Día de Los Muertos/Day of The Dead

The LatinX Student Union

Día de Los Muertos

Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead is celebrated yearly on November 1st and 2nd. The purpose of the holiday is to remember loved ones who have passed away. On Día de Los Muertos, families visit graves, make food that their departed loved ones once enjoyed, and create altars called ofrendas. Traditional components of the ofrenda are photographs, food offerings, mementos, candles, and orange flowers called cempasuchil (marigold) to decorate the altar and the gravesite.

To celebrate this holiday, the LatinX Student Union put up a traditional ofrenda in the main hallway on the 3rd floor. The ofrenda featured important Hispanic figures, such as Frida Kahlo, Selena Quintanilla, Evangelina Villegas, and Antonio Aguilar. Frida Kahlo was a surrealist Mexican painter who is known for her self-portraits. Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican-American musical artist and is known as the “Queen of Tejano Music.” Evangelina Villegas was a biochemist and was critical to the development of high-quality protein maize. Lastly, Antonio Aguilar is a widely recognized Mexican singer. 

The LatinX Student Union also held a fundraiser by selling traditional Mexican candy and pastries. Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

It can be quite distressing to view the impact humans have had on Earth. There is no need to spell it out: we all know the negative effects of human industrialization on our home planet, ranging from global warming to pollution to wildlife extinction. However, our Mother Earth is caring. She has taken care of us for thousands upon thousands of generations. Now it is our turn to restore and reverse the negative effects that we have caused, one step at a time. 

The first observance of Earth Day was during April 1970, when a junior senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson took advantage of the growing awareness of human effects on the environment. Although it is hard to believe now, laws that prevent certain harmful effects on the environment such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act were not yet in place during that time, which meant that pollution was much greater. General awareness grew when environmental leaders such as Rachel Carson began to delve into the harmful effects of human industrialization on the environment, in addition to major environmental disasters due to human error such as the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill, which was estimated to kill a staggering 3,500 sea birds, as well as many groups of sea animals. Sen. Nelson, with help from Congressmen Pete McCloskey and young activist Denis Hayes launched the first Earth Day in American history. Over 20 million Americans, 10% of the entire population of the United States at that time, joined together in protests and rallies to fight for a cleaner, healthier environment. 

Today, more than a billion people worldwide celebrate Earth Day as a way to grow and spread awareness about our environment and the effects we have on it. Earth Day is also about appreciating the beauty of nature and the world around us, and figuring how we may be able to reverse the negative effects of our own actions on the environment. Please enjoy and cherish the great wonders the natural world has to offer. Happy Earth Day!

You can learn more about the history of Earth Day at this link: The History of Earth Day

In Honor of the Holy Month of Ramadan

Holiday Traditions

by Ava-Ray Pributsky, Mariia Grigoreva and Desmond Devine

As we prepare to celebrate the holidays, it’s wonderful to recognize the diversity of winter celebrations: Hanukkah, Advent, Las Posadas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, the New Year, Epiphany/Three Kings Day. So many ways to celebrate and honor traditions and cultures from around the world and through a large expanse of history. Here are a few of the ways some of these holidays are celebrated by our Journalism Club students.

Mariia’s Holiday Traditions:

Very soon, more than 2 billion people will be celebrating Christmas. Some honor it as a religious holiday, while many more will celebrate it even if they are not Christian. Here are my family’s holiday traditions:

Date:

In most families in Russia, Christmas is actually celebrated on January 7th, because this is the date considered to be Christmas by Orthodox Christians, who use the Julian calendar, which predates the modern Gregorian calendar. However many families, including mine, combine it with the New Year holiday and celebrate them both on one day, December 31st.

Decorations:

Around 3 weeks before Christmas, we decorate the Christmas tree. We put many candies on the tree as decorations and every day before Christmas, we can eat one. If not all of them are gone, we eat what’s left on New Year’s Eve night. 

Food:

In my family, we like to change the menu, but there are two common salads that we always eat on New Year and Christmas: “Olivie Salad” and “Herring under a Fur Coat”

Olivie Salad Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 potato

4 eggs

2 medium carrot

1 chicken breast

1 can of peas

5 salted cucumbers

1 onion

Mayo

Cooking:

Bake the chicken (30min on 350 degrees), Cook and cut eggs, carrots and potatoes into large dice. After the chicken has cooled somewhat, cut into large chunks. Chop up the rest of the ingredients and mix all together. Add mayo and your perfect salad is ready to eat.

