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december 18, 2015 Leo Junior/Senior High School Volume LVI Issue vII

The Lion’s Tale

NotableNumbers

4christmas diyideas

7days left until christmas

25days of christmas program list

10christmasmoviesquotes

dollar christmas gift ideas

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christmas games

3

christmas recipes

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true meaning of christmas

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Each year for the past 15 years, Leo’s Students Sharing Hearts (SSH) club adopts a Christmas family or families in need.

The average American will spend about $750 on gifts and accessories. For example, a family with two adults will spend around a total of $1,500. Sadly, many families can’t afford that.

Families send in a list of items they want or need such as clothing, board games, types of food, and anything else they may want.

The SSH club raises money to shop for their adopted Christmas families. To raise money, they do things such as selling suckers, neighborhood walks, and collecting change at football games.

$100 may be spent on each person and $200 to $300 on food, along with a $50 gift card.

The money raised by students buys them a pair of pants, an undershirt, a tee shirt, pajamas, socks, and any other clothing items they may want.

Not only does the money go toward the clothes, but families with children will receive

By Tawni Woodward

Feature editor

SSH club adopts Christmas families

Leo Yuletide carolers bring holiday cheerChoir and band students bring Christmas joy to the community in their annual performance

Juniors Emma Shade, Cassidy Strickler, Sophia Morris, and sophomore Bella Hadley sing in Leo’s Yuletide concert.

By Corinne RothSpecial editor

The band and choir’s an-nual Yuletide Christmas concert and festival was performed on Saturday, Dec. 5. The band, concert choir, and jazz choir provided the music for the guests through singing popu-lar Christmas carols and winter songs. Choir students start preparing for Yuletide in mid-October, while the band begins preparations right when march-ing band season comes to a close. This year, the band prepared for three weeks. Apart from prepar-ing musically, hours of decorating took place within the cafeteria to provide a Christmas aura. This year, choir and band members were encouraged to decorate trees in the extended caf-eteria as a Christmas tree decorat-ing contest. Some of the students’ trees each held a specific theme, one being Mario and another be-ing movies, while other trees were decorated with color coordinating bows and ornaments. The Yuletide festival consisted of solos and ensembles starting at 5:30 pm. During this time, a candlelit dinner was held for guests who had purchased a dinner reservation beforehand. The band and choir concert began at 7:00 pm. The dinner portion of the show has been a tradition both choir and band directors wanted to continue this year. “It is a very good meal. Mrs. Deb Carper prepares all day for the concert,” choir director Kim MacDonald said. The junior high choir also participated through serving peo-ple who purchased dinner tickets.

During the high schoolers’ per-formances, these students would file through delivering food and drinks. Both choir and band di-rectors choose the music for the concert through sound and the season. Band director Bob Mey-ers focused on challenging, but achievable, songs for his band to preform, while MacDonald also considers what the choir would sound good performing and

ways to cater to what the audi-ence would like to hear as well. “My favorite song was ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’ because it was so beautiful and it was an extremely difficult song for us to learn, but it turned out great,” junior Cassidy Strickler said. Once the concert reached its last leg of the performance, the members invited up the audience to end the show in singing “Hal-lelujah” with them. Some parents,

siblings and friends joined the singers on stage to conclude the show. “People should come to Yuletide to enjoy a great dinner and to watch their friends per-form great songs and serve them dinner,” freshman Evan Snaufer said. This specific winter con-cert has been performed for 34 years, with preparations for the 35 Yuletide concert already being made a year in advance.

PHOTO BY CORINNE ROTH

a board game and a few toys. The families ask for other items they may need like towels and sheets.

SSH members shop and wrap the presents for these Christmas families.

“This activity puts you in the holiday spirit and really makes you feel good,” teacher and former SSH sponsor Rosi Brown said.

Raising the money for these families comes from the students and the club.

“The money raised comes from the hard work of the SSH club and the teachers holding Christmas drives in the class room,” Brown said.

Many students

at Leo such as senior Robyn Hall have been helping families since freshman year just by simply wrapping, shopping, and preparing presents for delivery.

“It’s shown me that there’s plenty of people in our own community that don’t have the money they need for Christmas. Everyone deserves to enjoy that time with their family,” Hall said.

According to Brown, the families are always appreciative and write a “thank you” letter to the club.

People always have the opportunity to adopt a Christmas family; it doesn’t just have to be through Leo’s SSH club.

Inside this issue...

