his fabulous Rockettes have 1823 through the Sentinel, a newspaper based in Troy, been putting on a show to amaze people of all ages. New York, which is about 150 miles north of New York DECEMBER 2014, ISSUE 10 With their high kicks and tricks, you’ll never get bored. City. It tells the story of a man who is awakened by Whether you have or haven’t seen the performance the trot of footsteps on his roof, which turns out to be yet, this holiday season would be great to see one of Saint Nicholas. St. Nick is stuffing the stockings by the the shows. They run all through December! fireplace until he sees the man. Astonished, the man says nothing. Santa simply smiles and ascends back •The Grinch’s Holiday Workshop- This workshop is up the chimney. Then he calls out each of the rein- made for children to go and meet the Grinch himself, deer names as he flies away. It is from this poem that help him with his sleigh, or go on a scavenger hunt. we get the common names of the reindeer; Dasher, Kids will be able to experience scenes from the movie Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and live them with Blitzen. It became very popular, and was reprinted the Grinch. This events has been running from Octo- several times in several different states with no name ber 25 and continues till December 31st at the Chil- attached. It wasn’t until 1837 that Moore stepped for- dren’s Museum of Manhattan in New York City, NY. ward as the author. Moore claims he got the idea for the poem while Christmas shopping. However, there •The Holiday Shops At Bryant Park- If you need to is much controversy surrounding the author. Some satisfy your loved ones’ shopping lists, you should go people claim that the poem was written by Henry and take a trip to Bryant Park in New York City, NY. Livingston, Jr., even though he has never personally More than 125 merchants fill the park through early taken credit for the poem. January selling clothing, jewelry, household items, crafts, art and more. The park lights up at night and is Whomever the author, it is clear that the poem a fun place to visit to do your holiday shopping. is a landmark of American culture. The poem, which has been translated into over 25 languages and •Polar Bear Plunge- The Asbury Park Polar Bear been published in several countries, has been up- Plunge is a big event in this area. If you pay 25 dol- dated throughout the years. For example, the archaic lars you can participate in running into the ocean at conjunction ere has been replaced with as in later McLoone’s on King Street with the rest of people who versions of the poem. This has changed to meaning do it. All the money goes to charity! somewhat because ere indicated a previous action, •Red Bank Holiday Horse and Carriage Rides- These while as indicates two actions happening simultane- rides run through November 29th- December 27th. ously. Even though the story has changed over the Take a horse drawn carriage ride through Red Bank years, the real meaning of the story hasn’t changed at with your loved ones this holiday season. all. RARITAN REVIEW RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL’S OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER SANTA PHOTO POLL BY: LAUREN CHRIST Last month’s poll asked what your favorite Thanksgiving tradition was! Out of our options of food, football, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade we found that most people like the food part of Thanksgiving the best. December’s poll incorporates and personal touch from the Rocket Review. Below are baby pictures of the Rocket Review journalists with Santa Claus! Vote for who you think has the cutest picture with Santa. Click the link and tell us what you think! https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/1UAI2zdtqoNx_6hV65mg7SB6Y7VVDC-ZZK2Gb2CodOXQ/viewform?usp=send_form DECEMBER 2014, ISSUE 10 PICTURE ONE PICTURE THREE PICTURE TWO PICTURE FOUR PICTURE SEVEN PICTURE SIX PICTURE FIVE RARITAN REVIEW RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL’S OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS BY: ASHLEY MIR • Knowing Christmas is approaching is enough to put anyone in a great mood! Christmas is a time of celebrating happiness with the people you love and care about. Thankfully, Christmas has remained a major holiday in America and will hopefully carry on forever! Since the start of Christmas on December 25, 336 A.D., a number of traditions have been established to celebrate this religious holiday and keep it going for a num- ber of years. • The perfect way to spread Christmas cheer around your neighborhood is to go caroling. Grab your family and friends and bundle up to take a walk around your area to spread the vibes. The word “carol” means a dance or song of praise and joy! America’s first Christmas carols took place in the 19th century and has stayed strong since then! The most popular songs to sing are Deck The Hall, Joy To The World, O Christmas DECEMBER 2014, ISSUE 10 Tree, and my favorite, The 12 Days of Christmas. • What’s Christmas without a tree? Whether your family purchases an artificial or a real one, make the best of it! If your family does buy a new one, go with them and help cut it down. When it is brought back to your home, blast Christmas music and set up the decorations. Put the skirt at the bottom of the tree and place garland through the branches to brighten it up. Hang all kinds of ornaments up; bulbs, Christmas char- acters, pictures, and candy canes. After the ornaments are all on, don’t forget the finishing touch; the angel or star at the top. The decorating doesn’t end there, though. Head over to your chimney and hang your stock- ings to be filled on Christmas Day. Add scented candles scattered around to fill your home with the smell of sugar cookies, peppermint and apple crisp. Wreaths also add to the Christmas feel. Lastly, having a count- down to Christmas Day is an intriguing way to keep everyone on their toes for the holidays! • After decorating the interior of your home, you must tackle the outside. First put white, green, red or blue lights around the perimeter of your house. At Home Depot or Lowe’s, there is always a variety of blow ups and other outdoor lawn decorations. The most traditional blow ups are snowglobes, snowmen and Ru- dolph. Also, a Santa with his reindeer in lights is a popular lawn decoration. There are also trees you can put outside and giant bulbs you could hang to decorate the outside pine trees you have. Finally, add a wreath to your front door to complete the Christmas decoration. Another addition to the indoor decorations is a gin- gerbread house. The first gingerbread house originated in Germany in the early 1800s. You could make the gingerbread or purchase it already made at many stores. Additional decorations to the gingerbread house are gumdrops, licorice, icing and peppermints. •What better way to let Santa know what you want for Christmas than by telling him yourself? Writing a letter to the North Pole to Santa is traditional and never fails, but meeting him and telling him in person is worth the experience. Santa usually holds a breakfast on the weekends or stations at malls where you could take a seat on his lap and tell him everything you want for Christmas. There, he usually has Mrs. Claus and his elves there to assist him. Despite the long lines, it’s totally worth it. • To help Santa determine who is naughty and who is nice, Santa needs spies. A way for Santa to know is the Elf on the Shelf. This has been a tradition for many years and continues today. Legend has it that the Elf flies over to the North Pole every night after observing the children. After arriving back in the home, the Elf finds a new place to settle for the day and the children always try to find the Elf’s new location! RARITAN REVIEW RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL’S OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS TREES BRIDGET BAKES: AND STOCKINGS GINGERBREAD COOKIES BY: ERIN WOJCIK Origins of the Christmas Tree and Stockings Long before Christianity, evergreen boughs were put on peoples’ doors to block out any unwant- ed spirits, witches, demons, etc. In ancient times, peo- ple believed that the sun was a god and when winter DECEMBER 2014, ISSUE 10 came around the Sun God got weak or sick. To follow after that, they put evergreen boughs on their doors What You’ll Need: to symbolize the return of the sun gods well-being in •6 cups all-purpose flour hopes that spring will be back again. Then, in the start •1 tablespoon baking powder of the 16th century, Americans were influenced by the •1 tablespoon ground ginger Germans when they began decorating trees and put- •1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ting them inside.