Christmastime is my favorite time of the year. While many of you may not celebrate Christmas—instead, you may celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or maybe you don’t celebrate anything at all—I think many HSMSE students can relate to the joy and excitement of winter. Whether it’s that chill in the air, holiday cheer, or just the week long break from school, there’s definitely something special about the holidays. 

Some popular holidays you may celebrate during this break are Christmas and Hanukkah. There are a multitude of religious traditions people partake in, such as going to church on Christmas morning or lighting a candle on the menorah for each of the eight days of Hanukkah. Additionally, different parts of the world have different well-known Christmas traditions—for example, in Japan, people enjoy feasting on fried chicken. However, sometimes these religious or institutional traditions are not the ones that mean the most to us. Sometimes, the most meaningful parts of the holidays are the parts we create for ourselves. 

Personally, I celebrate Christmas. My mother loves to joke about how I am the “personification of Christmas” because I definitely love to get into the holiday spirit. My favorite tradition is going to my grandparents house in Virginia and helping my grandmother cook Christmas dinner and cookies for “Santa.” I also love decorating my house for Christmas. My family is not super religious, but my grandmother usually takes my younger brother and I to church on Christmas morning. 

I asked other MSE students what they like to do during our lovely week off in December. 

Oliver Grover (’26) said he celebrates Christmas with his extended family, and elaborated that “It’s nice to have the morning with everyone sitting around and the presents and everything, even if we all get a little snappy when we’re in one room together.” Lina Hobert (’28) goes to Germany to celebrate Christmas with her family and looks forward to visiting German Christmas markets. She also stated that “There’s this carousel, which (according to google) is called a spinning German Christmas pyramid” and that they are so fun to look at because they are “intricately designed and have so much history in them and I think it’s so fun to see a manifestation of people’s beliefs and history.” Sofia Graham Eiroa’s (’27) favorite traditions are “Making ugly sweater cookies with my family and listening to Christmas music—Micheal Bublè.” 

Willow Mintz (’26) celebrates Hanukkah, and talks about how her dad “makes bomb latkes” and she looks forward to buying her dog cute holiday sweaters “(excited sounds).” Zahava Khan (’26) said her favorite holiday tradition is “lighting the menorah,” and explained how her family has an extensive collection of menorahs, so they get to use a different one for each of the eight days. Idan Nutkevitz (’27) said he also enjoys getting to see his family, and that one of his favorite traditions during winter break is sleeping in.

While MSE students definitely each have their own ways of celebrating the holiday season, a common theme seems to be spending time with family. Whatever you may do this winter break, I hope you have a great time with your loved ones—or however you enjoy your week off—and have a well-deserved rest from school!