Three Christmas

Recipes

4 DIY Christmas Ideas for Family, Home, Tree, and

KitchenFort Wayne area gathers for the annual

Lighting of Santa.

p. 12 p. 4 p. 6

Page 2December 18, 2015 A&E

The countdown to “25 Days of Christmas” has start-ed, and the classic and original movies, TV shows are about to air every day until that special day. Theofficial“25DaysofChristmas” airs on ABC Fam-ily and on Hallmark Channel when they air original movies.The days of Christmas have been airing since 1996 and were previously called Fox Family’s 25 days of Christmas. The en-tire showing lasts from Dec. 1 to Dec. 25. There is also an ex-tended countdown to 25 days of Christmas starting Nov. 22. Non-Christmas mov-ies and shows are aired as well. Movies that air for example are,“TheLittleMermaid“and“HarryPotter.” According to fresh-man Leah McClees she prefers Hallmark Channel because the station is a classic. Mcclees’s favorite movie is “Hitched for the Holiday.” “It’s super cliché but not the generic Christ-mas movie where Santa has magic,”McClees said. The Hallmark Channel plays original television mov-ies and premieres new ones every year. Their countdown starts on Oct. 31. Both stations air mov-ies and shows all day long for the most part, and thousands of viewers watch them each day. “Knowing that cheesy movies will be playing almost 24/7 for 25 consecutive days just makes me happy,” McClees said. “I shamelessly admit to watching one to two movies every night, and I watch it the most during Christmas break.” Some of the most pop-ular Christmas movies always include romance, comedy, friendship, and family. The most popular movies include: “Elf”, “A Christmas Story”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Home alone”, and, “Polar Express,” accordingtoRottenTomatoes.

To senior Makala Wills both ABC Family and Hallmark Channel have her favorite movies. According to Wills, it depends on which chan-nel she’ll choose because ABC Family shows all of the clas-sics and Hallmark Channel has movies that warm your heart. “I really love Holiday inHandcuffsfrombecauseit’sfunny, but also a really cute love story,” Wills said. The Wills family al-ways watches the movie “Polar Express” together each year, according to Wills. “I am a Christmas fa-natic,” Wills said. “I start lis-tening to Christmas music at the beginning of November and watch the movies all year

ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas

By Michaela SauerA&E editor

Fri. Dec. 184:15 pm Disney’s A Christmas Carol 7:30 pm The Santa Clause9:45 pm The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Sat. Dec. 19 5:15 pm The Santa Clause 7:30 pm The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause 9:45 pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Sun. Dec. 20 7:00 pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation9:15 pm Elf

Mon. Dec. 216:30 pm Elf8:45 pm The Santa Clause

Tues. Dec. 22 6:30 pm The Santa Clause8:45 pm The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Wed. Dec. 23 6:30 pm Frosty’s Winter Wonderland7:00 pm Mickey’s Christmas Carol 7:30 pm The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause9:45 pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Thurs. Dec. 24 6:00 pm Disney Pixar’s Toy Story That Time Forgot 6:30 pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 8:45 pm Elf

Fri. Dec. 25 4:30 pm Disney Pixar’s Toy Story That Time Forgot5:00 pm Elf 7:15 pm Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Local clothing boutiques stock shelfs

A boutique is a small retail store that focuses on sell-ing unique items, or clothing targeted at a smaller market. These shops are established to sell a wide range of things, products like clothing, food, or jewelry. Boutiques are believed to be one-of-a-kind. Boutiques cater to a client who wants more unique products and services, provid-ing something that one just can’tfindanywhereandevery-where.Boutiquesofferamorepersonalized touch throughout the store, showing their own flare. All cooperation ownedretail stores have to look the same, while boutiques can look how ever wanted, since they are not owned by a cor-poration. Boutiques, though, can often charge more for what theyoffer. Unlike boutiques, de-partment stores are not as in-dependent or personalized,

although the clothes within the stores are cheaper. More and more lo-cal boutiques within the Fort Wayne have started to spring withinthisyear,offeringmanydifferentboutiquesthroughoutthe area. Sugar Love Boutique, Creative Women of the World, Belyst Boutique, Mainstream Boutique, Essentials and Frost-ing, Symmetry, and Urban Hippy are scattered all acrossFort Wayne. Sugar Love Boutique is a quite popular and known name within Fort Wayne area, located in Woodland Plaza on DuPont Road. The name Sugar Love was developed through what the boutiques owner, Jill Hite, used to call her kids: sugar and love. Developed from a business plan and research, Sugar Love Boutique was cre-ated two years ago through a stay - at - home mom who wanted a project while her kids weren’t at home. Sugar Love was cre-ated originally as an online store, but came to life through

the boutique opening in April of this year. This boutique sticks to its local grounds by using lo-cal friends as models for their clothing, through advertising only on social media, purchas-ing some ads in local newspa-pers. “I have always loved shopping at boutiques in other cities, I started our online store because I could work at home and could still be available for my kids,” Hite said. “As we grew, we saw a need for what we were doing in Fort Wayne.” Hite’s plan behind the bou-tique is to buy things that fol-low current trends that hold good price points and clothing of good quality and pieces that canbeworninmanydifferentways. “We have more unique itemsthanyoucanfindinde-partment stores,” Hite said. “We also buy limited quanti-ties so that we are able to get new items in daily.” Belyst Boutique offersupscale and independent label clothing and accessories to cre-ative and free spirited women in the Fort Wayne area.

