Claremont COURIER/Friday, December 19, 2014

24

: Happy Holidays

Ask Ady:
by Ady Bolinger

Claremont Kids advice

columnist Ady Bolinger
is a fifth grader at
Oakmont Elementary School. Do
you have a
problem youd
like her to talk
about? Email us
at kids@claremontcourier.com

DEAR ADY: I dont have a lot of

money, but I want to give my best
friend Logan a really cool gift for
Christmas. What can I do?
Sincerely, Clueless in Claremont
DEAR CLUELESS: You dont have
to have money to get Logan a
Christmas present. Christmas is about
being happy and being in the giving
spirit, not about how much money
you have or what you get. Here are
some ideas on what you could do.
You can make something for Logan.
I think he would really like it, because
it shows you took the time to make it
for him.
Maybe you could do an art project,
like paint a Christmas tree for him or
make an origami ornament. To do that,
you can look in an origami book or
online. He would really enjoy thatit is
very much in the Christmas spirit!
You could also share an experience
with Logan, like devoting a day to
playing his favorite games. Or you
could both do a good deed for someone
else together, such as volunteering at a
retirement home or going to the beach
and picking up trash together. There are
a lot of places to go and things to do to
help other people and your community,
plus it would be in the giving spirit of
Christmas!
You dont have to have money to
give someone a nice gift or make
someone feel good. I know that
whenever I get a homemade gift, it is
all the more special. I have also gotten
experiences before and they are fun as
well. Your friend will probably like
whatever you do!

easons greetings! Welcome to another edition of Claremont Kids, a special section

in the newspaper for our younger readers.

My name is Aralia Giron and I am currently a senior at iPoly High School. I am so happy to be filling in as guest
editor for the holiday season. I think my favorite part of working on these pages is helping the other editors fill
them in with fun articles and silly jokes.

ongratulations to a couple of lucky young COURIER readers who, after responding to

a coloring contest we held in last months Claremont Kids section, have won family
packs to see Disney on Ice at the Citizens Business Arena in Ontario.

With a few crayon strokes, Braydon Bailey, who is in transitional kindergarten at Valencia Elementary School in Upland,
and San Antonio High School junior Seitiny Wyche earned the chance to see their favorite Magic Kingdom characters
come to life, gliding around in a winter wonderland. Congratulations, Claremont Kids, and thanks for participating!

Olvera Street marks Christmas

with Mexican style

With its colorful marketplace and

some of the best Mexican food around,
Olvera Street in Los Angeles is known
for being festive. Its even more so
with Las Posadas, an annual holiday
celebration, going on this month.
From now through Wednesday, December 24, the streetthe oldest in Los
Angelesis saying Feliz Navidad with
a nightly celebration, featuring mariachi
music and Aztec and Mexican dancers.
Beginning at about 7 p.m, there is a
candlelight procession that starts at the
historic Avila Adobe. The march is led
by kids, dressed as shepherds, angels,
Mary and Joseph, who sing songs in
English and Spanish as they move
along the route. You can join the procession or just watch.
The parade, which is a reenactment
of the first Christmas, will make stops
at various points, but will be turned
down, usually in song. Once Mary and
Joseph find room at a stable, free
champurrado (a Mexican drink somewhat like hot chocolate) and pan dulce
(sweet bread) will be served. Piatas
filled with treats will also be burst.
This event is free. Olvera Street is located between Main and Alameda
streets in Los Angeles. For information, contact olvera-street.com or email
info@olvera-street.com.

Photo courtesy of Olvera Street

News Bites
We all scream for ice cream!

Who likes ice cream? The answer,

of course, is everyone.
Did you know that Claremont is
becoming a hot-spot for this cold
treat?
We already have delicious ice
cream at Bert & Rockys Creamery
and Baskin Robbins, along with tasty
frozen yogurt at 21 Choices, Yogurtland and Razzle Dazzle and creamy
gelato at Fruizen Desserts.
Recently, Claremont welcomed a
new ice cream joint called la
Minute. Located in the Claremont
Packing House, this desert oasis is
jumping on a new trend that draws
as much from science class as from
traditional food preparation. The la
Minute staff uses liquid nitrogen to
freeze very small batches of ice
cream right before your eyes.
The la Minute website explains
the chemistry behind their super
fresh, quick-frozen product. Liquid
nitrogen is simply nitrogen (which
makes up 78 percent of our atmosphere) in a liquid state. It is -321 degrees and is obviously very cold.
Using liquid nitrogen to make ice
cream minimizes the size of ice
crystals and results in a much

creamier ice cream.

