By Ananya Sharma and Myah Hesselgesser, Staff Writers
As winter approaches, so do many different winter holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years are just some of the holidays that are widely celebrated among River Hill students, with each student having their own unique traditions.
The middle of winter has always been a festive time. Many holidays occurred during the winter solstice, when people celebrated that the worst of winter was behind them. In Europe, winter was a time of great celebration and joy. Many pagan gods were also celebrated during this time, such as the German god Odin and the Roman god Saturn.
Christmas is one of the most popular holidays celebrated in River Hill and around the world. Christmas, which takes place on December 25, is one of the most important holidays in Christianity, honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas has many customs, including putting up a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts, hanging stockings, and leaving cookies out for Santa Claus.
Families have their own unique Christmas traditions. Sophomore Isabelle Ives comments, “We do advent leading up to Christmas, a lot of time we’ll read through a booklet or something and we always sing a song every night together afterwards. And then I guess we have chocolate cake on Christmas Eve. We say it’s Jesus’ birthday cake.”
Even one of the most popular Christmas traditions, putting up a tree, is done diversely in different households. Sophomore Clara McKnight commented, “We usually put up our Christmas tree like 2 weeks after Thanksgiving.” Alternatively, sophomore Noelle Goitam said, “I put up the tree right after Thanksgiving.”
Hanukkah, an eight day Jewish celebration that usually falls in December, is another widely celebrated holiday amongst River Hill students. The history of this holiday starts in the second century BCE. When Judea was ruled by the Seleucids, a small group of Jews reclaimed their Holy Temple and defeated the much stronger Seleucid army. They only had a one-day supply of oil to light the Temple’s menorah, which is a candelabra with 7 or 9 lights, but it lasted for eight days.
Common practices during Hanukkah include lighting the menorah, playing dreidel, and eating fried foods. According to freshman Helen Quill, “My family has themed gift nights so each night my brothers and I receive a small gift that fits into a theme like candy, socks, sweaters, etcetera.”
New Years is a widely celebrated holiday around the world that commemorates the end of the year. In America, we watch the ball drop, but other countries have their own way of welcoming the new year. In Brazil, people will go to the beach and jump waves to end the new year, saying it is paying homage to the goddess of water, Yemanja. Spain has a tradition called Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte, where at midnight they eat a grape for each chime of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol clock tower.
Just as with Hanukkah and Christmas, this holiday has its own customs, like staying up until midnight on New Years Eve and watching the ball drop. In Isabelle’s family, “Sometimes my siblings and I will stay up, and last year we went to a New Years Eve party.”
The holidays are always an exciting period with the year coming to an end, they are a unique time for all students who have their own ways to celebrate the holidays and bring a joyful air to their homes.