“Iofferacuratedselec-tion of upscale items, as well as personal service,” Belyst Boutique owner Jill Uber said. “I carry both local and hand-made lines, things you just aren’tgoingtofindinadepart-ment store. Some other servic-es I provide at Belyst include dressmaking and in-house al-terations.” Uber feels like she is the only boutique in Fort Wayneoffering thisparticularsort of style paired with a high level of quality. “It is important to me to sell pieces that are not only special, but that will last a long time,” Uber said. Creative Woman of the World takes a spin on their boutique, being a nonprofitboutique that empowers wom-an by offering business train-ing and market opportunities. 100percent of the profit fromCreative Women of the World goes to the fund the mission of training. “I wanted to create a non profit that helped wom-en create a sustainable and creative business that could change their lives,” Creative

Women of the World Execu-tive Director Lorelei VerLee said. Other than the pieces sold, Creative Women of the World is unique in the sense of knowing who they bought their products from. In their store,storytagsareattachedtoevery product in the store. The tag tells who made it, where they are from, and how they arebenefited from theirprod-uct being purchased. “You know when you support a woman owned busi-ness, you help that woman feed their children, send them to school and help her commu-nity,” VerLee said. Prices are widely ranged in the boutique; from beaded rings for $3.50, to re-cycled steel drum metal wall sculptures for $150. Everything in the store is uniquely hand-made. “You know that every purchase made in our store di-rectly helps someone recover frompoverty, human traffick-ing, or disaster,” VerLee said. “When you give your friend a gift purchased from us, it is like giving twice!”

By Corinne RothSpecial editor

Christmas movies start off the holiday season

Provided by ABC Family

“Knowing that cheesy movies will be playing almost 24/7 for 25 con-secutive days just makes

me happy.”

round.” As reported by Wills, the best movies are on at 8:00 p.m. Wills enjoys eating gin-gerbread cookies and drink-ing eggnog while watching the marathon. Senior Katie Hamilton likes being able to cuddle up on the couch and watch some classic holiday movies that bring back childhood memo-ries. “Elf definitely myfavorite Christmas movie,” Hamilton said. “It’s basically a tradition in my family. I watch it at least two or three times a year.” Hamilton does not watch the marathon every day, but whenever she can, she does. According to Hamilton, Christmas is her favorite holi-day because there’s an excited feeling in the air, and she loves the snow and lights. “Anything with choco-late and peppermint is what I like eating while watching the movies;popcorn’sprettygoodtoo,” Hamilton said.

Buyers exposed to unique pieces not typically found in department stores

Juniors Abbey Steenman and Tori Fry enjoy Michael Buble’s Christmas album.

Page 3December 18, 2015 FEATURE

Each year people celebrate Christmas with different traditions. Some common household traditions are making sugar cookies, viewing the beautiful Christmas lights, going sledding, decorating a Christmas tree, shopping with loved ones, and (of course) giving gifts to friends and family on Christmas Day. Each year many people start off their Christmas traditions by buying gifts for their loved ones on Black Friday. This tradition can be a great way to bond with friends and family and save money on presents. “One Christmas tradition we do every year is getting pajamas Christmas eve,” sophomore Ellie Dykstra said. “Also, we always go to church on Christmas Eve and read the story of Christmas to remember

When Christmas rolls around, many people find themselves in a tight situation; they’re low on money. Several stores push out sales on certain objects and then raise the prices of others. Senior Erika Chaney believes that Black Friday sales always provide a good way to pur-chase products for a cheaper price than what they’re origi-nally listed for. She also search-es for good sales prices that can be found in departments, malls and shops. “Lots of stores offer sales during the holidays,” Chaney said. “You just have to know when the sale is going on.” Sophomore Sarah Hertsel also believes that Black Friday shopping is the best way to go. She also suggested searching in retailers, such as Target, for quality gifts at cheaper prices. For Hertsel, the hardest part of Christmas shopping is trying to find something that everybody likes. Both Chaney and Hertsel agree that money is a serious factor in Christ-mas shopping. According to Chaney, Christmas shopping would not be much of a prob-lem if money wasn’t involved. Hertsel said that it’s harder to pay for gifts when you are without a job. “The biggest problem

By Emili Runestad

Feature editor

“Holiday Wishes” and in movies such as “Elf,” “Jack and Jill,” and “Home for the Holidays.” “It just pumps me up,” senior Sarah Field said about Christmas albums. “Christmas is my favorite, and it’s just such a cheerful time of the year. Christmas music is always so happy and cheerful. It just makes me so extremely happy and cheerful.”

