Blue Devils celebrate winter holidays
By Lili Ma & Adam Dapkewicz,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
Decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah, practicing the seven core principles, or maybe not celebrating anything at all; whatever the holiday there are memories and traditions.
According to a HUB survey of a Davis High World Civilizations class, the majority of DHS students celebrate Christmas.
Junior Graham Segel spends Christmas with his family. “We usually make cookies christmas morning and stay in the house and open presents,” Segel said.
“I celebrate Christmas. I’ve been catholic for my whole life,” senior Hayley Benson said. “We always go to Christmas eve mass.”
Sophomore Zachary Brooks also celebrates the more religious aspects of Christmas.
“My family regularly attends church so we do go to the Christmas Eve service,” Brooks said.
Christmas can also be a non-religious holiday despite its Christian roots. Junior Sophia Sweeney usually decorates the house and exchanges gifts during the Christmas season.
“We don’t really celebrate the religious aspect and it is what I grew up doing,” Sweeney said.
One of her more memorable Christmas’s was when she had an exchange student from Denmark living with her.
“ It was really interesting to learn about their traditions and how they celebrate Christmas. They open gifts on Christmas eve instead of the next morning,” Sweeney said.
In addition to Christmas, Sweeney celebrates Hanukkah like the other 11 percent of surveyed DHS students that observe the Jewish holiday.
Like Christmas, Sweeney’s family doesn’t put a huge emphasis on the religious aspect of Hanukkah. “ For Hanukkah, we light candles and sing songs!” Sweeney said.
Another event around this the time is the New Year.
“I usually celebrate with friends on New Years. We have a small party and wait for 12,” junior Max Komessar said.
Junior Robert Yang’s family celebrates Chinese New Year. This holiday follows the moon calendar and falls on different days of the Gregorian calendar.
“Chinese New Year’s a bunch of Chinese families in Davis [who] come together and have a potluck,” Yang said.
“There’s a New Star Chinese School festival for Chinese New Years that I’ve gone to every year since I was pretty young, so that’s pretty nostalgic,” Yang said.
Still, as students grow older most of the magic of the holidays dies down.
“Christmas was more memorable when I was younger. [It] semed more magical when there way more physical gifts as a result of being younger,” Segel said.
