BEARFACTS 341 South Sappington Rd

St. Louis, MO 63122

12.14.11

Issue 4

for Time Traditions!

It‟s beginning to look a lot like

Christmas…At the White House. Many

people have various traditions on how to

decorate their Christmas trees. The Obama‟s have

their own tradition of picking out the tree and decorating it

with a theme. “Usually, the day after Thanksgiving, or some-

time in that weekend right after Thanksgiving, the main

White House Christmas tree gets delivered” said Social Studies

teacher, Ms. Nondorf. “One of the fun traditions is that, it is

always delivered by horse and wagon”.

So where does this tree come from? This year it came

from Schroeder‟s Forevergreens close to Neshkoro, Wisconsin

according to the washingtonpost.com. The Schroeder family, the

family that grew this tree, is honored to have it placed in the

Blue Room. They had to go through many tree judging and

competitions from the National Christmas Tree Association to

win this honor. It took about twenty years to grow it into the

great Christmas tree it is today. This tradition has been around

since 1966 and the winners of this competition have earn the

privilege to give thier trees to the White House.

The theme the Obama‟s chose this year is “Shine, Give, Share”

according to www.whitehouse.gov. The 18‟6” tree is in honor of

the men and women in the military. The tree is decorated with

cards made by children who have parents serving in the mili-

tary. Adding to the decoration of the tree are badges, medals

and patches that are displayed as ornaments. Everything about

the tree this

year is also

green (besides the

tree itself). The orna-

ments are made of recycled ma-

terials and the tree has LED lights for

saving energy.

The White House expects about 50,000

people to pass through and enjoy the decora-

tions throughout the house. “This year, the

official tour features 37 Christmas trees, 30 are

natural trees and 7 are made from paper, felt, or

a l u - minum” according to whitehouse.gov. Of course

t h e Blue Room will have the best feature of all having

t h e magnificent tree dedicated to the troops that serve

the na- tion.

But this is not the only thing that is a sight to see. There is a

ginger bread replica of the White House that weighs about 400

pounds and is displayed in the State Dinning Room.. This too is

a tradition of the White House. Though the traditions change

throughout the years with the different presidents, the meaning

of Christmas remains the same.

Bear Facts writer,

Meg Haenchen

White House

Traditions The biggest

living

Christmas tree

is 160ft tall according to travelandlei-

sure.com

2 Photo by Meg Haenchen

Horseradish and Wigilia The scent of freshly baked bread and

sauerkraut accompany me as I set the

formal dining table Christmas Eve. No

matter who comes to dinner, there is

always an extra place at the dinner table

that night. “For the weary stranger,” my

aunt told me one year. “For Jesus in

disguise.” If this stranger ever decides to

make the long trek to my secluded house,

then he better like Polish food.

My father‟s side of the family is

strongly Polish. We cook Polish foods for

holidays; our family reunion shirts have

a Polish flag on them; and every time we

get together, some of the little old great-

aunts always sit in the center of the

room, teaching everyone new swear

words in Polish. Most of the year, these

Polish tendencies are smothered, but

once a year, on Christmas Eve, we go

back to our roots. The tradition of set-

ting an extra place at the table is an old

Polish one, for as the Polish saying goes,

“A guest in the home is God in the

home.” The Wigilia-- Christmas Eve

dinner--is an incredibly sacred time for a

family, and we respect that. This is the

one meal where my phone is turned off,

in a different room, as is my father‟s

work Blackberry (he‟s worse than most

Ursuline students, the way he checks it

every other second). Everyone dresses

up in heels and make-up, even though

the dinner table is a good 15 feet from the

room where we watch How I Met Your

Mother. When everyone, five to fifteen

people, depending whether it snowed or

not, is ready, the eating begins. It‟s the same thing every year -- a

sauerkraut dish with sliced sausage and

baked apples, pierogis, fried dumplings

stuffed with mashed potatoes and horse-

radish, golumpkis, (pronounced

gwumpki) meat-and rice-stuffed cabbage

rolls, and my great-aunt

Bernice‟s Polish bread,

studded with white rai-

sins. Traditionally, a

family would share

oplatek, unleavened

bread similar to com-

munion hosts with reli-

gious scenes printed on

the sides, before the

meal. Sadly, with the

decline of Poles in St.

Louis, so, too, has the

a v a i l a b i l i t y o f

oplatek. My aunt Mary

McGrath, mother of an

Ursuline alum (class of

‟04), remembers what it

was like every year,

c e l e b r a t i n g

Wigilia. “We weren‟t as Polish, living out

in South County, unlike our cous-

ins. They lived in the city and were

swearing at me in Polish by the time they

were 10! But that was the one time we‟re

as Polish as they were! Everyone came

over, and everyone forgot their prob-

lems.”

This is why every year we labor

with thin egg-roll dough and fumes of

horseradish: family. Christmas is about

family, coming together and remember-

ing from where you came. This Wigilia,

spend time with your family. Invite

those crazy great-aunts over for some

different cuisine. Who knows, they just

might teach you to swear in another lan-

guage. Wesolych Swiat Bozego

Narodzenia! Merry Christmas!

Ann Slesinski

Bear Facts Copy Editor

My great-grandmother, Bernice (left) with her

parents and brother in a formal portrait taken in

Poland.

Christmas Eve with a Fourth-Generation Pole

Christmas

Traditions in

the Kitchen

Every year, Leigh Rocca, junior, and her

family bake traditional Italian Miscotti

cookies. You pronounce the name of

these treats “mes-coi-ti.” This recipe has

been passed down in the Rocca family for

many years. Rocca explained, “My great-

grandpa was an extraordinary baker and

made Miscottis for his bakery a lot. After

he died, my great-grandma continued to

bake them for the family.” Her grandpar-

ents decided to continue the tradition

about six years ago. This tasty treat is

now a favorite Christmas tradition all

members of the Rocca family enjoy. “My

extended family gets together to make

about 500. Those are divided up between

my family, my grandparents, and aunt

and uncle.” The cookies are simple and

fun to make. Rocca described, “You take

the dough and roll it out into a long

skinny piece. Then coil the dough from

both sides to get an „S‟ shape.” Their taste

may be plain, but it‟s the tradition that

makes baking them so fun. “Miscottis

have a dense, fairly plain taste, but we

always frost them with icing.” These little

cookies have created memories for Rocca

that she and her family will never forget.

“After making most of the cookies, my

younger cousins make massive cookies

with the extra dough.” Christmas time is

never the same without a day together in

the kitchen, baking their favorite family

recipe.

Meg Vatterott

Bear Facts Print Editor

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