Sand Script January, 2010 John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School Volume LXXIV

Snowflakes, chestnuts, and Mickey

Mouse. There's only one thing that

all of these have in common: Christ-

mas at Hallahan! Hallahan cele-

brated the season early this year with

the ―Jingle Jam‖. The dance was

held on December 4, 2009.

Students and their dates danced to

the music in a gym that was covered

from top to bottom with snowflakes.

Popular songs were heard through-

out the gym such as "The Cupid

Shuffle" by Cupid, "I Gotta Feeling"

by Black Eyed Peas, "Fire Burnin‘'"

by Sean Kingston, and more.

The memorable night ended with

tears during the senior song,

"Remember Me This Way" by

Jordan Hill. When asked what

she thought of the dance, Terri

Larizzo said, "It was a great time

to get into the spirit of the holi-

days". "It was fun getting all

dressed up with my friends", said

Sara Sheedy.

The Jingle Jam was a memorable

dance in which everyone had fun

celebrating the Christmas season

together.

On Thursday,

November 19,

2009 8th grade

students from

around the

Archdio-

cese were ex-

cused from

school for the

day in order to

visit Hallahan.

While here, the

8th graders met

their future

classmates and

toured the

school on a fake

roster. They also walked

around the gym during an

activities fair and later participated in a

pep rally. For many, this was their first

experience at Hallahan, and for most oth-

ers 8th Grade

Day was the

deciding point that they wanted to start

high school in September at Hallahan.

Their day started as they shyly socialized

in the school cafeteria with the other 8th

graders. Then they were lead upstairs into

their homerooms to play games and re-

ceive their roster for the day. Throughout

the day the 8th graders and their Ambas-

sador leaders went around the school,

visiting classrooms and participating in

mock classes and department presenta-

tions. The majority of 8th graders said

their favorite class was the Science

presentation, which involved Hallahan

science teachers and Hallahan student

assistants executing interesting and

elaborate science experiments.

After lunch the 8th grade students

came into the gym for the activities

fair. After a few more classes they

were escorted back to homeroom and

then into the gym for a pep rally

which featured routines by the Halla-

han cheerleaders and dance team.

There was also a Hallahan trivia

game, gift prizes, and a special routine by

Mrs. Gigante.

At dismissal the 8th graders said good-

bye to the new friends they made and ex-

ited the building. Most seemed to be ex-

citedly waiting to come back as a student

in September.

The Hallahan Ambassadors,

led by the Director of the Office of

Institutional Advancement, Mrs.

Dumin-Brosious, have been working

hard all year to help spread the word

about Hallahan. The Ambassadors

have found success in the past couple

of years, nearly doubling enrollment

for the Sophomore and Freshmen

classes by telling visitors about Halla-

han and giving tours around the school.

This year the Ambassadors have been

working harder than ever to help 8th

graders choose Hallahan as their high

school.

So far they have planned and par-

ticipated in activities to promote Halla-

han such as Freshmen Orientation, 8th

Grade Day, Open House for Middle

School students, Open House for stu-

dents from Cardinal Dougherty, Cook-

ies and Carols, and even a scholarship

test. As the school year goes on the

Ambassadors will participate in a 7th

Grade Day as well as many other

events.

Everyone in this select group of

students have given up valuable time

after

school,

on

week-

ends,

and even

on days

off to

help to

keep

Halla-

han

thriving

with

students.

It's not

the volunteer

hours or the amount of time they spend

with friends that keeps the Hallahan

Ambassadors returning to promote

their school; it‘s the feeling that you

are needed and necessary to keep your

school open for future generations of

young girls.

Being an Ambassador is truly some-

thing

special

that you

should

not pass

up. If you

are inter-

ested in

becom-

ing an

Ambas-

sador

stop in

the Of-

fice of

Institu-

tional

Advancement and sign up for an up-

coming event with Mrs. Dumin-

Brosious. You won't regret it!

Students pose for a picture at the Jingle Jam

Universal Visitation Day ■ Students enjoy beloved tradition ———————–——————————— By: Angela Robb ‗10

Student Ambassadors ■ Become one today!

