Christmas Around The World

Josephine Ricardo and Marielis Batista

America: People in America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and with statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and Reindeer. Towns and cities often decorate the streets with lights to celebrate Christmas. It is common to organize a special meal, often consisting of turkey and a lot of other festive foods, for family or friends and exchange gifts with them. Merry Christmas!

Kenya:  On the morning of December 25th, people’s homes are decorated with flowers and a Cyprus tree. Christians attend church in the evening, for Midnight Mass. After church comes the party. A goat is usually killed for the occasion and the family will make traditional beer and the special dishes of their particular tribe. Plenty of singing occurs. Boxing Day, December 26, is the day for curing the hangover and giving gifts. A gravy-like soup made from the goat's blood and bone is  typical.
Merry Christmas: Kuwa na Krismasi njema!

Mexico: Their main Christmas celebration is called La Posada, during the procession, celebrants go from house to house carrying the images of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter. On Christmas Day, kids are blindfolded and taken to try and break a decorated clay piñata that dangles and swings at the end of a rope. Mexicans attend a Midnight Mass service which is called la Misa Del Gallo or, "the rooster's mass," and at the mass they sing lullabies to Jesus.
Merry Christmas: Feliz Navidad!

Dominican Republic: It’s a tradition to hear radio stations with Dominican Christmas songs. Private and public institutions make Christmas dinners and raffle them off for employees. While at dinner, you may be surprised to hear in your front yard a group of people from your neighborhood playing “aguinaldos,” which are songs popularly played during the Christmas season. On Christmas Day some people will exchange gifts, but most of the people wait until “El dia de los reyes,” “the Celebration of Three Wise Men,” on January 6th.
Merry Christmas: Feliz Navidad!

China: Christmas is only celebrated in big cities where more people are Christians. Chinese like to get together with friends, relatives, and with their couples. They like to have Christmas parties or hang out at some restaurant or a bar. Christians celebrate by going to special church services. On christmas eve there are choral performances and the congregation puts on dance and drama performances.
Merry Christmas: Shengdan jie kuaile!

Egypt: About15% of the population celebrate Christmas. Christmas Day isn't celebrated on December 25, but on January 7. For the 43 days before Christmas, from November 25 to January 6, Coptic Orthodox Christians have a special fast were they eat a vegan diet. On Coptic Christmas Eve, they go to church for a special liturgy or service. Merry Christmas: Mboni Chrismen!

Italy:  One of the most important ways of celebrating Christmas is by displaying the Nativity’s crib scene. A lot of Italian families have a nativity crib in their homes. Children go out caroling and playing songs on shepherd’s pipes, wearing shepherd sandals and hats. On Christmas Eve, no meat can be eaten, but Italians eat seven types of fish for dinner, they call it “The Feast of the Seven Fishes.” Christmas celebration starts eight days before Christmas with special “novenas,” or series of prayers and church services. Epiphany is also important in Italy.On epiphany night, children believe that an old lady called “Befana” brings presents to them.
Merry Christmas: Buon Natale!

Ecuador: Today Christmas is no longer a religious holiday. Farmers still celebrate it religiously by going to midnight mass and in urban areas they decorate their houses and give gifts. All houses decorate with nativity scenes instead of a Christmas tree. Families eat dinner at 11pm and afterwards open presents when the clock strikes midnight. The next day people either sleep in ate or go to a late mass.
Merry Christmas: Feliz Navidad!

India: Though India is predominantly Hindu, Christians attend special church services, gather with families, and eat a festival meal. They decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves that have Christmas carvings and display small electric lights and oil burners.
 Merry Christmas: Krisamas kee badhaee

Australia: Christmas kicks off the summer holidays, mid-December to early February. Australians decorate their houses and gardens with Christmas trees and lights and with bunches of “Christmas bush,” a tree native to Australia with small green leaves and cream colored flowers that become a shiney, bright red towards the end of December.
Merry Christmas, mate!

Brazil: Traditions come from the Portuguese. Nativity scenes, known as Presepio, are set up in churches and homes all thought out December. They have a Brazilian version on “Los Pastores”, the Shepherds. Many go to midnight mass and some go to the beach because of the hot weather. The children leave a sock outside their window so that Santa Claus or, as they call him, Papai Noel, can exchange it for a present. For dinner, they traditionally eat pork, turkey, ham, and other kinds of meat.
Merry Christmas: Feliz Natal!

France: They use Nativity scenes to decorate their houses and burn yule logs with sprinkled red wine so the house can smell good. They have a reveillon, long dinner on Christmas eve and in the twilight hours of Christmas day after returning from midnight mass at 1am. During the month of December most towns have festivals where they sell Nativity figures.
Merry Christmas: Joyeux Noel!

