Mrs. Hardin, our library media specialist, has set up a database that explores some interesting holiday traditions from around the world.  Follow the directions below to research the site, then write a blog on some of the traditions you found most interesting:

Country Reports, one of our subscription databases, has a worldwide “Christmas Traditions” feature you might be interested in. 

-Go to the Library Information Center page.

-Click on “Country Reports.”

-Click on Sign In.

-Username = mountain, password = ridge

-Click on “Activities,” upper right.  Then …

-Click on “Learn by Topic,” lower left.  Then …

-Click on “Christmas Traditions,” lower left.

 

 

What issues concern you most?  As you've discussed in previous blogs, Suzanne Collins was clearly concerned about some of the directions our society is currently heading.  What issues would you like to see dealt with in the upcoming new year?  Are there global concerns that you feel are paramount?  What national issues need addressed right away?  Are there things at school that should be changed?  Please be mature with your topic choices--I'm looking for a serious, thoughtful response.

A characteristic of dystopian literature is that it looks at current negative social trends and then tries to image what those trends might look like expanded tenfold in the future.  In the world of Panem created by Suzanne Collins there are many examples of this idea.  What issues in our world today do you think might have been some of Collins' inspiration for the world that Katniss inhabits?  What do you think should be done to ensure our world doesn't end up as Panem?

In her book Guide to The Hunger Games, Caroline Carpenter points out an interesting comparison between the Roman Empire and the empire created by Suzanne Collins in The Hunger Games.  “Panem’s name comes from the Latin expression, panem et circenses (meaning ‘bread and circuses’), which describes the frivolity of the Roman Empire before it’s decline.  It was first used by the Roman poet Juvenal around AD 100 to describe a strategy used by Roman politicians to win votes from the poor by providing circus games as a form of entertainment and a constant supply of wheat grain.  This way, politicians rose to power and the Roman people were kept happy without ever really questioning how they were being ruled.  There is quite a clear link between this idea and the society of Panem…The people of the Capitol never question the unfair way that their nation is governed because they live in luxury and are kept entertained by lethal gladiator-style battles, presented as ‘games’.  Panem et circenses is also about ignoring your moral duty to others, which we can certainly see in the thoughtless citizens of the Capitol.  Viewing the Hunger Games as nothing more than a bit of fun, they’ve no appreciation for the lives of the children killed on screen”(13). 

What examples of 'bread and circuses' do you notice in our world today?  In what ways do leaders keep people distracted, and/or how do we distract ourselves from unpleasant realities that need our attention?  Explain your thoughts in a well-organized paragraph written in third person point of view.