SWAT MAGAZINE ISSUE #19

Christmas traditions

from ar
ound
the world

KDFiCnnCehrr,iJsatpmaans

Christmas is all about food, and in Japan, this food is
associated with three letters: KFC. People flock to the

American fast-food chain KFC to eat – get your
drumsticks out – “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” aka
“Kentucky For Christmas!” The tradition of eating
“(Fried) Christmas chicken” goes back to a marketing
campaign in 1974 – and to this day, KFC records the
highest sales volume each year on Christmas Eve.

Alpine countries like Austria have a legend that a
devil-like creature called Krampus joins their St.
Nicholas festivities on December 6. Children are
asked for a list of their good and bad deeds: Good
children are rewarded with sweets, apples, and
nuts, and bad children worry what Krampus might

bring on Christmas morning.

Krampus, Austria

Christmas traditions

from ar
ound

the world

Giant LPahniltieprpnines
Festival,

Every year, the city of San Fernando holds Ligligan
Parul (or Giant Lantern Festival) featuring dazzling
parols (lanterns) that symbolize the Star of Bethlehem.
Each parol consists of thousands of spinning lights that
illuminate the night sky. The festival has made San
Fernando the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines."

The Yule Goat has been a Swedish Christmas
symbol dating back to ancient pagan festivals.
However, in 1966, the tradition got a whole new life
after someone came up with the idea to make a
giant straw goat, now referred to as the Gävle Goat.
The goat is more than 42 feet high, 23 feet wide, and
weighs 3.6 tons. Each year, the massive goat is

constructed in the same spot.

GSävwleedGeonat,













CDHERSISSTE
MRTASS

GINGERBREAD MEN COOKIES

NO HOLIDAY TREAT PLATTER WOULD BE
COMPLETE WITHOUT GINGERBREAD MAN

COOKIES!

BAKED CRANBERRY PUDDING

THIS IS AN OLD-FASHIONED PUDDING THAT'S A
CRANBERRY LOVER'S DELIGHT. SERVE WARM
TOPPED WITH WHIPPED CREAM FOR AN ELEGANT
LOOK, OR IN BOWLS WITH RICH CREAM POURED

OVER FOR A HOMEY TOUCH.



GINGERBREAD MEN COOKIES

TO MAKE COOKIES THAT LOOK LIKE CANDY
CANES, COLOR HALF THE DOUGH IN CLASSIC RED
AND TWIST AWAY. THEY'RE FUN TO HANG ON THE

SIDE OF A COFFEE MUG, OR YOU CAN DEVOUR
THEM ON THEIR OWN.

CARAMEL NUT LOGS

IT’S A GOOD THING THIS RECIPE MAKES A LOT—
THE WRAPPED LOGS NEVER STICK AROUND
LONG! THEY TAKE A BIT OF EFFORT TO MAKE
BUT ARE WELL WORTH IT.



HOLIDAY SNOWFLAKE CAKE

THE COCONUT SPRINKLED ON THIS OLD-
FASHIONED, FLUFFY WHITE CAKE GIVES THE
IMPRESSION OF SNOW, WITHOUT THE COLD. IT'S
A BEAUTIFUL DESSERT THAT IS A FITTING END

TO A DELICIOUS WINTER MEAL.







WHAT HAPPENS TO TREES

IN WINTER?

During the winter, trees do not die. Instead, they enter a
type of hibernation called dormancy. Trees must preserve
their energy in the winter since there is less sunlight and
they cannot produce as much food.
When trees go dormant, they lose their leaves. They don't
make food in the winter, therefore large amounts of leaves
that require energy to sustain are useless. A chemical called
Abscisic Acid (ABA) is produced in terminal buds when
it's time for trees to lose their leaves. The terminal bud is
where the leaf breaks off when it falls, so when ABA
gathers there, it signals the leaf to break off. This only
happens in deciduous trees, not in coniferous trees. ABA
also suspends growth, preventing cells from dividing. This
is a phenomenon that can be found in both deciduous and
coniferous trees.

DECIDUOUS TREES

Deciduous trees lose their leaves as the seasons change. They
are typically found in areas where winter gets cold and snowy.
When the weather is very cold, the water in the trees can
freeze, causing the leaves to stop working and can even be
damaged by the ice crystals. When the days get shorter in the
autumn, these trees know how to prepare for this. They begin
removing nutrients from the leaves, which is when we see them
changing color. On the other hand, there are deciduous trees in
tropical places where it never gets cold. Winter in these places
is very dry. When the rainy season ends, the trees know that
they will not have very much water for a few months, so they let
go of their leaves.

CONIFEROUS
TREES

Coniferous trees do not usually lose their leaves in the winter.
Their leaves, which are commonly referred to as "needles,"
remain on the trees all year. As a result, they are often called
"evergreens." Coniferous trees have different leaf adaptations.
Their needles are long and thin. This means that they have a
small surface area, which also means that they have fewer
stomata from which to lose water. In addition, narrow leaves
also aid in the prevention of snow accumulation and branch
breakage. Their stomata are located deep within the needle,
rather than on the surface. This forms a pocket of still air just
inside the needle. When compared to moving air, still air
produces less transpiration. Furthermore, their needles have
thick and waxy cuticles. The cuticle is the leaf's outermost
layer. The wax aids in the prevention of water loss.

Decorate the Xmas tree in thebackyard

Christmas will be
here, just count

to three.

CHRISTMAS
Movie and Chill

Christmas wouldn't be complete
without these movies

Home alone

Genre: Comedy, Kids & Family, Other
Runtime: 1h 42m

When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister
(Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a
family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherine
O'Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the
McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport
without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house
and assumes his wish to have no family has
come true. But his excitement sours when he
realizes that two con men (Joe Pesci, Daniel
Stern) plan to rob the McCallister residence, and
that he alone must protect the family home.

The Polar Express

Genre: Fantasy, Other, Animation,
Kids & Family
Runtime: 1h 40m

Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to
sleep, a boy boards the mysterious train that
waits for him--The Polar Express. When the boy
arrives at the North Pole, Santa Claus offers him
any gift he desires. The boy asks only for a bell
from the harness of Santa's reindeer. But on the
way home, the bell is lost. Christmas morning,
the boy finds the bell under the Christmas tree,
and when he shakes it, the bell makes the most
beautiful sound he's ever heard. His mother
admires the bell, but she laments that it is broken
... for, you see, only a true believer can hear the
sound of the bell.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Kids &
Family, Other
Runtime: 1h 45m

Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of
Whoville, wherein live the Whos, an almost-
mutated sort of Munchkin-like people who all
love Christmas. Just outside of their beloved
town lives the Grinch (Jim Carrey), a nasty
creature that hates Christmas and plans to steal
it from the Whos, which he equally abhors. Cindy
Lou, a six-year-old girl who believes in the spirit
of the festival, sets out to reform him.









IC PROMOTIONS

-avocadorable Senior4iC
Head 4iC
supernarnia Head 4iC

.::Nautica::.

Executive 4iC MarshMellow94
Executive 4iC
Ciinzo
Junior 3iC
:.Superloven.:

Nikyuu Junior 2iC
Axiomatikal Senior 2iC
Abruzzi. Senior 2iC

Senior 2iC Allyyyy
Executive 2iC Adra_07

Trial 1iC roshieyuu

Junior Founder

axh



SWAT'S

WOTM

OF DECEMBER