In an article on NBCs Today
Show website, Chef Jansen Chan
talked about the new popularity of
liquid nitrogen ice cream. She says it
appeals to those who love the idea of
a good, old-fashioned ice cream parlor, but like a futuristic twist thrown
into the mix. And its fun to watch
your perfectly picked flavor being
created before your eyes.
It is a great, dazzling, magical
special effect, she said.
Want to try out la Minute? You
might be able to convince your folks
to take you down to Claremonts
newest ice cream store by letting
them know that the sweet shop
shares a space with Augies Coffee
House, known for roasting their own
coffee. (You know how grownups
love a good hot cup of java.)
Visit the Claremont Packing House
at 532 W. First St. Both la Minute
and Augies Coffee House can be
found inside the building in the center
of the atrium.

Photo courtesy of A la Minute Ice Cream

Claremont COURIER/Friday, December 19, 2014

25

Maze

Sudoku

Courtesy of KidsTurnCentral.com

A colorful countdown to Christmas around the world

ts the most wonderful

time of the year and,
throughout the world,
each country has a special
way of enjoying the holiday
season. Instead of 25 days of
Christmas, I present to you 25
ways Christmas is celebrated.

First on our list is the different ways

in which families decorate their houses
for the holidays.
People in Costa Rica decorate their
house with beautiful tropical flowers,
while in Greenland illuminated stars
are placed in windows. In Hungary,
adults will often decorate the Christmas
tree without the children, while in
India, mango and banana trees are decorated instead of pine trees. Jamaicans
go all out, painting their houses and
hanging new curtains as well as decking the halls. And in Haiti, children put
newly-cleaned shoes filled with straw
under the porch in hopes Santa will
trade the straw for presents.
Now onto the actual celebration of
Christmas Day, which in Armenia is
honored on January 6. Did you know
that in Australia, Christmas falls in the

middle of summer? After all, Down

Under, summer runs from in mid-December to early February.
In Finland, animals are given their
own Christmas, with farmers hanging
bags of nuts and animal fat on branches.
Malta celebrates Christmas day with
concerts at school, featuring caroling, little plays and poetry recitals. Small,
heart-shaped paper baskets called
julekurver are hung on Christmas trees
in Norway. In China, apples are given
out the night before Christmas because
the Chinese word for Christmas Eve,
Ping An Ye, is similar to the word for
apple (ping guo). In Japan, fried chicken
is a favorite Christmas treat.
Yes, Christmas celebrations are
pretty diverse.
In Denmark, it is customary to dance
around the Christmas tree before opening presents. In Latvia, children have to
work for their presents, and recite poems,
sing, dance or play instruments besides
the Christmas tree in order to get gifts.
During the holidays in the Philippines,
people celebrate with a parol, which is a
pole or frame with a lighted star lantern
on it, traditionally made using bamboo
strips and Japanese paper. In Ireland,
young men and women dress up in cos-

Flickr photo by Eloise Phipps

Piatas in the market just before Christmas in Texoco, Mexico.

tume and, as they carry a long pole with

a holly bush tied to the top, sing a
rhyme about the tiny bird called a wren.
In Romania, Christmas has a touch of
Halloween: Someone will dress up as a
goat in a multi-colored mask and walk
around among the carolers.

