Holidays plagued with fake cheer, phony traditions
C alley L athrop
Christmas is a sham. A
holiday originally developed
in the worship of pagan gods,
the holiday now revolves
around gluttony, pretend
familial love and a fat man
in red. Holiday celebrations
have turned into a time
full of misconceptions and
blatant stupidity. Let's stop
the nonsense and recognize
the holidays for what they
are...seems impossible, but
trust me, true meaning CAN
be derived amidst all the
mistletoe, sugar-plum
fairies and candy
canes.
Around 200
BCE, ancients began
celebrating the sun
god Elah-Gabal and
Mithras, a soldier's
god. These festivities
took place in the month H
of December, during the
winter solstice, which was
very important in many
^
cultures of the time. Why and
how did we go from pagans to
a baby messiah?
Jesus' birth was actually
late in the month of May
(according to biblelight.
net)! It was in the middle
ages that Europeans began
celebrating the nativity in
December, a month many
kings were crowned. William
I, Charlemagne, Edmund the
lartyr and R ich ard ^ ^ all
chose to be
including that of Jesus' birth.
Now Christmas has become
a time when people the world
over give each other gifts,
attempt to make little children
feel special and worship Jesus'
birth (..but eight months
late?). The holidays are a
multi-billion dollar
industry. Family
time is great, but
for
promise themselves they'll
1 o s e ^ ^ h o s e last 10 lbs., or
radically change
heir lifestyle,
ew Year’s was
¡aagg
.
;
1
first celebrated in 2000 BCE,
around the time of the vernal
equinox (the first day of
spring) in March. In 153 BCE,
the Romans declared Jan. 1
as the first day of the year,
and so it has been ever since.
However, many have turned
celebration of the new year
into an excuse to celebrate,
often to excess.
Christmas and New
Year's are great. They used
Jto echo themes of religion,
Yebirth, enjoying family
time and helping those
Jess fortunate. In this
ronsumer society, these
>ositive themes are
)ften overshadowed
>y gluttony, greed,
epression and
even anger,
et's
iB l
crowned
Christmas Day,
throwing huge parties
afterward. Beginning in
the 1600s, Christmas Day
became a time when all major
yearly festivities became one,
*
some,
all the holiday cheer in the
world cannot fix family feuds
or tension that really destroys
the fun.
And then, there's New
Year's— last big bash of the
year before many wake up
with a nasty hangover, or
S a n t a C l a u s , t he i c o n i c
Am erican symbol of holiday
celebrationrides in his sleigh
, whilst Mithras, an ancient war
god, slaughters a Bull. Over the
following centuries, Christmas
w ent from a celeb ratio n of
Mithras' birth (Dec. 25) to the
crowning of new kings to the
modern day Jesus.
remember why
the holidays are here, and
celebrate them by helping
others and enjoying them
ourselves (even if it means
breaking the stereotypical
mold for how these days are
supposed to be spent). Happy
holidays!
Slow walkers and crowds blow nerves of students in a rush
C hrisann K im
________
The first bell blasts. "Oh
no! I have to get to class!"
Stumbling and rushing to
ready your materials, it's
already a minute into the
passing time. In such a large
school, walking from the
music building all the way to
the other side of the science
room in just six minutes
sounds impossible. Have to
visit your locker, perhaps?
But that's not even the half
of it.
In the midst of trying
to hurry class, a notorious
obstacle looms— slow walkers
and crowds. A typical passing
time in high school is much
the equivalent to rush hour in
modem day traffic. Whenever
I've tried to speed walk
through the halls, there's
always a group of obnoxious
students who tend to walk
ridiculously slow. And often
enough, crowds ranging from
five to ten students form
in the middle of hallways,
making it virtually impossible
for a small freshman like
me (or anyone else for that
matter) to get through'.
I remember many days
wlhs-amplifier@wlhs.wlwv.kl2.or.us
The Amplifier is published approximately every four weeks by the West
Linn High School Advanced Journalism class. Opinions expressed in
commentaries and editorials represent only those of the writer, and are
not necessarily the opinions of West Linn High School, its administration,
faculty, staff, or student body.
Editor-in-Chief:
81 Lexi Welp
I
Calley Lathrop
' 1 Managing Editor:
Zack Mueller . : 1 . " . ■ : ' ■ i
Business Editor:
, ■
m
mm
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: :
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.
«58
Section Editors:
News: Mary Wood
Forum: Calley Lathrop
Features: Lexi Welp
Sports: Jen Sitton
Entertainment:
Alison Fieldhouse
Photo Essay: Haley Cool, Julia
Vanwinkle
Photo Editors: Mark Poppert,
Libby Kara
Staff Reporters: Elise Brown,
Nicole Campbell, Haley Cool,
Alex Houston, Chrisann Kim,
Jaimie Lorenzini, Ben Mann,
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McGarry, Michael McNinch,
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Vanwinkle, Grace Wall, Gun-
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Photographers: Alex Houston,
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Cartoonist: Eta Santoro
Adviser: Ann Breyne
attendance status.
People aren't penguins.
They do not huddle into
immense groups to circulate
warmth. Is it just an emotional
or psychological feeling
teenagers have that make
them want
to be super
close to their
friends? It isn't
necessary to
be five inches
from your
best friend
when you can
easily talk to
them from five
feet away. If
people spread
out just a
couple feet (or
five), rushing
students
would be more
than able to
move through
the hallways
Photo by Mark Poppert
Busy students rush through the hallways during passing time. Slow walkers and clusters without any
delay.
of students often block passage, inhibiting others from making it to class on time.
In this
hallways were crowded with
to walking slowly other than
day and age, education is
bunches of upperclassmen.
the fact that you don't have
at risk and students require
Obviously, it was intimidating
to use much energy. But isn't
success for their futures.
walking healthy for you?
to have to squeeze through a
High school is just the
Plenty of students have more
bunch of tall football players
beginning. With cramming
time because they are taking
and just try to reach the
and harsh studying, just
more relaxed classes, or they
other side— alive. It's time
getting to classes on time is
have passive teachers who
consuming to have to find
key to focusing in class. So
don’t mind their students
another route around a crowd
the next time you run across
being a minute late or two.
and no one these days has the
a group of turtles or cuddling
I don't think any of them
time to do that and beat the
penguins, don't let them
realize that some students
six minute limit.
inhibit you from reaching
are in a critical rush to their
As I stereotyped these
your destinations— SHOVE
classes in order to save their
slow walkers as turtles
them if you have to.
when people would just
place themselves smack in
the middle of the hallway
either talking to a friend or
engaging in public displays of
affection— move over or get a
room. Another day, the library
and crowded penguins, I
wondered— exactly WHY do
students take so long to walk
from here to there and WHY
do they crowd in the middle
of the hallways?
I can't see a solid benefit