Note: usually served cold, so put in the fridge before you eat it.

Movie Night:

While my sister, my mother, and I prepare food, we usually have 2 very old movies playing, which we watch  every single year: The Irony of Fate and Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future.

Adult Tradition:

On the 31st of December, while the clock is striking 12 am, the adults make a wish. They write it on paper, burn it into a glass with champagne, and drink. Some just make a wish and drink, but everything has to be done while the clock is striking midnight. That is an important part of the tradition.

Presents:

After everyone eats, we call all our relatives and give our best wishes for the New Year.  Afterwards, we open the presents and listen to Christmas/New Year songs. In my family, we don’t wait until morning and open our presents around 1am.

Ava-Ray’s Holiday Traditions:

Decorate the House:

In my family, we celebrate Hanukkah, but we also put up a winter tree with lights and ornaments. Many of the ornaments are handmade. Each year we make a new ornament to represent the year. What should it be for this year? Maybe a mask or a vaccine syringe? 

Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows:

A mashed sweet potato with butter and maple syrup topped with melted marshmallows. This is what my Grandmother and her mother made during Thanksgiving and the winter holidays every year. It reminds me of sitting with my family at the table, being together and eating wonderful food. This dish is very sweet and is often served as dessert in my household. A sweet dish to remind me of sweet memories.

Lighting the Menorah:

Every year in my family, we light the Menorah and say the prayers of Hanukkah. My dad tells the story of how the Jewish people did not have enough oil to light their temple lights because the temple had been raided and ransacked. They found only a small amount of oil in the rubble. They thought it would only last for a day or two, but it lasted 8 full nights. That is the Hanukkah miracle, that there was light during the darkness, during the pain. We have latkes and corned beef sandwiches and then we get our Hanukkah gifts. The holiday is about comfort, good food, and games. We each try and think of our reasons to be thankful and how we have made it to this Hanukkah.

Latkes and Applesauce:

Savory potato pancakes (almost like hash browns) with sweet apple sauce on top. When I was really little, my favorite part of Hanukkah was the latkes. Savory, buttery, potato goodness with sweet applesauce for dinner? Yum! My family would gobble down 3 latkes each at the very least. I would stuff my face with yummy food until I could not eat any more and then sit down on the couch and fall asleep.

Baba’s Latke Recipe:

Ingredients: 

6 large potatoes, grated

1 large onion, grated

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

A pinch of pepper

4 tablespoons of oil

Directions:

Peel the potatoes and onions. Grate potatoes and onions or use a Cuisinart and drain the extra juice. Add eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet and drop the batter in by spoonful. Fry to a deep brown on both sides. Serve with applesauce, sour cream, or vanilla yogurt. Geschmack! (Yiddish for licking the plate goodness!)

Prayer on the first night of Hanukkah: Praised are you, our God, ruler of the universe, who has given us life and sustained us and enabled us to reach this season.  I am so thankful to be with my family on this Hanukkah. I know there are many people across the country and around the world, including in my own family, who have not made it to this Hanukkah. I think about them and say a prayer for them.

Desmond’s Proposal:

Have you ever wondered why our calendar is the way it is? Why certain holidays are recognized on specific days? Sure, Christmas was the day Jesus was said to have been born and the 4th of July is the day America declared its independence, but what about the other ones? Is there any deeper reason why holidays are celebrated at a certain time in the year other than “tradition”? Let’s consider the celebration of the New Year and my proposal for a more scientific and seasonally accurate date for the holiday.

Our calendar, along with many other aspects of our culture, stems from Roman civilization. On December 31st, Romans would have a feast and celebrate Janus, the god of new beginnings. He was said to have two faces, one looking to the past and the other towards the future. This evolved into our New Year celebration today, but to be honest it doesn’t make much rational sense and feels a bit arbitrary as a date to start the year. A more practical celebration would be on Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, since this is when our days start to become longer again and the seasonal cycle of Earth resets. Recognizing Winter Solstice as New Year’s Day would give the holiday an astronomical purpose and might make us more mindful towards the cyclical nature of our solar system.

[Roman God Janus]

Whichever holidays you and your family celebrate and however you celebrate them, we are all so happy for our health, our family’s health, making it through the 2020 Fall semester of The Science Academy, and the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines.  We wish good health and happiness to all, and look forward to a very happy, hopeful, and healthy New Year!