the true meaning of Christmas. We also put up stockings and get little gifts from Santa. Lastly, we have an Elf on the Shelf.” According to USA Today, 88 percent of people put up a Christmas tree, 65 percent of people put up a religious decoration, 81 percent of people take time to reflect on the birth of Christ, 65 percent of people attend a church service on Christmas, and 56 percent of people attend a Christmas show every year. This year Fort Wayne will continue their traditions with the Christmas fireworks at Parkview field, the Santa’s Workshop display in Main Street, the Nutcracker performance at Fort Wayne ballet, Downtown holiday window contest in downtown businesses, the Festival of Trees at the Embassy, Garden in Lights in the Botanical Gardens, and more.Many countries view Christmas traditions differently. “In Latvia, we didn’t give gifts on Christmas because it was viewed differently because of religion,” senior Jane Makevit said. “We gave presents on New Year’s.” Many people have Christmas traditions that help spread Christmas cheer to those who are less fortunate. Some of these traditions include volunteering at soup kitchens, sponsoring a family in need, delivering cookies to neighbors, and starting food banks. Some families just can’t wait for Christmas and countdown the days until Christmas using an advent calendar. Many traditional Christmas foods are only served during Christmas time. Peppermint flavor, eggnog, hot chocolate, Christmas shaped cookies, and gingerbread flavors are all traditional Christmas foods. “I have a ton of amazing Christmas memories,” Dykstra said. “I remember always being the first one to wake up and going down and looking at all the presents under the tree.”

By Madi TurpinSpecial editor

Students share their ideas for cheap Christmas gifts

Families celebrate Christmas with yearly holiday traditions

Christmas albums spread spirit around Leo

Local Fort Wayne Traditions

- Christmas fireworks at Parkview field

- Santa’s Workshop display on Main Street

- Nutcracker performance at Fort Wayne ballet

- Downtown holiday window contest- The Festival of Trees at the Embassy

- Garden in Lights in the Botanical Garden

- Fort Wayne’s lighting of Santa

By Emili RunestadFeature editor

Every year, music artists record popular Christmas music albums that gain attraction. “Christmas music really sets the tone for the season,” sophomore Maddy Book said. “I’ll listen to Christmas music occasionally after Halloween but mostly after Thanksgiving.” Popular music artists release Christmas albums. Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Idina Menzel, John Travolta, Taylor Swift, Chris Tomlin and Bing Crosby have all recorded well-known Christmas albums. “This is my favorite Christmas album because Mariah Carey’s voice is quite wonderful,” Book said about Carey’s “Merry Christmas” album. “The album features the classics, but also originals by Mariah Carey.” According to Billboard News, the most popular Christmas album this year is Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me.” The second album on the list was Chris Tomlin’s “Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship” followed by Michael Buble’s “Christmas.” Christmas albums by Elvis Presley, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli, and Casting Crowns were also all in the top 20. “My favorite Christmas album is ‘Christmas’ by Michael Buble,” sophomore Shannon Aker said. “This is my favorite album because I like how he does renditions of

popular songs. I like how he remakes songs to fit his style.” Christmas albums and songs can be lucrative for music artists. A music group called Manheim Steamrollers has sold over 28 million albums of their Christmas album according to Wikipedia. Wisconsin Record Research found that the most popular Christmas album in 2013 was “Wrapped in Red”

by Kelly Clarkson, which was Clarkson’s most successful album. Her album consisted of many traditional songs along with some of her own songs, such as “Underneath the Tree” and “Wrapped in Red.” The most popular Christmas album in 2014 was “That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix. The acapella group sold over 615,000 albums in 2014.

Many original Christmas songs recirculate through new famous voices. Most of the albums listed earlier, like “That’s Christmas to Me,” all have many of the traditional songs. One example of a traditional song that recirculates through Christmas albums is the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” It has been recorded in Idina Menzel’s Christmas album,

PHOTO BY MORGAN YINGLING

Presents can be bought for under $5 and still be enjoyed

with Christmas shopping is money,” senior Kray Klopfen-stein said. “It’s also hard to find a good price on something nice.” To save money on this expanding issue, Chaney sug-gests that people research sales and use coupons. She also thinks putting thought into gifts can help prevent people from spending so much mon-ey. Klopfenstein said that peo-ple should just stop spending so much if they want to stock up on cash. “Sometimes gifts from the heart are better than anything money could buy,” Chaney said, “but researching sales and using coupons can get you a long way.” Hertsel believes that people can save money by se-lecting the item they want to buy and searching online for a cheaper price. This way, she says, they can find the gift they want at a better price than what it might be listed in a store. For people struggling with ideas for Christmas pres-ents, Klopfenstein, Hertsel and Chaney listed several options for creative and inexpensive purchases. Chaney suggested pens and notebooks, Washi tape, nail polish, hot choco-late and pictures. Klopfen-stein mentioned makeup and socks, and Hertsel said choco-late makes a good gift. All of these gifts can be found in local stores and departments for un-der $5. “Chocolate,” Hertsel said. “You can’t go wrong with chocolate.”

Page 4December 18, 2015

By Mackenzie JoefredaEditor-in-chief

FEATURE

Every year on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, downtown Fort Wayne lights up for the Night of Lights event. This night begins at 5 :00 p.m. and has events throughout the rest of the night. This event is free for ev-eryone, though certain attrac-tions may cost. Night of Lights is just what its title says, a full night of Christmas lightings around the city. The lightings start with the History Center Turret Lighting on Barr Street, then continue to the Christ Child Festival Nativity on Main Street, Aunt Millie’s Northern Lights on Pearl Street, and fi-nally to the main event of the evening, Santa and his Rein-deer at PNC on Main and Ber-ry Streets. Just before the Santa and his Reindeer are lit up, thousands of people from Fort Wayne, and even other cities, gather around on Main and Berry Streets and sing along to Christmas carols. Mayor Tom Henry speaks before the light-ing. Another activity, which is extremely popular on this evening, is the Embassy Theatre’s Festival of Trees. Though this is open the whole Christmas season, it is highly visited on this night because so many people are already downtown. The Festival of Trees is $7 for adults and $3 for children.