———————–——————————–—————————–————————————— By: Angela Robb ‗10

Jingle Jam ■ Celebrating the season ———————–——————————— By: Tiffany Cautilli ‗12

Inside This issue: Page 2: Cardinal’s Christmas Party, Mummers Parade, and more Page 3: Book and movie reviews

8th graders watch the Science Department presentation

Dominique Brennan and Jonell Bright work the Sandscript table

It was that time of the year

when every Hallahan home-

room competed and decorated

their homeroom doors. This

year‘s theme was ―Christmas

around the world.‖ Every

homeroom did a great job

decorating their door at with

Christmas spirit.

A special congratulation

goes to Mrs. Sheetz‘s home-

room (C-3) for winning first

place. Coming in second place

was Mr. Gambone‘s home-

room followed by Mrs. Lafty‘s

homeroom in third place.

Student Council generously

took the time to provide deli-

cious baked goods for the win-

ners as prizes.

Door-decorating Contest ■ Christmas around the world ———————–———————————–— By: Shelley Leung ‗12

What a joy it was for the

juniors and seniors on No-

vember 20, 2009. Twelve

students from the Class of

2011 and one from the Class

of 2010 were proudly in-

ducted into the prestigious

organization, the National

Honor Society.

The students honored

were Safiatou Dagnoko,

Sara DeSimone, Isabella

Fidanza, Madeline Lueb-

bert, Sarah Meyers, Ashley

Mosser, Katrina Murray,

Jessica Panieczko, Gina

Salvadore, Christine Sellers,

Kristen Thomas, Toni

Wagenhoffer, and Kimberly

Sahms. They have all shown

excellence in academics,

service, leadership, and

character.

The rest of the classes of

2011 and 2010 were given

the opportunity to support

and show their gratitude

towards their fellow class-

mates. Parents were also

invited to attend the prestig-

ious induction. The National

Honor Society encourages

people to improve them-

selves even more by being

studious and reaching out to

change the world.

NHS Induction ■ Honoring our Scholars

———————–——————————— By: Lena Ma ‗10

Student ambassadors assist the 8th grade visitors

The Community

Who says Santa Claus

does not exist? On Decem-

ber 17, 2009, children from

all around came to cele-

brate the joy of Christmas

at the Sheraton Hotel. Stu-

dents from surrounding

high schools were also

invited to participate in this

event by graciously volun-

teering to entertain the

guests or play the role of

Santa‘s elves. Upon arri-

val, the children sat pa-

tiently in the lobby to

await the arrival of the

cardinal before beginning

the celebration. Each group

brought bags of presents

that would soon be deliv-

ered to the children. The

students from

Hallahan and

Roman were

each assigned

a table to

which they

would deliver

presents.. The

faces of the

children were

filled with joy

when they saw

these presents

that they could

not sit still. They

were so happy that this

was a Christmas that

they would never forget.

The Mummers Parade is a tradition that

can only be found in Philadelphia. This

year marked the 110th anniversary of the

parade. People that are not from Philadel-

phia may wonder who the Mummers are.

They are groups, clubs and associations of

men and women who march or ―strut‖ up

Broad St to welcome in the New Year.

There are four divisions of Mummers: the

Comics, Fancy Division, String Bands, and

Fancy Brigades. Each division competes

for first place and the bragging rights that

come with it. From the choreographed

dances to the costumes made with sequins

and feathers each club works very hard and

spends a lot of time getting ready for the

big day.

Many of the men and women in the pa-

rade have been Mummers for most of their

lives. Bob Runowski, first year captain of

Golden Crown Fancy Brigade has been a

Mummer since 1986. His favorite part of

being a mummer is the preparation during

the month of December and the excitement

of being on 2nd street New Year's morning.

Runowski said, ―It‘s more than just a pa-

rade, it‘s about commitment and camarade-

rie.‖ Christi Anderson, Hallahan Class of

1999 is also a member of Golden Crown.

This year was Christi‘s 18th Mummers Pa-

rade. Christy likes everything

about being a Mummer from

the tradition, the creativity, the

friendships and the feeling you

get when you perform in front

of the judges. This year Golden

Crown placed fifth in the fancy

brigades.

The 2010 winning clubs in-

clude first place comics

Murray, fancy division Hog

Island and the popular South

Philadelphia Vikings in the

fancy brigades. Fralinger took

top string band honors for the

eighth straight year with

their hillbilly theme Feudin‘,

Fussin‘ and a Fightin‘. This

year‘s spectacular show of

music, make up and mum-

mery is now over. But 2011

is less than a year away so it

won‘t be long for the clubs

to start preparing for the

next parade

.

