By: Addison Strack & Sophie Johnson

Now that we are approaching the holidays, everyone is in the holiday spirit, and they are preparing themselves for the happiest time of the year. We celebrate Christmas, but there are other holidays that are also being celebrated at this time. It is important to recognize and learn about different holidays and their traditions, so that you can understand how and why people celebrate the holidays they do. In this article we will be covering some different winter holidays, and their traditions.

The first holiday we will be covering is Christmas. This is a holiday we celebrate, and it is our favorite holiday of the year. One of the most important aspects of Christmas is the Christmas tree. Every year in December, Christmas tree farms are filled with people who are in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Once the best tree is found and taken home, people will decorate it with string lights, ornaments, and a star.

Another huge tradition that is practiced on Christmas is gift giving. People buy gifts for loved ones to be opened on Christmas Day, to show how much they appreciate them. Gifts slowly fill underneath the Christmas tree creating more and more excitement for Christmas Day.

A third tradition that many young children participate in is leaving out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. Young kids are filled with anticipation and excitement waiting for Santa to leave them gifts, and of course they need to return his favor, by giving him some fuel to finish his long journey around the world. These are only three traditions that many people participate in on Christmas, and there are so many more.

New Years is another holiday that brings a lot of excitement to the winter season. This holiday is celebrated worldwide and marks the start of a new calendar year. Traditionally, the celebration starts on December 31st and continues into the morning of January 1st.

Many people write New Year’s resolutions which are goals that they want to attain or achievements they want to make within the coming year. New years is the start of a new beginning for lots of people and it’s almost a reset or a refresh where people can start up new things or start over on things they need to try again.

One of the main New Year’s traditions in America is the countdown to midnight and then the New York Times Square ball drop. This period of counting down is also a way of saying goodbye to the past year and remembering the memories that happened. It is also a way of preparing for what is to come in the future.

Many different cultures celebrate this holiday differently while doing traditional things that will provide them with good luck and good fortune for the new year. Some of these include lucky grapes in Spain, smashing plates in Denmark and eating black eyed peas in the Southern US for good luck.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that is celebrated from December 7 to December 15 this year. Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a menorah, which is a nine candle holder. On each day of Hanukkah a candle is lit.

Religious rituals are also a way that people celebrate Hanukkah, for example many people will do daily readings of Scripture. 

A third tradition is gift giving. Many families will exchange a gift each night of Hanukkah, and these gifts are often smaller thoughtful gifts. 

Throughout the winter season, there are many holidays and traditions that families and individuals can look forward to all over the world. These three holidays are only a few examples of what a lot of people celebrate during this time. These holidays all include fun, giving and thoughtful routines that have been developed for centuries and will continue to be practiced for many generations to come.

By: Mira Kaufman

“Dre-del, dre-del, dre-del, I made you out of clay” is a song known by many. The lit menorah and latkes are loved across the world. People know these things as the celebration of Hannakkah but why is Hannakkah the only Jewish Holiday you may know?

Hannakkah is a Jewish holiday, celebrating the miracle of light! It takes place in early winter but dates vary because it follows the Hebrew calendar. In smaller communities all around the world Hannakkah is celebrated but why do we hear of this Jewish holiday more than anything else?

In Judaism Hanukkah is not a major Holiday; in fact it is not even written in the Torah (Jewish Holy Script). Hanukkah celebrates the story of the Makkabes taking place in the 160s BCE. The Makkabes had fought two battles and returned to their temple to reclaim it from the Greeks. When they got there they found the eternal light out (a never ending flame) and found only a singular jar of oil left to light the fire. A messenger was then sent to buy more oil and on the 8th day when he came back, the singular jar of oil was still burning, thus creating the miracle of light. Today Jews celebrate this story through lighting menorahs, symbolizing the eight days of lasting oil.

The holiday is well known by society because Christmas falls at around the same time every year. In every location aside from Israel, Jews make up a very small population of where they live and over time have acculturated into some of the traditions of the religions around them. For example, Jew’s gained the tradition of giving presents on Hanukkah from the celebration of Christmas.

Due to both Christmas and Hanukkah falling around the same time every year, stores started supplying decorations for not just Christmas but Hanukkah too. This was because there was money to be made, which opened people’s eyes to more cultures on the store shelves. Target, for example, sells both Christmas and Hanukkah decorations in the same area allowing customers to look at every sale as they shop.