Annual lighting of the Santa continues to attract viewers

The movie and TV show provider, Netflix, start-ed in 1997 and has been gain-ing popularity ever since. With categories such as scary movies or children’s shows, there are hundreds of options to choose from. “I have watched 11 different series on Netflix, some of which include Pris-on Break, Grey’s Anatomy, 90210, One Tree Hill, and The Fosters,” senior Audrey Luke-mire said, “but my favorite is Grey’s Anatomy.” According to Luke-mire, she loves Grey’s Anato-my the most because it is so in-teresting and all the characters are so good-looking. “My favorite show is The Office because the char-acters are relatable, and I love the style of the show,” junior Maddie Schroeder said. Schroeder watches Bob’s Burgers, Futurama, The Office and several others. “If I were to choose one series to recommend to others, it would be Prison Break,” Lukemire said. “It ap-

peals to both guys and girls, and it is really interesting.” Because Netflix has become so much more popu-lar, people spend more time watching it than regular televi-sion. “I really hate commer-cials so that’s one of the main reasons why I choose to watch Netflix,” Lukemire said. “I also never have to wait for the next episode.” Schroeder said she spends at least 30 hours per week. “I love that there are no commercials so I can eas-ily binge watch my favorite shows,” Schroeder said. Lukemire said that on the weekends she usually watches a whole series, but during the week is usually about 10 episodes. “My family got rid of cable so we could have Netflix, and now I binge-watch shows all the time,” senior Katie Hamilton said. According to Hamil-ton, the show she would rec-ommend to others is Friends. “It is a really funny, light-hearted show that brings your mood up after a long and tiring day at school,” Hamilton said.

By Kelsey Carroll A&E editor

Preppy t-shirts have become a popular trend among students. There are many different brands of these t-shirts including Vineyard Vines, Ivory Ella, Simply Southern, Carolina Girl, Southern Preppy, and many more. The most popular type of these t-shirts is long-sleeved and short-sleeved. Vineyard Vines, however, has more preppy styles also, in-cluding polo shirts and dress pants and shorts. Many girls are coming to love these shirts. Senior Abbey Keele and freshman Madi Forte have Vineyard Vines long-sleeved t-shirts. Vineyard Vines’ t-shirts have a signature whale on the back, and the logo down one of the sleeves. “My favorite is Vineyard Vines because

they have a cool style and design,” Forte said. Senior Sarah Field owns an Ivory Ella long-sleeved shirt. Ivory Ella is associated with the organization called Save the Elephants. The company donates 10 percent of their net profits to Save the Elephants. Ivory Ella shirts have their logo, an el-ephant, on the backs of the shirts. “My default favorite is Ivory Ella,” Field said. “Elephants are so cute, and Ivory Ella is a great way to financially support the cause of helping elephants to not become extinct.” Each girl discovered these shirts on ei-ther social media or on vacation in a southern state. These shirts have a nicer feel to them than regular t-shirts. According to Forte, they have a great quality. Because of this, and since they are more preppy styles of shirts, girls can feel like they are dressing themselves up, as op-posed to wearing a regular t-shirt and sweats. “I don’t like not dressing up, so for me, I still feel casual, but nice when wearing them,” Keele said. “They are comfy but still fashionable t-shirts.” Because these shirts are name brand and made with different, softer material than other t-shirts, they tend to be more expensive than regular, generic t-shirts. One can buy a simple t-shirt for around $10, but these new preppy t-shirts are sold any-where from $25-$50. Keele does not believe the shirts should be sold for this much money. “For some brands such as Ivory Ella, the money you spend on the shirts goes to a good cause,” Keele said. “I do not think the compa-nies who keep all the money should have such high prices.” Though some may think the shirts are too expensive, the shirts continue to grow more popular. All of the companies have online stores, and several of them have stores in southern states as well. Many have accounts on social me-dia websites, like Instagram and Twitter, too.

By Mackenzie JoefredaEditor-in-chief

Preppy shirts become popularStudents binge watch on Netflix

People watch the annual lighting of the Santa.

