Notice how Christmas music is on the radio? Or maybe how downtown Keene is covered in wreaths and lights? It is arguably the most wonderful time of the year! The time people all over the world celebrate holidays such as Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more.
There are several popular holiday traditions that people in America practice every year. These include Black Friday shopping, sending personalized cards to loved ones, driving through town to see lights and decorations on people’s houses and baking holiday treats like gingerbread men and fruit cake.
There are also many customs countries around the world observe.
Tara Levy/ Student Life Editor
Several Jewish people celebrate the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, eat Chinese on Christmas or go to the movies.
African Americans celebrate the seven-day holiday Kwanzaa often exchange gifts that are homemade rather than purchased.
On Christmas Eve in Germany individuals hide a pickle in a Christmas tree and the first person to find the pickle Christmas morning receives a gift. Also in Germany, on December 4, children leave a shoe outside their house overnight. The next morning their shoe is either filled with sweets or, for naughty children, filled with tree branches.
In Italy, children receive gifts from Befana instead of Santa Claus, a friendly witch who arrives on the fifth of January.
In Japan, many families eat KFC on Christmas Eve.
Also, in Canada during the Christmas season any mail sent to the address, “Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada, HO HO HO,” is opened and replied to.
The holidays are also a time to give back and help others. Hundred Nights in Keene has an annual silent auction that takes place mid-December to help raise money for the cold weather shelter.
Some students here at Keene State College spend their Christmas holidays in unique ways.
Jessica Cantone said every Thanksgiving she has breakfast with her father and he cooks chicken cutlets. Cantone added, “My grandmother buys all of the girls in the family matching pajamas that we all wear on Christmas.”
Every Christmas Gabby Parilla’s mother decorates their Christmas tree with flowers instead of ornaments. “When I was younger me and my brother would throw oats out of our window for the reindeer to eat,” Parilla said.
Hailey Carlson said she celebrates the holidays the same way every year. Carlson explained, “Every Christmas the same family members either go to my house or we’ll go to theirs. On Christmas Eve we have a bonfire and go on nature walks. Christmas morning we have Swedish pancakes with lingonberries for breakfast and watch Hallmark movies. I also usually go to a Christmas show in Boston like the Nutcracker.”
Zoe Sinay said ever since sixth grade her whole family goes on a skiing trip during the holidays.
As an Italian tradition, Cecily Macari and her family eat seven fish dishes on Christmas. “There always has to be seven fish options,” Macari said.
Don’t have special holiday traditions of your own?
Try starting a Yankee swap with your family or friends. Secretsanta.com describes the game with these instructions. Have each of your guests bring a wrapped, unmarked gift. Randomly distribute numbers to them so that they can select and unwrap gifts from the pile in that order. The person who gets the number one picks a gift (besides his or her own) and opens it for all to see. Next, the person who receives the number two chooses a gift and opens it, again for all to see. This person must then decide whether to keep the gift or swap it with the first player’s gift.
Each person goes in the order of the number he/she received, selecting a present and deciding to keep it or swap it with a gift someone has already opened. After all the presents have been opened, the person who picked first gets to choose from all the opened gifts or keep the gift he/she already has. In the end, the gift you are holding is the gift you take home.
Or, try creating your own New Year’s prediction jar. Jessica Grover of “allwomenstalk” describes this tradition as a fun way to see where you’ve been as a family throughout the year and how things have changed. “On Christmas, have all of your family members write down what they think will happen either in their own lives or someone else’s within the family and then place them in the jar. Then during next year’s festivities, open the jar and delegate someone to read them aloud!”
Alexandra Enayat can be contacted at aenayat@kscequinox.com