Cuba: Christmas is not celebrated in the country. The holiday was removed from the calendar in 1969 because Fidel Castro believed the holiday was interfering with the production of sugarcane, their main export.
Merry Christmas: N/A

Turkey: Since Turkey is a Muslim country, Christmas is not popularly celebrated. Only Christians that live in Turkey celebrate the holiday. You also, occasionally see a Santa Claus giving out candy to children. They traditionally give out gifts on New Year’s eve instead of Christmas.
Merry Christmas: N/A

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The Appeal of ISIS

Dimitrios Stamoulis

Around nine p.m. on November 13th, Paris, France was attacked. With about 130 dead, this attack caused more discussion about the radical jihadist group ISIS (or ISIL). As more information arose about the men who carried out these attacks, it was found that most of them are Belgian, which can help but lead us all to wonder: what is it that attracts citizens, particularly young people, of the Western world towards the extremist group? As many political analysts have stated, there are a few things to consider:

1.  The group provides a feeling of brothership and community. In a recent interview, a former member of ISIS admitted that he misses the strong relationships he formed with the people there, but not the group itself. This desire of a strong community is a consequence of the sense of Islamophobia that many extremists believe pervades the Western world. Since the attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, there is undoubtedly a negative association between Muslims and terrorism. As more and more people try to avoid those of the Islamic religion, Muslims have become desperate to find a community. ISIS, through their recruitment videos, promise to provide a tight knit community to those Western society, intentionally or not, has ostracized.

2. Members can also come to believe they are protecting their families, neighborhoods, and countries. The leaders of ISIS have stated that there is no way to kill their group because for each member killed there will be 10 new members recruited. This has proven to be true since many of those recruited volunteer themselves in order to protect their home countries. When governments attack the group, more often than not, civilians are caught in the midst of the destruction. This is what then motivates these young men to join ISIS, believing that they will be protecting their nations, cities, and families. Because of this, the members of ISIS feel as if they are unified in protecting their homes, seeing each other as brothers. Therefore, once one is killed, they become a martyr for their living brethren.

3. Lastly, is the strive for purpose in a generation seemingly gone awry when it comes to solid values and principles. ISIS has been using propaganda videos to recruit members. They make the group and its members seem heroic, as they are saving the lives of “Muslims oppressed by Western society.” Along with that, a majority of those videos show the victory parades into newly captured cities and territories. What they don’t show are the five men crying to God for forgiveness, with bombs across their chest, about to take down the defending forces. The recruited expect a positive atmosphere, the opportunity to be a hero, and celebrations after victories.

These are a few of the more convincing theories among dozens trying to explain the unsettling phenomenon that is the popularity of ISIS, especially to European-born men. Regardless of how these young men are viewed as they wave flags, brandish weapons, even brutally murder, each of them was at one time a young man, a boy, before somehow coming to believe eradicating “infidels” was a noble pursuit. That shift in the direction of one’s life, the corruption of one’s heart and mind, the cause of it, is what needs to be explored and understood if the flow of fresh, young, violent individuals into the ranks of ISIS is to be stemmed.

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The Origin Of a Killer

Jared Arriaga

In 2001, heroin overdoses seemed to be at an all time high of nearly 2,000 overdoses nationally. Little did we know by 2013 those numbers would skyrocket to almost 8,000 a year. With the death toll rising so do the questions: Where is this killer coming from? How is getting into our cities and towns? And why is it so appealing to high school students?

Studies by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that most of the heroin that is sold in the United States originates back to the poppy flower fields of Colombia. Workers will mix raw opium scraped out of poppy pods with calcium and hot water in large barrels. Several binding chemicals are added over a long process of heating and mixing. Eventually this process amounts to the white powdery substance known as heroin to most, China white, skag and horse to others.

Once this substance is created, smugglers transport the drug either by boat to ports in Mexico or in truckloads up through the other South American countries into Mexico. Once safely in the hands of cartels in Mexico it is transported over the U.S. border, which is possible due to corruption, pay-offs, and strategically placed hiding spots throughout the transporting vehicles. Once over the border, shipments are brought to major cities such as Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and Boston. Local gangs and drug dealers then distribute the heroin into the smaller neighboring cities.

Heroin has become a major problem in Massachusetts, mainly because it is cheap and highly addictive. It is not as expensive as cocaine, marijuana and other drugs. It captivates high school students because it is in their "budget" which typically is not that high. Heroin usage and overdoses are also exacerbated by the opioid epidemic. Typically, youths and adults alike initially get hooked on widely distributed painkillers such as Percocet and OxyContin and then turn to heroin for a cheaper, and sometimes more easily accessible, substitute. Lynn has had the highest rate of overdoses this past year with 27, followed by Haverhill with 19. Surrounding cities like Lawrence had ten, Methuen with seven, and Andover/North Andover both had one.