The Mummers Parade ■ The beloved Philadelphia tradition continues ———————–————————————————————————————————————————————————————

By: Morgan Calvert ‗11

Courtesy of Morgan Calvert

Texting While Driving ■ ―Ain‘t no room for the reckless‖ ———————–———————–—————— By: Katrina Murray ‗11

Cardinal’s Christmas Party ■ Delivering joy to deserving children ———————–————————–——————————————- By: Lena Ma ‗10

www.teach-ict.com Cardinal Rigali talks to children at the party Source: thebulletin.us

The art of multitask-

ing is once again

denounced by ―the

man‖, but this time

with good cause.

Texting while driv-

ing isn‘t multitask-

ing at all, it‘s just

reckless. If you beg

to differ, you might

find yourself sitting

on the side of the

road with a cell

phone in one hand

and a hefty fine in

the other. The bill to

ban texting while

driving in Pennsylvania won a unanimous

vote in November. Philadelphia

Police are now issuing $75

fines to ―distracted‖ drivers

who put themselves and others

at risk on the road. Talking on

the phone, texting, or any other

dangerous ideas you may de-

cide to try are all forbidden.

"We hope that the citizens

would abide by the law‖, says

Mayor Michael Nutter in re-

sponse to the new law. Rachel

Smith, class of 2011, says, ―It‘s

a good law…but will it be ef-

fective?‖ Good question, Ra-

chel…and we shall see.

One of the most amazing events of the

year took place on November 22, 2009 at

the Sheraton Hotel: the Pro-life Dinner.

This dinner brought together people

throughout the community, not just to feast

on the delectable cheesecake and sautéed

chicken

parme-

san, but

to engage

in mean-

ingful

conversa-

tions

with

other

oppo-

nents of

abortion.

Through-

out the

evening,

many

speakers

shared

their opinions of on abor-

tion. Each one had amazing ideas to share

and people not only listened, but they re-

joiced in them as well.

The guest speaker was Lila Rose, a 21-

year old student from UCLA who organized

a group called Live Action, a student group

that spreads the undignified message of

abortion by showing live action films of

what pregnant mothers do on a daily basis.

Lila Rose‘s message was so strong and

compelling that the audience applauded

with

every

sen-

tence

that

came

out of

her

mouth.

She

also

played

a video

made

by

Live

Action

of how

even

doctors convince women

to have abortions by giving them advice on

places to go and what to do. Every person

present there that night all believe in the

same idea: babies are meant to be treated as

gifts, not useless objects.

Pro-Life Dinner ■ Support the unborn ———————–————————–——————————————- By: Lena Ma ‗10

Source: thebulletin.us

Chess Tournament ■ Checkmate and You‘re Out! ———————–————————–——————————————- By: Lena Ma ‗10

On November 21, 2009, the members of

John W. Hallahan‘s Chess Club strolled

over to the University of the Arts, in the

freezing cold, for their chess competition

against many others schools from the sur-

rounding Philadelphia area. Arriving at

about 8:30am, registrations were just

taking place.

All of the contestants were focused on

their practice games before the bell rang

at 10:00pm to initiate the first round.

Each round was scheduled to last an

hour to allow each pair sufficient amount

of time to strategize their moves. Some

games lasted as short as five minutes

while others lasted as long as one hour

and fifteen minutes.

The members of Hallahan had competi-

tors from all around that had had personal

trainers and master teachers. Although the

Hallahan girls did not win all of the rounds,

they gave it their all and considering that it

was their first actual tournament, they had

the courage to show everyone their skills

and that they were fearless. Congratulations

Chess Club!!

—————————————— Polled by Tiffany Cautilli ‗12

What is your favorite Holiday? Valentine's Day -Laura Fabey, ‘13 Christmas -Karli Kronmiller, ‘12 Easter -Leanna Ashcom, ‘11 Halloween -Kimberly Sahms, ‘10

Arts and Entertainment

If you‘re into the traditional

vampire who sucks blood,

transforms into a bat, sleeps in

a coffin, and doesn‘t sparkle

and fall hopelessly in love, you

might not be all that interested

in the Twilight Saga. Twilight

is not of

the hor-

ror genre

like most

other

vampire

movies,

as there

is little

action

and

mostly

just ro-

mance.

There is the whole

cliché of falling in love with

someone who probably isn't

right for you or is the total op-

posite of you, so you think that

you complete each other. It's

like watching a soap opera with

cheesy lines such as ―What if

I'm not the Superhero? What if

I'm the bad guy?‖ Or ―I was

unconditionally and irrevocably

in love with him‖.

