Ponder High School Roar Region Band by Elizabeth Richardson On December 13th, seven members of the Ponder High School band travelled to Bowie to audition for a spot in the region 2 band. For region band auditions, each instrument is asked to prepare the pre- scribed scales and etudes. The high school musicians give a blind audition and are given a score by an unknown panel of judges. These scores are taken and the students are ranked from highest lowest with a set number of the highest scores earning a chair in the symphonic or concert bands. Of the seven whom auditioned four made the band and all four of these players advanced to the area auditions which the final step in making it in the state band. Senior Eric Dearmin earned first chair in the symphonic band and was the first 3A clarinet to qualify for area. Senior Austin Jones and freshman Chaise Glenn made the concert band in trumpet and advanced as the first and second 3A trumpets. Senior Elizabeth Richardson placed in the concert band and was the second 3A flute to qualify for Area. Whitney Glenn, Zack Holt, and Tiffany Dearmin made a strong showing and missed making the band by just a few chairs. This group marks the most people the Ponder has in the region band. At the Area auditions, the four Ponder qualifiers each went into a holding room with their respec- tive instruments waiting to go through the two audition rounds. The first round consists of scales and the lyrical music etude prescribed by the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) and the second round is the technical etude. Eric Dearmin for the second year in a row breezed through the auditions, landing him a spot in the ATSSB All-State band. Elizabeth Richardson narrowly missed qualifying for state by two positions and Austin Jones and Chaise Glenn represented Ponder well in the trumpet auditions. Eric will perform with the ATSSB All-State band on February 14th at the Texas Music Educators Association conference in San Antonio. More information about the concert can be found on the TMEA website. Christmas Past By Ally Gordon The Christmas Tree Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness. But Germany is actually credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles, if wood was scarce. The first record of a Christmas tree being on display, in America, was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, -al though Christmas trees had already been a tradition in Germany for a little bit. By the 1890s, Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas trees were becoming popular around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling. The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German Ameri- cans continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts, kind of like Christmas lights. With the invention of Christmas lights, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition. Santa Claus Who is Santa Claus? Well, he’s not really that creepy man climbing down your chimneys and sneaking into your house on the night of Christmas Eve. Actually this jolly man in red was a real person named Kris Kringle. His story starts out he was abandoned as a child who was a poor orphan. When he got older he would deliver toys to other poor children. Kris Kringle is the mispronunciation of the German word Christkind, which means” Christ-child,” thought to be the “gift-bringer”. Everyone has their own version of Santa Claus, whether it be St. Nicholas, Grandfather Frost, Father Christmas, Joulupukki, or Thomas Nast. The CHRIST in CHRISTmas A long time ago, a young girl, named Mary, was chosen to have the son of God, the messiah, Jesus. Well about 9 months after being chosen, Mary and her husband traveled to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. When they reached Bethlehem they had a hard time finding a place to stay. The only place they could find was a stable with animals, and this is where Mary gave birth to Jesus. They wrapped him in “swaddling clothes” and laid him in a manger that animals ate their hay from. Just outside Bethlehem in the fields, the shepherds were looking after their sheep all night. As morning approached an angel appeared to them and told them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And then they went. When Jesus was born a star appeared in the sky, which led the three wise men to Jesus. The wise men gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant. It is because of the birth of Jesus people appointed a day of Christmas. No one actually knows the exact day of the birth of Jesus, so Christmas was made the 25th of December. Ringing it In By Teryanna Sledge The celebration of the New Year is one of the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring). The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that in- volved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. In addition to the New Year, Atiku celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat and served an important political purpose: It was during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler’s divine mandate was symbolically renewed. In many countries, New Year’s celebrations begin on the evening of December 31—New Year’s Eve—and continue into the early hours of January 1. Revelers often enjoy meals and snacks thought to bestow good luck for the coming year. In Spain and several other Spanish-speaking coun- tries, people bolt down a dozen grapes-symbolizing their hopes for the months ahead-right before midnight. In many parts of the world, traditional New Year’s dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and herald future financial success; examples include lentils in Italy and black-eyed peas in the southern United States. Because pigs represent progress and prosperity in some cultures, pork appears on the New Year’s Eve table in Cuba, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and other countries. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign that the year has come full circle, round out the feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece and elsewhere. In Sweden and Norway, meanwhile, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve; it is said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune. In the United States, the most iconic New Year’s tradition is the dropping of a giant ball in New York City’s Times Square at the stroke of midnight. Millions of people around the world watch the event, which has taken place almost every year since 1907. Over time, the ball itself has ballooned from a 700-pound iron-and-wood orb to a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing in at nearly 12,000 pounds. Various towns and cities across America have developed their own versions of the Times Square ritual, organizing public drops of items ranging from pickles (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania) to possums (Tallapoosa, Georgia) at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Escaping the Winter Blues By Shannon McGill and Shelby Cormier Sick of the stress that comes with Christmas shopping for everyone on your list? Tired of the short daylight hours that never give you enough time to do anything after school? Does the cold weath- er have you feeling a little blue? Let’s face it, the winter can be a pretty hard season; especially for us down here in the south who are love our flip-flop weather. Stress and gloomy weather tend to bring out the worst in us around this time of year. Studies have even shown that one in every ten people is likely to become a little depressed during the winter season. Dr. Drew Ramsey, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and author of “The Happiness Diet”, even states “We certainly see dips in mood and energy levels in the winter months.” that “There are a lot of demands on you during the holidays [like] social obligations [and] shopping lists…” But this time of year doesn’t have to be a sad or dreary.