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Home Is Where The War Is

Dimitrios Stamoulis 

  

This has been the case for about 4 million Syrian refugees over the previous summer. Due to the civil war in their country, they have sought refuge in other countries. The civil war has been ongoing since 2011, but the latest refugee migrations have been greater than ever. The conflict has been between President Assad's forces and Syrian rebel groups that have formed to usurp/denounce Assad's presidency. The conflict truly blew up once outside forces, such as ISIS and Russia, began getting involved thus increasing the damages and victims of this conflict. More specifically, ISIS has tried taking advantage of the rebels’ desire to overthrow the Syrian government, and has been supporting the rebels, all in hope to have at least a partial rule within the new government. This caused the Russian air force to get involved, in an effort to most importantly deny accessibility to ISIS forces.

The four year conflict has forced over four million people from their homes. Many have emigrated to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, but also to countries throughout Europe, such as Denmark, Macedonia, Greece, and Germany. Lebanon and Jordan were initially accommodating but the ceaseless and increasing number of migrants began to cause complications. Turkey, on the other hand, has been less helpful and cooperative, refusing crucial services and issuing return dates for work registration forms in three to five years. These forms would give the refugees permission to work in these countries without any legal issues, due to the fact that many of these countries require citizenship documentation of employees.

Other European countries have taken a different approach. Greece has not been able to provide many registration forms and dates, but there have been many care packages sent out to the refugees. Other countries have been far from welcoming. Denmark had put out ads in Lebanese newspapers warning these refugees that if they go to Denmark, they will not be accepted. Macedonia was seen putting ads in their newspapers "advising" locals to give no help to any refugees, and report them as soon as possible. On the other hand, welcoming countries, such as Germany, have been able to provide food and shelter for all refugees, with room to spare. They have taken in more than 60,000 refugees over the past two months, and are expected 800,000 in total by the end of 2015. Though their generosity is greatly appreciated and acknowledged, the Germans lack a plan at the moment to keep this generosity from causing domestic and economic troubles. It has become the ideal country to reach, yet it is every other nation in their way that has made it difficult. 

 The European Union has yet to intervene due to the issue of how some people have been perceiving these refugees. Many reporters and journalists have been labeling them as “migrants.” Because of the lack of clarification on what these people really are, there is nothing that big groups, such as the European Union and the United Nations can do. The importance of what they are called among people, and throughout the media, is balanced upon the UN’s Refugee Act of 1951. This act makes it mandatory for all countries to accept and help any incoming refugees. Once, or if, they are considered and treated as refugees they will be able to go to new countries freely, and even possibly come to the US.

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ISIS 101

Lina Woronko

For the last five years, an extremist group of Islamic terrorists, mainly known as ISIS, has been controlling much of the news media with coverage of its increasing reach in Iraq and Syria. ISIS refers to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which also may be known as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Levant is an older geographical term referring to the large area of countries in the eastern Mediterranean, including the western part of Syria, Lebanon, the western part of Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and Egypt.

The map above shows the Middle East of Asia, where the targeted areas of Iraq and Syria are located.

According to various reports, ISIS was established in 1999. However, the ultimate rise and recognition of the extremist group was not until 2010 when Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi took leadership after the death of their previous leader, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Al-Baghdadi is an experienced Iraqi fighter whose intention for ISIS is to further establish a caliphate, an Islamic state ruled by one supreme leader, known as a caliph. Al-Baghdadi, pronouncing himself caliph, is known as the spiritual leader of Islam who claims succession from Muhammad.

ISIS is not affiliated with Al-Qaeda, another well-known militant Islamist organization, as they view the Koran differently. The Koran (a.k.a. Qur’an) is the central religious text of Islam. According to ISIS, it believes itself responsible for fulfilling the Koran’s apocalyptic prophecies. These prophecies include crucifixions and amputations. ISIS uses these strategies to enforce fear among their enemies as they advance from Muslim to non-Muslim territories. Their goal is to use this power to control all of Iraq, as according to the Koran, in order to keep a caliphate, one must have territory of the entire Levant.

Although ISIS itself is not a threat to the U.S. as of now, its supporters, however, may be. Early this January, U.S. authorities had arrested an Ohio man, an ISIS supporter, who had claimed to be planning an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rasmussen, a member of the Western intelligence agency, has stated the concern for those who travel to fight against ISIS. He claims “the battlefields in Iraq and Syria provide foreign fighters with combat experience, weapons and explosives training, and access to terrorist networks that may be planning attacks which target the West.”

As of now, American air operations, along with Iraqi and Kurdish (ethnic group in northern Iraq) forces have been working together to fight against ISIS. As a result of this, ISIS has been more defensive and holding off on major conquests since the summer of 2015. Knowing the fundamentals of ISIS is important as the group grows and yearns for the strength it needs to develop. If ISIS turns the tide against its enemies and succeeds, a potential threat to larger areas, including America, may result. 

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