PHOTO BY MACKENZIE JOEFREDA

Vineyard vines sells authentic preppy t-shirts.PHOTO BY MACKENZIE JOEFREDA

Seniors Abbey Keele and Carly Myers have both at-tended this event for the past five years. They both share this night with a group of friends. “It’s really cool to see the city come together every year for a tradition,” Myers said. “It’s nice to see that peo-ple still have Christmas spirit.” Both Keele and Myers attend the Festival of Trees, the Community Center’s Santa’s Workshop, Aunt Millie’s, the Allen County Courthouse,

and the Grand Wayne Center, which holds little toy villages. The girls also both make sure to get to the lighting of the Santa early so they can get a good spot and to make it on the news. “Every year we make it our goal to get interviewed,” Myers said. “We end up hang-ing out by the news trucks more than actually watching the event. So far, it’s worked every time though.”Keele has also been on the

news and thinks it is exciting but awkward at moments. “I’m definitely not one to be interviewed,” Keele said. Many attending fami-lies eat somewhere downtown on this night as well. Freshman Audrey Keele has gone down-town on this night for the past three years with friends and always goes out to eat before-hand. Abbey Keele and Myers also go out to eat beforehand. Myers and Abbey Keele have gone to either

Clara’s Pizza King or Acme Bar and Grill every year. The Night of Lights is a part of the Downtown HolidayFest, which continues through the end of the year. The HolidayFest includes fes-tivals, performances, Holly Trolley Shopping, and more. Another happening in Fort Wayne during this season is the Fantasy of Lights. This is a drive through Christmas light show located at Franke Park.

People religiously watch popular shows

Page 5December 18, 2015 OPINION

The last issue of The Lion’s Tale contained an editorial suggesting that the daily recitation of The Pledge of Allegiance results in the loss of its meaning and significance and needs to be said once a week at most.

The argument was well written and the writer’s point of view was very understandable and probably representative of a good number of her peers. As a high school student, I remember making a conscious decision to stand with my legs spread and my hands down to my side during The Star Spangled Banner because it was a little too nerdy to stand at attention and put my hand over my heart. I did respect both of these rituals but did not fully understand their meaning.

The purpose of social ceremonies and rituals is to draw peoples’ attention and focus to important values or beliefs. Sometimes they are serious like weddings and funerals and sometimes they are simple parts of the everyday fabric of life. Every day, for example, one hears a multiplicity of, “Hi! How are you?” and, “Have a good day.” Yet, even during seventh period these greetings don’t lose their meaning.

It is not that the pledge has lost its meaning from overuse. It is that the

typical student only performs it as a respected tradition and not as a reflection of some pretty important values. It is like young children responding to their parents’ demands to go to church, eat their vegetables and be polite to the very elderly next door neighbor. Parents are trying to teach a larger principle which their kids may not yet comprehend; however, to ignore the principle relegates it to insignificance.

Even after, as both a student and teacher, having said the pledge every school day for fifty-three years my thoughts go to the goals and great promise of our country. It is a belief that every person is equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. Though my pride in the pledge is tempered by the fact that my country has not always lived up to this lofty goal, I am encouraged and enthused that, more than any other country in history, we have held these goals high and have continued to strive to meet them. Further, we have provided a system which allows public discourse and a process whereby the aggrieved, disadvantaged and discriminated can pursue the change which would more accurately reflect our ideals. It really is SO EASY to take for granted the political, economic, religious and social liberty which is the general condition in our country but the pledge is twenty seconds to recognize, appreciate and recommit ourselves to maintaining these values of human freedom and dignity. It is time well spent!

By Steve Gabet

Greeter

Response to editorial

Media and social net-working sites have become such a big part of society’s ev-eryday life. More and more the press has been releasing “breaking news” about celebri-ties and everyday people that are far from the truth. One of the most well-known tabloids is the National Enquirer. According to their website, their focus is around “celebrity gossip, scandals, and

the latest from Hollywood.” If it’s supposedly gos-sip, why do they still pub-lish it? They know it’s just for themselves and the company, yet people’s careers and re-lationships can be ruined be-cause of them. Former NFL player Ray Lewis is one celebrity who has been accused of something that never actually happened. In January of 2000, two of Lew-is’ friends were killed. Blood was later found in Lewis’ limo and received a year of proba-tions and a $250,000 fine by the NFL.

According to Sports Illustrated, “charges against Lewis were later dismissed and pleaded guilty to misde-meanor charges for obstruction of justice.” Since then, Lewis has received backlash from the accusations and has written a book where he addresses the night he was involved in. Another example of the media taking rumors out of proportion is the bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. Richard Jewell, a se-curity guard at the time, was

Christmas originally was celebrated by Christians to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. C h r i s t m a s is now celebrated by people around the world, whether they are Christians or not. It has become a time where fam-ily and friends come together and remember the good things they have and the important things they love. Many though, are to believe that the true mean-ing of Christmas has been removed from the commer-cialized version. Instead of celebrating the love we have in our lives and/or the birth of Jesus, people are now more fo-cused of whose house can be the most decorated and what gifts to buy to satisfy the other. Large and small com-panies use and abuse the Christmas season for their greedy desires. Ever wonder why you see Christmas decorations or Christmas-related items in several aisles of stores in the middle of October. It’s actual-ly pretty simple. Stores know that Christmas is the biggest gift buying seasons of the year so why would they not put their merchandise out as soon as they can, in hopes of increasing their profit. According to The Statistic Portal, in 2013 the

total retail industry sales in the United States amounted to about 3.08 trillion U.S. dol-lars. It’s very obvious that our world, especially our country, has become driven by the pow-er of a dollar. Christmas is the time of the year in which people should recognize all the amaz-

ing things they have in their lives, not the amazing things they want in their lives. It’s the season of giv-ing. Now that doesn’t just mean giving expensive gifts to your friends and family; in-stead, it means giving little acts of love. For example, baking