To some it's unrealistic and

cheesy but to others ridicu-

lously romantic. So if you're

into mov-

ies that

have the

same trite

ending as

all the

other

romantic

movies

do then

this is

the

movie for

you. If

you like to feel

surprised at the end and watch

something unpredictable then I

would suggest going to see a

movie other than this.

The Twilight Saga ■ Why it might not be for you ———————————————————–—————

By: Jonell Bright ‗11

TV Book and Movie Reviews Wicked ■An unforgettable theatrical experience

—————————————–——————————————————————--——— By: Angela Robb ‗10

———————————————————————-

Broadwayworld.com

editorsguild.com

The Lovely Bones ■Bestseller arrives to theaters

———————————————————–— By: Jonell Bright ‗11

animenewsnetwork.com

Sherlock Holmes ■Well worth the ticket price

blogs.oracle.com

One of the

most popular

Broadway musi-

cals of the dec-

ade, Wicked,

entertained sold-

out crowds at the

Academy of Mu-

sic from January

6, 2010 - January

24, 2010 on one

of the stops on its

second national

tour.

The show fol-

lows the story of

the Wicked

Witch of the

West, Elphaba,

and her friend-

ship with Glinda

the Good Witch

of the North.

Throughout the

show their

friendship struggles to sur-

vive their different person-

alities, rivalry over the

same love interest, and El-

phaba's reputation in Oz.

The cast of this produc-

tion includes: Marcie Dodd

(Elphaba), Helene York

(Glinda), Marilyn

Caskey (Madame Mor-

rible), Don Amendolia

(The Wizard), David

De Vries (Dr Dilla-

mond), Colin Donnell

(Fiyero), Zach Hanna

(Boq), Kristine Reese

(Nessarose).

As soon as I lis-

tened to the music and

read the plot of this

show I fell in love.

When I finally saw

the musical live it just

made my appreciation

for this show even

stronger. Between the

strong and talented

cast, the touching mu-

sic, the beautiful light-

ing, the elaborate stag-

ing, the gorgeous cos-

tumes, and everything

else about the produc-

tion, this show remains one

of my favorite shows. The

story is something we can

all relate to put into the

setting of a story that we

have loved and grown up

with since childhood.

Wicked is truly an

amazing piece of art. I

know so many people who

have walked into see the

show, hating it, and coming

out a huge fan. Even if you

say you are not a fan of

musicals in the slightest

you will, guaranteed, come

out of the theatre feeling

something that you never

felt before. Of all of the

shows I have seen in my

lifetime Wicked would be at

the top of my list for rec-

ommendations. It is truly

something that should not

be missed.

Starring: Saoirse Ronan,

Mark Wahlberg, Rachel

Weisz, Stanley Tucci,

& Susan Sarandon This movie is based on the

2002 bestseller by Alice Se-

bold. As one of the books

listed for summer reading,

some of you may have read it

already. It is about a 14 year

old girl named Susie Salmon

(Ronan) who is murdered and

watches her family for years

from heaven. The book shows

how Susie's tragedy affects the

whole family, and how her

father Jack (Wahlberg) will

not rest until he knows the

truth about his daughter's dis-

appearance, though at times it

seems to break the family

apart. This book has love,

mystery and tragedy, charac-

teristics that make for a great

movie. Another great factor is

that by the look of the trailer

the visual effects are very eye

catching. Why the Oscar

buzz? Maybe because it's di-

rected by Peter Jackson, direc-

tor on Lord of the Rings, and

known for great visual effects;

it also stars past Academy

Award winners and nomi-

nees. This is a great book and

will hopefully make a great

film.

Director Guy Ritchie brings us an

adventurous and witty new film star-

ring Robert Downy Jr., Jude Law,

and Rachel McAdams,

called Sherlock Holmes. Downey and

Law portray the legendary Detective

Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson

in London, England, 1891. This

movie comes with a supernatural

twist involving a criminal named

Lord Blackwood. Blackwood and his

followers have plans to dominate the

world through dark art rituals and

drinking potions or, as we call it,

magic! However, as Holmes and

Watson send him away to his death,

Blackwood mysteriously rises from

the dead and continuously murders

people. Holmes, bored and amusingly

envious of Watson who is set to

marry the elegant and pretty Mary,

deliberately tries to put their engage-

ment into

ruins.

