Christmas Bloopers

Fun Holiday Facts

 

Christmas 

- US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second

 - The abbreviation Xmas isn’t irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ

 - Hanging stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas’s donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.

 - Many parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C

 Hanukkah

 - Unlike most spelling words you remember from school, Hanukkah can be correctly spelled many different ways, including Chanukah, Chanukkah, and Hanukah.

 - Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, it is traditional to eat fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday

- The Hanukkah candles are added onto a special candelabrum called a Menorah from right to left, but are lit only from left to right.

-The festival of Hanukkah has become more commercial with the giving of gifts, due to its proximity to Christmas. Earlier giving gifts was not a part of its tradition

 Kwanzaa

 -Kwanzaa was created by Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University at Long Beach, in 1966. It is a nonreligious celebration of family and social values for African American families.

-The colors of the Kwanzaa flag are the colors of the Organization Us, black, red and green; black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle

 -Gifts are given mainly to children, but must always include a book and a heritage symbol. The book is to emphasize the African value and tradition of learning stressed since ancient Egypt, and the heritage symbol to reaffirm and reinforce the African commitment to tradition and history

 -The ideas and origin of the Kwanzaa celebrations come from an ancient African tradition of celebrating the first fruits. The word Kwanzaa is Swahili for first fruits

Gifts Galore

With the Holiday Season in full swing now is the time to start thinking of potential presents.  Here are some of the items that might be popular with teens this year.  Are any of them on your wishlist?

From the makers of Guitar Hero comes a totally new type of party game.  Gone is the guitar, and in its place is a turntable.  Spin, scratch and mix beats from such legendary artists as Tupac, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.  This is sure to be a must have for those who are fond of the other Guitar Hero games. 

You’ve  grown up with the series and now it’s one step closer (at least in movie format) to coming to a conclusion.  Join Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest muggle and non muggle cast of characters as the epic battle of good vs evil continues.   

You can read it in the description: 84 shadows, 5 blushes, 60 glosses, powders, liners, brushes…all for under $50 bucks!!!  Girls rejoice because at your disposal is a pallete capable of creating tens of thousands of unique looks and combinations.

Itsa a me…Mario.  The popular mustachioed plumber is back in this throwback to the original NES days.  You and up to 3 of your friends can either team up, or work against each other in 2d, side scrolling mayhem.  I played this game at my friend’s house over the weekend and it was a blast.  There was something satisfying about jumping off of a Toad’s head and then watching him plummet to his doom.

Growing up, I only had nerf guns to shoot my friends with…now you can get all the joy of tagging your buddy in the eye with a projectile and  topping it off with the promise of a tasty treat.  Nerf guns always bummed me out because usually the guns only held something like 6 bullets, now, with the marshmallow gun, you can hunker down in a spot and snipe your enemy all day…and never have to worry about running out of ammo (marshmallows not included)  

The ultimate trivia test for any “Twi-hard.”   Get a bunch of friends, break up into teams (Team Edward vs. Team Jacob) and battle each other as you put your knowledge of these popular blood suckers to the test.

Books to Movies during the Holidays

     There are many good movies coming this holiday season. Many of these films originated from books available in the library. Of course many teens are aware that New Moon from the popular Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers opens November 19th. Other movies from books that are now showing or about to open include:
Where the Wild Things Are (Now Playing) from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Now Playing ) from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Box (Now Playing)  from the short story Button, Button by Richard B. Matheson
The Men Who Stare At Goats (Now Playing) from Men Who Stare At Goats by Jon Ronson
Precious (Now Playing) from Push a novel by Sapphire

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Opens Nov. 25th) from Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
The Road (Opens Nov. 25th) from The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Lovely Bones (Opens Dec. 11th) from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

                                                                                                                                        

Teen Top Ten Winners for 2009

 

 

2009 Teens’ Top Ten
More than 11,000 teen voters chose Paper Towns as their favorite book in the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten! The online poll took place from Aug. 24 through Sept. 18, with the winners announced during Teen Read Week by WWE Divas Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, with a special appearance by John Green.

Teen’s Top Ten 2009

1. Paper Towns by John Green
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin “Q” Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q’s neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
In the fourth and final book in the #1 bestselling teen vampire Twilight Saga, questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Sixteen-year-old Clary continues trying to make sense of the swiftly changing events and relationships in her life as she becomes further involved with the Shadowhunters and their pursuit of demons and discovers some terrifying truths about her parents, her brother Jace, and her boyfriend Simon

5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Sixteen-year-old identical twin daughters of a district court judge and a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, Kaeleigh and Raeanne Gardella desperately struggle with secrets that have already torn them and their family apart
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
An orphaned boy is raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard
7. Wake by Lisa McMann
Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people’s dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow-student that she discovers her true power
8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Zoey Redbird”s adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night novel
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king

 

Happy Halloween!

A Spooky Twist on a Classic Poem

Need a Costume? Make a Mask!

Express Yourself – Carve a Pumpkin!

Ready… Set… Carve!! Here are some fun and free pumpkin patterns. Print one out and start carving!
(Please remember to be careful.)

Beginner Patterns:

          

Intermediate Patterns:

    

Advanced Patterns:

   

Celebrate Teen Read Week!

Teen Read Week is an initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It was created in 1998 to encourage teens to read for pleasure. This year’s Teen Read Week is October 18th – 24th, and the theme is “Read Beyond Reality @ Your Library”. So pick up a book that’s out of this world, or suggest some titles here for others to enjoy!