Hannakkah is also known and loved for its traditional foods. Gelt (Yiddish for money) is a classic win in a Dreidel game. The only difference for the traditional meaning of gelt is that it’s chocolate money, not real. Sufganiyot are also very popular! They are jelly filled donuts eaten for dessert. While these are both popular foods, the most well known would have to be latkes. Latkes were originally a Polish dish before being taken on by the Jews, and are known in America as potato pancakes. A common thread you may have noticed is that two of these three foods are fried, which quite in fact has a purpose. To symbolize the miracle of oil, many Jews fry foods on Hanukkah to celebrate!

By: Aliana Romo

Thanksgiving is a national holiday that takes place on November 23rd, and is celebrated mainly in the United States and Canada to celebrate the blessings of the year. According to Britannica.com, Americans believe that Thanksgiving is celebrated because it represents the 1621 harvest feast that was shared between the Wampanoag people and the English colonists known as pilgrims. It is also celebrated to give honor and show respect to the Wampanoag people for their support. Canadians though, believe that Thanksgiving has been celebrated in their culture since 1578, because of an expedition by Martin Frobisher in which he gave thanks for his safe voyage. In both countries, Thanksgiving is celebrated to share a meal with loved ones and be thankful for each other.

It takes place in the fall and this overall represents how it’s celebrated, mainly with pumpkin flavored things. Family’s decorate their household with pumpkins, leaves, and turkeys, along with colors such as yellow, orange, brown and red. The decorations provided with Thanksgiving make the feel of it a lot more comfy. Thanksgiving is also, for some people, the last day to celebrate fall, since almost a month later is Christmas, which many people love to start celebrating as soon as possible.

On Thanksgiving day, many traditions are celebrated such as the large meal that is shared and gathered with family members. The food provided on Thanksgiving is supposed to represent a feast. Foods such as turkey, pumpkin pie, ham, mashed potatoes, cornbread, vegetables and much more are usually provided, although it varies in each family.

In my household, everything on Thanksgiving is shared, which usually means my grandfather cooks the turkey and my grandmother makes mashed potatoes and pies. This is done in my household because we all provided something for dinner which makes us all more thankful for each other. Along with that, family members that live in other states and countries come to visit to spend time for Thanksgiving.

Not only on Thanksgiving is a meal shared, but family members also gather together to watch football. Usually on Thanksgiving, there’s many football games and especially in America, football is very important. In my family football is always being watched, so on Thanksgiving there’s a tradition to wear jerseys with fall decorations on them. Thanksgiving is special in my family because we love to cook and be together.

There’s many things about Thanksgiving that make it special. Gathering with loved ones to eat favorite and delicious foods, while being thankful for each other creates a special feeling for people. It gives people a moment to relax with family and friends.

By: Stephanie Caballero Benitez

Día de los Muertos is a celebration that happens every year on November 2nd. This celebration is most popular amongst the Hispanic community. Día de los Muertos is a celebration and remembrance of the life of loved ones. This tradition originates from Mexico, from the Aztec ancestors.

One of the most popular ways to honor and remember a person is by making them an ‘altar’. An altar is a decorated table with pictures of dead loved ones. These altars are usually decorated with things that the dead once enjoyed; it can consist of foods, books, and drinks.

Another way that people decorate these altars is by putting colorful candy skulls. Another thing you may notice in an altar are non edible skulls also known as catrinas and catrins.

A flower that is very popular in these altars are the golden marigolds. Usually people create small paths with the petals of these flowers to help guide the loved ones to the altar.

Another popular thing in these altars are lighting candles, with some even believe that the candles are a way to communicate with the dead.

Lastly, one of the things that is not often used here in the US but in other countries, music. People play their favorite songs to the dead, some even go to graves and take what is called a “mariachi’ or ‘banda’ to play them live music.

In Mexico, where this is more popular, the altars can stay up for weeks. Here in the US, it is not as common to see the altars up for that long. The longest an altar stays up for the public is only for a week.

This tradition is not only for the Hispanic community but for all. Many around the United States have taken up this tradition in remembrance of their loved ones; this even includes pets! Dia de los Muertos is sometimes confused with something evil, but not to worry, as once again this is only to celebrate and remember the life of ones who have passed.