Mean-

while, Irene

Adler

(Rachel

McAdams)

a beautiful,

yet trouble-

making

woman

comes back

to town for

a favor from

Homes, her

old flame.

Adler drops in from time to time to

lend a hand to Watson and Holmes in

their investigations, while the two

keep getting themselves into

sticky situations. She is there to

make sure Holmes doesn‘t do

anything reckless, or is she?

Nonetheless, Holmes, Watson

and Adler will, undoubtedly,

give you the adrenaline rush in

this never-ending humorous and

thrilling movie, and it‘s no sur-

prise as the movie winds down,

that there will be a sequel. So,

what are YOU waiting for? If

you haven‘t seen Sherlock

Holmes, see it now as it is defi-

nitely worth the ticket price.

Twitter Mania/Phobia ■To tweet or not to tweet?

——————————————————–———————————————————–— By: Stephanie Crossley ‗12

Many, if not all of us, have heard

of the up-and-coming website called

Twitter. It was created solely to tell

your friends what you are doing and

is now used by many to do just that.

Along with the fans, however, are

those who extremely dislike Twitter.

Many people use Twitter because

of its popularity while many others

dislike it because of that very fact. I

enjoy Twitter because I can express

whatever is on my mind; not just

where I am and what I am doing, but

what I want to share with the world.

It is simply a way to send a message

to everyone and to make an impact.

Those of us who are afraid of pub-

lic speaking can decide exactly what

we want the message to be, without

the awkwardness. Twitter has many

great aspects, such as keeping track

of your favorite stars. But it is under-

standable if you don't like Twitter

and it is you choice. Some people,

while trying to be original, miss out

on opportunities. Some forget that

people make you who you are and

that you shouldn't shut popular

things out without reason. We are

taught to be original, not for the sake

of originality, but so that we will feel

free to be ourselves, and not fear the

different.

Twisted is a novel by Laurie

Halse Anderson, who is most

famous for writing the novel

Speak. ' Twisted is the story of

high school senior Tyler Miller.

He is unpopular, bullied, and

has a difficult home life and

few friends. As retaliation he

puts graffiti on the side wall of

his school but is caught, ar-

rested, and sentenced to a sum-

mer of community service.

When he returns to school his

peers treat him very differently.

Tyler ignores the thoughts of

his classmates until he gets at-

tention from his crush Bethany

Millbury, and her brother, the

school bully, Chip Millbury.

With so much happening Tyler

feels like he's ready to snap, but

will he really reach the break-

ing point when a scandal at

school erupts involving Beth-

any, the police, and his name all

over the case?

If you liked Speak then you

will love Twisted.

Twisted ■A thrilling page-turner

——————————————————–—— By: Angela Robb ‗10

Winter Highlights

Most Anticipated movies of 2010 ■

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE- ―I‘m going to under promise myself for 2010 so if it

goes well I‘ll be like, ‗Oh my God! Such a surprise!‘‖

KIM KARDASHIAN- ― just to spend a little bit more time with my family and

my friends and to really kick it up in the workout department and to try to eat bet-

ter. I cannot get it together with it. I eat way too many Oreos.‖

MILEY CYRUS - ― I need to stop talk-

ing about things I want to do, and just

get out there and do it. That‘s been

my biggest goal recently, especially

while I‘m on the road.‖

BRITNEY SPEARS - ― I

would like to stop worrying so much

because I worry all the time. And to

learn how to be happier, just in gen-

eral. And to stop biting my nails.‖

FERGIE -― It‘s always the same; to work out more and eat healthier. I‘m trying to

go organic, eat more raw.‘

RIHANNA – ― I want to stop shopping, being late, start waking up early, stuff

like that. I‘d like too see my mum and grandparents more. I want to learn the

drums and I want to work with Depeche Mode (band) so bad.‖fatigue, if you‘re

not too tired to try.