The Eight Days of Hanukkah Dec. 10-18th

Universal Human Rights Day

        by Hayley Yoon

         Every year, on the 10th of December, we celebrate the rights of all humans, no matter their race, religion, color, gender, language, or political opinion. On this day, back in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), after the end of World War II. This document proclaimed the permanent rights that every human on the Earth was entitled to. The UDHR is the most translated document in the world, and it is available in over 500 languages. It is composed of a preamble and 30 articles, which cover the 30 universal rights and freedoms of all humans. An illustrated version of the UDHR is available here.

          Unfortunately, many people in different countries of the world are suffering from their rights being neglected. Article 04 of the UDHR states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” However, it is estimated that about 40 million people are imprisoned in modern slavery, a quarter of which are children. The most common forms of modern slavery include human trafficking, debt bondage labor, forced labor, and child labor. Several organizations are currently working together to free people suffering from their stolen rights.

Human Rights Day is a perfect day to celebrate and take part in protecting our rights. There are several ways to celebrate this day, even at school or at home! 

• One way is simply to spread awareness. Many people don’t know about some of their rights, or that their rights are being neglected. By writing an article in the school newspaper, posting a short message on social media, or educating your friends about their rights, you can spread awareness about this basic, yet essential topic.
• Pass a resolution, whether it be for school, a club, or just your household. You can also use this opportunity to educate your fellow students on Human Rights Day.
• Donate to a Human Rights charity! These organizations work together to protect and fight for the rights of humans. Some well known ones are Human Rights First (HRF), Human Rights Watch (HRW), or Amnesty International.

Sources Used

https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day#:~:text=2020%20Theme%3A%20Recover%20Better%20%2D%20Stand,are%20central%20to%20recovery%20efforts.

https://nationaltoday.com/human-rights-day/ 

https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/human-rights-charities/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/

https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/modern-slavery/

Thanksgiving Holiday 11/23-27

Halloween Costume Gallery

Last Thursday, our campus was overrun with angels, devils, aliens, pirates, dinosaurs, cheerleaders, witches, and goblins!

Hope everyone had a frighteningly good time! The winners of our Costume Contest will be featured in the Yearbook – be sure to order yours soon. Thank you for everyone who participated!

Click on the photos below to view the full-sized gallery:

The History of All Hallows Eve

        By Allen Choi, Jayden Nguyen and Alma Streett

    Halloween is a holiday that is celebrated on October 31. The earliest recorded Halloween-like holiday was when the Celtics were celebrating an ancient festival they called Samhain in about A.D. 20. It was believed that on Samhain, the dead returned to the Earth as spirits. The Celts believed that these spirits caused trouble to them. To prevent misfortune, the Celts would dress up in costumes to ward off ghosts. They would burn crops as offerings. This holiday was soon followed by All Saints Day.

    In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III wanted to honor the saints. The event was called All Saints Day and took place on November 1st. All Saints Day incorporated some of Samhain’s traditions. The day before this holiday was called All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over the many years, Halloween became a holiday of activities like trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, festive gatherings, and eating sweet treats. All Saints’ Day was soon renamed Allhallowmas (hallowed means holy) and the night before it All Hallow’s Eve and, eventually, Halloween.

    When the Romans claimed Celtic territory in 49 A.D, they also incorporated All Saints Day into their year as Feralia, a holiday to honor Pomona, goddess of the harvest. It was celebrated in late October, around the time Halloween is today. In 1000 A.D, November 2 was declared All Souls’ Day. All Souls’ Day was celebrated in similar ways to Samhain. All Souls’ Day was a day were poor citizens asked for food, and they were given soul cakes to pray for the families’ dead relatives. Churches approved of this practice and knew it as “going a-souling.”

    This tradition was taken up by children who would be given food and money.  This was the first trick-or-treat tradition. When Halloween came to America, it was the most popular in Maryland and the other southern colonies. The first American Halloween celebrations were public events to celebrate the harvest. Neighborhoods shared stories, told fortunes, danced, and sang. In the 19th century, new Irish immigrants came to America. These immigrants helped popularize the holiday. Americans began to dress up in costumes and go from house to house asking for food or money. This eventually became trick-or-treating. This tradition was known as trick-or-treating because it was believed that if you didn’t give children their treats, they would play a trick on you. This sparked the Halloween tradition of pranks. 

    So whether you’re having a Halloween party at home or trick-or-treating, each Halloween tradition was based off the spirits whose presence the Celts felt so keenly.