This is the first year Jess Foran got her very own Christmas tree to decorate for her celebration of the holiday season. (Harrison Smith)

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’Tis the season to decorate

It’s almost December and people are beginning to deck the halls, bringing out star-topped trees for Christmas, Hanukkiahs for Hanukkah and colourful African art for Kwanzaa. For many faiths, this is the season to celebrate and the season to decorate. That means tinsel, candles and colour: even Festivus has a pole.

Previously in Postscript

November 23, 2007

Rise and shine

The world is divided into two kinds of people: early risers and night hawks. Have you ever wondered what it’s like on the other side?

November 23, 2007

Word Nerd

In 2003, when the French government opposed the American war on Iraq, certain areas of the United States exploded with anti-French sentiment. The most amusing legacy of this political clash is the renaming of French toast and French fries to “freedom toast” and “freedom fries.” Claimed to be a protest against France’s stance, the small culinary admonishment attracted a wide variety of media attention and the incident quickly became the subject of international criticism and ridicule. This is not, however, a unique incident. “Freedom fries” belong to a longstanding tradition of words used throughout history to make political statements.

November 16, 2007

The nomenclature of you

As Shakespeare’s renowned heroine Juliet asked, “What’s in a name?” We often take names for granted, never thinking about what they might mean. But if you could choose your name, you might put a little more thought into those words on your birth certificate.

November 9, 2007

A toast to cocktails

Ordering his signature martini, James Bond requested his drink to be “shaken, not stirred.”

November 2, 2007

The cigarette’s exotic older sibling

Some students like to loosen up with a beer or two, or a casual cigarette. Some choose to go outside the realm of legal enjoyment while others shun such substances altogether. Today, there’s a growing crowd that likes to kick back and smoke a little something called shisha.