Celebrity New Years Resolutions ■ Vowing to better themselves in 2010 ———————–——————————–—————————–——--——— By: Sarah Mira ‗13

The Summoning ■ More highlights from the excitement

————————————————————————————

By: Angela Robb ‗10

The Sandscript Staff Editor-in-chief Lena Ma ‘10 Student Life Editor Angela Robb ‘10 Entertainment editor Hannah mira ‘13 Sports editor Sarah mira ‘13 Reporter tiffany cautilli ‘12 Photographer Dominique brennan ‘11 Staff morgan calvert ‘11 Johnell Bright ‘11 Katrina Murray ‘11 Stephanie Crossley ‘12 Alison Huang ‘12 Ariana Jones ‘12 shelley leung ‘12 Kathryn Murray ‘12 Yvonne Tsang ‘12 Moderator Ms. Rodolico

Johnny Depp in ―Alice in Wonderland‖

Phillygameday.com

By: Jonell Bright ‗11

1. Alice in Wonderland

2. Twilight Saga: Eclipse

3. Harry Potter & The Deathly

Hallows

4. Valentine's Day

5. Date Night

6. Toy Story 3

7. The Last Song

8. Dear John

9. Avatar: The Last Airbender

10. Sex and the City 2

11. The Chronicles of Narnia: The

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

12. Iron Man 2

13. Arrested Development

14. Nightmare on Elm Street

15. Saw 7

Are you looking for a good fantasy/

fiction novel to read in your spare

time? Are you trying to find a bal-

ance between Harry Potter and Twi-

light? If so, The Sandscript has the

novel for

you! It's

called The

Summoning

by Kelley

Armstrong.

The

novel fol-

lows the

life of teen-

ager Chloe

Saunders

and how

her per-

fectly nor-

mal life

turns up-

side down

when she

starts see-

ing ghosts.

What

makes this

an even

bigger

problem is

that the

ghosts can

see and communicate with her too.

After she sees a ghost at school for

the first time she is removed and sent

to Lyle House, a group home for

troubled teens. During her stay at

Lyle House Chloe starts to realize

that the other residents are not just

troubled, but also supernatural, and

that Lyle House holds a dark secret.

The Summoning

by is an amazing

book to read in your

spare time. It holds a

perfect balance of

magic, horror, and

mystery in every

chapter. Despite the

fictional themes, this

novel is easily relat-

able and keeps you

on the edge of your

seat through the en-

tire book. Even if you

are not a fan of one of

the series I previously

mentioned, trust me,

you will be a fan of

The Summoning.

In the season's first sold out game,

thousands watched as ―The Answer‖

walked onto the court as a Sixer. Without

hesitation, Iverson bent down and kissed

the court's logo. In another moment, he

was up again, this time in a huddle with

teammates. Fans cheered. The lights came

on, and the game against Denver began

(which ended in a lost, 93-83).

Iverson's career with the 76ers began in

the late 1990s. From then until December

2006, Iverson would help lead the Sixers

into multiple playoff games. Over that

span of time, he would receive the Rookie

of the Year Award in the 1996-1997 sea-

son, as well as MVP for the 2000-2001

season.

A downward spiral began early in the

2000s as Iverson purportedly fought with

new coaches. His failure to attend prac-

tices did not sit very well with the fran-

chise either; already, rumors about trading

Iverson were surfacing. By late Decem-

ber, the basketball player was traded to

the Denver Nuggets. Iverson would then

go on to play for a brief amount of time

for the Detroit Pistons before making an

emotional return to Philadelphia.

Even now, fans remain divided. By

some, Allen Iverson is nicknamed ―The

Answer‖. Others, however, regard him as

a T.O. But all feelings set aside, the 76ers

still rank fourth in the Atlantic Division,

at 12-25. Even with Iverson, can the Six-

ers manage a good season? Will the

twenty-seven year championship drought

ever end?

Allen Iverson Returns to Philadelphia ■ Is he ―the answer‖ to the 76ers‘ prayers?

———————–——————————–—————————–——–————————---——— By: Alison Huang ‗12

While reflecting on the

holiday that just passed, ask

yourself: ―What does Christ-

mas mean to you?‖ Is it the

presents? The break that fol-

lows? Or is it just a day

where you get all your

wishes? Well, the answer is

none of the above.

Christmas was the day Je-

sus was born. The reason we

receive

and give

each

other presents is because its

like a day of giving just like

how Jesus love us so much

he was willing to give up his

life for us. It‘s also a family

day where we care about

those around us and express

our love by exchanging gifts

and spending the day with

each other.

However, in today‘s soci-

ety many of us do not realize

this. We only think about

what we will get and beg our

parents to get materialistic

things for ourselves. Keep in

mind next Christmas that its

not a day where we get what

we want from others, but a

day of giving and not expect

anything in return just like

Jesus did for us.

The True Meaning of Christmas ■ Reflecting on the holiday‘s true meaning

By: Alison Huang ‗12