People may think that golfing, racing, bowling, etc. are not sports but they are and should be respected as sports. In other words if some-thing is physically demanding and requires one to have some skills it could be considered a sport. Some think just because golfing, racing, bowling, etc. don’t require you to be the fastest or the strongest that they shouldn’t be considered a sport, but they are all physically demanding in some way. Other athletes may say that those things don’t take as much as what soccer or basketball would, but they are wrong. For ex-ample according to Livestrong the average golf course is about 6,000 yards long. This means that for a round of 18-holes walking, a golf-er walks on average about three and a half miles per round of golf. Walking three and a half miles in the hot sun, freezing cold, or sleet is physically demanding on anyone’s body, and not every-one would be able to do it while also carrying a golf bag full of clubs. Golfers still have skills and

need to be in shape to compete in the sport. They deserve respect just like the football players. Another example would be racing. According to Street Directory, the temperature in a NASCAR race car can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That alone is physically demanding on the body. Then add the speeds they are traveling with how long the race is. Not just an average person can do this. A race car driver has to have skills to control the car so they don’t go crashing into the wall and has to be physically pre-pared for the conditions they ex-perience in the car. Both of those things are in the definition of what a sport is. Like the definition says, a sports is something that requires skills and physical ability so the events where someone is running the whole time, tackling someone to the ground, kicking the ball across the field, or hitting the ball as far as they can with a bat are not the only ones considered a sport. The people who com-pete in the sports like racing, golf, bowling, boxing, etc. should all be considered athletes because ath-letes are people who compete in a sport. They deserve the respect just like the other athletes.

By Alexis King

Editor-in-chief

All sports deserve equal respect

wrongfully suspected of set-ting off a deadly bomb. There was a story that leaked to the media that Jewell was the bomber himself and “sought publicity for saving people from the explosion,” according to Columbia Broadcasting Sys-tem (CBS). Jewell’s lawyer, Lin Wood, even thought that Jew-ell was once guilty. In an interview with CBS, Wood said, “I actually be-lieved what I saw on television and what I read in the news-papers and I thought that the FBI had their man and the man

was Richard Jewell.” People every day are falsely accused of different sit-uations. Whether you are used to being on the front page of a newspaper, or no one’s ever heard your name before, the media does whatever it takes to get people reading their ar-ticles. The press should get their information straight be-fore publishing anything that could potentially ruin some-one’s life. It’s not worth chang-ing someone’s life for the worst just to get an interesting story for the audience to read.

By Allison Dearing

Feature editor

Social network sites release false truths about celebrities

cookies for your local fire de-partment to show your appre-ciation for their hard work and long hours, volunteering at a homeless shelter to give those less fortunate a happier Christ-mas, volunteering at a chil-dren’s hospital to help spread smiles and Christmas cheer to those who are sick and locked

in the hospital for Christmas, or teaching Sunday school to the children of your Church. It can even mean something as simple as making a homemade meal, card, or memento for your family to show your ap-preciation for all they do. Christmas season is the time of the year in which we all should just take a break, watch Christmas movies with our families while eating snowflake-shaped cookies, and appreciate all the love that surrounds you. Commercial ization and the greediness that seems to affect the majority of society is always going to be present no matter how hard one tries to terminate it. Instead though of fo-cusing on how to rid the planet of this Christmas corruption, we need to focus on ourselves and how we can embody the Christmas spirit. If we all do our job in remembering that Christmas is the season of love, giving, and of Christ, then it shouldn’t matter whether or not stores start selling Christ-mas items in October. Turn on and sing along to “The Christmas Song” while you drink hot chocolate and stare at the beautiful lights and ornaments covering your Christmas tree. Remember all the love you have been blessed with in your life, all the happy memories you have made of the years, but most important-ly give love to those around you so their Christmas can be a merry one.

Christmas loses true meaning over timeBy Alyssa Gross

Editor-in-chief

Senior Sara Gibbons and her sister sit on Santa’s lap after volunteering for Christmas.PHOTO PROVIDED BY SARA GIBBONS

Page 6December 18, 2015

For the Tree

For the Family

SPECIALHow to: Make your own Christmas

Personalized Wire Ornaments

Materials needed:

12 Gauge Aluminum Jewerly Wire Twine or YarnSuper Glue Pliers with Cutter

Step 1: Write or print out letters in desirable font.

Step 2: Cut out wire long enough to trace the letters of the name.

Step 3: Make a loop at the beginning of the name with the wire.

Step 4: Follow the lines of each letter with the wire. (use pliers to pinch tight corners) Tip: use tape to hold down letters! names with T or X wil require an extra wire to be glued onStep 5: Make a loop or heart at the end

of the name with the wire.Step 6: With yarn, tie a knot at the top of

the name. Secure with glueStep 7: Wrap the yarn tightly around the wire. Repeat step 5 when you reach the

end.