Almost there.
The children of Greece celebrate by
carrying around model boats decorated
with nuts and painted gold. In Mexico,
seven posadas are celebrated, which include games such as breaking a piata
to create a shower of sweets. Families
in New Zealand celebrate by camping
or spending Christmas at holiday
homes. In Zambia, it is customary for
children to go to one house while adults
go to another to party and eat.
Even more jolly than these customs
are the festivals that often mark the holiday season. Since Ghana is the worlds
second largest cocoa producer, a cocoa
harvest is held during the holidays.
Hong Kong hosts a huge Winterfest
that involves shopping, carnival rides
and other attractions such as the lighting of a Christmas tree.
And finally, we have reached the end
of our list. After Christmas Day celebrations in Mali, some people are
dunked in holy water to publicly
demonstrate their faith in Jesus.
As you can see, the many customs of
Christmas around the world are as unique
as the ornaments you hang on your tree.
Aralia Giron
CLAREMONTKIDS/continues on the next page

Claremont COURIER/Friday, December 19, 2014

AB

JR

Q. What do snowmen eat for breakfast?

Q: Which elf was the best singer?
Q: Where do snowmen go to dance?
Q: Why is Santa so good at karate?
Q: Which reindeer has bad manners?
A. Rude-olph.

Reviews by Claremont Kids correspondent Eden Yu, a seventh grader at El Roble

Intermediate School.

Q. What is Santas dog called?

A. Because he has a black belt.

How are the phrases ice cream and I

scream similar? They're completely differentexcept for the fact that they sound exactly the same! These words are called
wordles. This short book, I Scream! Ice
Cream! will keep you flipping the pages and
guessing the wordless. Can you guess
all of them correctly?
Paired with fun illustrations, I Scream!
Ice Cream! will keep
your mind whirling!
I scream! Ice Cream! and Just a Minute
are available at Heirloom, located at 175 N.
Indian Hill Blvd., B101 A in Claremont.
For information, call (909) 621-7939 or
visit heirloomclaremont.com.

A. The snowball.

When a skeleton arrives at your door and

tells you to go with
him immediately, what
do you do? Outwit
him, of course!
Thats just what
Grandma Beetle does
in this trickster tale
and counting book,
Just a Minute. The clever Grandma Beetle
finds every excuse to avoid leaving with
him: Just a minute, I only have one house
to sweep; Only two pots of tea to boil;
Only three pounds of corn to make into
tortillas...and the list just goes on.
Count in both English and Spanish with
Grandma Beetle as she prepares for her
birthday party, with nine grandchildren invited and one surprise guest!

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Serge Bloch

A. ELFis Presley.

Counting Book by Yuyi Morales

A. Frosted Flakes.

Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and I Scream! Ice Cream!:A Book of Wordles

Candy-makers produce
more than 1.8 billion
candy canes annually for
the US holiday season,
according to the National
Confectioners Association.

A. Santa Paws.

Book Nook

Did you know?

26

Claremont COURIER/Friday, December 19, 2014

27

Dee

Winter
Word seach
Candy cane
Carols
Christmas
Decorations
Dreidel
My name is Roadie,
and I am an 8-yearold Bassett Hound.
Given how cute we
Bassets are, with our spotted coats and sad,
puppy-dog eyes, you would think I would
have cost my humans a bundle. But no, I was
rescued from the Devore Animal Shelter.
I am usually well-behaved and my humans
reward me with my favorite treat, Greenies.
My mom says they are good for my teeth, but
I just like the taste and crunch. Sometimes,
though, I break the family rule that claims I
am not allowed on the couch. Actually, I break
it every day. What can I say? Its a cozy spot.
I have a few eccentricities. I like to go out
to the pond in the backyard and dip my nose
in the water, getting my ears and chest wet.
Then Ill trot back in the house and shake myself off, slinging water over anyone in range.
Its really my way of saying, I like you. I
also get very itchymaybe its a hound dog
thingand so I scoot myself along the carpet
on my tummy, moving along like an inchworm, until I find sweet, scratchy relief.
I guess I should tell you: Im not exactly an
only child. My humans also have a beagle
named Chief. Were pals, actually, and enjoy
cuddling up together. When we eat, we share
the same bowl and never fight over who gets
more. He is my best friend.
Yes, I think its safe to say that Basset
Hounds are awesome.
Roadies humans are Dee Proffit, the billing/
accounting manager at the Claremont COURIER,
and her husband John.

Family
Gingerbread
Hanukkah
Holiday
Menorah
Mistletoe
Naughty
Nice
Presents
Santa Claus
Stockings
Winter

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cannot be seen eart. Wishing you happinessr
Helen Kelle
with the h
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bles
Notable Quota