Instructions

Lighted

For the Home

Burlap GarlandMaterials needed:

Burlap Ribbon (multiple or one color)White Mini Lights Scissors

InstructionsStep 1: Cut the burlap into 8-10 inch

pieces.Step 2: Cut those pieces vertically down

the middle. Step 3: Knot the burlap around the wire.

Tip: You can use any pattern to tie the

colors Step 4: Repeat the steps over and over until you have the finishedproduct.

Hot Chocolate Mix Gift in a Mason Jar

For the Kitchen

Materials needed:1 3/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder3/4 cup powdered sugarMini chocolate chipscrushed candy canesmini marshmallowsMason Jar or large glass jar

Instructions

Step 1: First, layer ingredients in jar. Be sure to put powders on bottom so that they don’t sink through the chips

When ready to use: Step 1: mix ingredients well

Step 2: Add 1/2 mix to 1 cup boiling water Step 3: Stir completely until combined

Lettered Painted Mugs

Materials needed:

Mugs ($1 at Dollar Tree)Oil Based Sharpie Paint PensLetter StickersOven

InstructionsStep1: Place the sticker on the mug how you would like it. Step 2: Using the paint pen, make dots all around the sticker.Tip: Make sure the dots are full around the letter, if it isn’t as full the letter will be harder to see.Step 3: Once you have the design you want peel off the sticker.Step 4: Heat your oven to 350 and bake the mug for 30 minutes.

Provided by Pinterest

Page 7December 18, 2015 ADS

Page 8December 18, 2015 SPECIAL

Match the students’ favorite

quote from their favorite

Christmas movieA) “Bye Buddy...hope you

find your dad!”

B) “We elevs try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy

corns, and syrup!”

C) “Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But, we did our

worst, and thats all that matters.”

D) “Oh the Who-manity!”

E) “Maybe Christmas he thought doesn`t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit

more.”

F) “She falls down a well her eyes go crosseyed...she gets kciked by a mual they go

straight again. I don`t know!”

G) “Saving you? I noticed you were improperly

packaged!”

H) “SANTA!!!”

I) “Dad you are ruining Christmas!”

J) “Ralphie looks like the deranged Easter bunny!”

1.

2.

3.

6.

5.

4.

9.

8.

7.

1. J, 2. H, 3. G, 4.E, 5. B, 6. C, 7. F, 8. D, 9. A, 10. I

10.

Page 9December 18, 2015 SPECIAL

I P V P M G E J S T C X M O EG W U N R Z A O L C R K I M OV B Q I Q I B Y E N O E V W TN P N A R D Y N I U F F E U EC C X O P S A F G H T O D N LH D H J C C T M H G C W U J TX C E I Y O D H S R E O C Y SY N I D A P O T G F R A Y H IA V N C D S F K E I Z T Z Y MS A E M Q I I K I P L N Y L EC G O N G G E L V E S A H H PI D S S N O W M A N S S O E WJ O K J K Y W O E Q B I H N DJ K J D Z A P L I N Y K P K LL Z C V A F Q W J B R G Z H Z

Words to Find:CANDYCANE COOKIES EGGNOG ELVES GIFTS GRINCH JOY LIGHTS MISTLETOE SANTA SLEIGH SNOWMAN TREE

Help Santa find his way to the presents

Holiday Games

Unscramble the words to solve the hidden Christmas message

Page 10December 18, 2015 ADS

Page 11December 18, 2015 ADS

Page 12December 16, 2015 SPECIAL

‘Tis The Season To Eat Great FoodLion’s Tale Cookbook

*Frozen Fudge Pie* For Crust :25 Vanilla Wafers (crushed)½ cup pecans (chopped)½ cup melted butterSpread in 9’’ panBake at 300 for 15 minutes

Cream : 1 cup + 2 tblsp of sugar and ¾ cup butterAdd :1 tblsp vanilla 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (Use nestle premelted packs – use two packs) 3 eggs. Beat & add each egg individually. Beat one egg at a time for 4 minutes. Pour in crust & sprinkle with nuts

Ingredients : 2 pounds of white chocolate 30 small peppermint candy canes

Directions : Line a large jellyroll pan with heavy-duty foil Place white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave on medium setting for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Place candy canes in a plastic bag, or between two pieces of waxed paper. Using a mallet or rolling pin, break the candy canes into chunks. Stir peppermint into melted white chocolate. Spread evenly in pan, and chill until set, about 1 hour.

*Peppermint Bark*

Ingredients : 1 (12 ounce) can condensed milk 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry gelatin 14ouncesfinecoconut Green icing

Directions : Mix together, reserving 2 tablespoons of the straw berry jello powder. Chill the mixture. Shape into strawberries, roll in the reserved jello powder. With the green icing, make a"hull" at the tip of the strawberries. Chilluntilfirm.

*Christmas Strawberries*

Provided by Elesha Stuckey

Provided by Elesha Stuckey

Provided by Cheryl Ashton