The holiday season is filled with handfuls of joyous occasions and special family traditions that hold a special place in the hearts of many OHS students. Certain traditions may be common to some, but so many different cultures celebrate the holidays in unique ways.
Following traditions from such a young age holds a certain sense of meaning to many of the students at OHS.
“Celebrating my tradition of having my Nana over to my house to bake homemade goods means absolutely everything to me because my nana is super important to me,” said Kelly Pettet, junior.
Some students celebrate the holidays, the majority of them honor Christmas specifically, because of religious aspects rather than the typical reasons.
“Christmas to me and my family is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus and going to church to celebrate his day. I still do Christmas activities, but my family and I like to focus it more on Christ,” said Bella Delgado, sophomore.
However, some students at OHS who practice other religions still celebrate Christmas, just not for religious reasons.
“I practice Hinduism, but my family and I still believe that Christmas is a special time and should be viewed as something you can spend with your whole family and be happy in each other’s company rather than just the religion you practice,” said Bala Mahadevan, freshman.
For many students, following a family tradition is an important aspect of the holidays, and in addition to that, they want to continue the tradition into the next generations.
“Although I’m necessarily forced to participate in doing certain things with my family, I always feel a kind of happiness when I do this every year, and I want to do the same for my kids when that time comes. I really want these traditions to go past just me and my family one day,” said Yorgelis Gomez, sophomore.
These feelings toward traditions only give one thing to them as a whole, but the traditions themselves hold a deeper meaning.
“My Nana comes over the week before Christmas every year and bakes traditional Irish desserts with me and my mom while playing music in the kitchen when we bake. My Nana is the biggest Elvis Presley fan, so Blue Christmas is always playing when we bake, and whenever I hear it, it makes me think of those times with her and my mom,” Pettet said.
Some traditions for students at OHS hold memories while others are to honor ones they have lost.
“Every New Year’s Eve, my family and I all walk to the church, and we have to walk because that’s a part of the tradition back home in the Dominican Republic. But, it’s also a way to honor my grandmother because the year before she passed, she walked to the church instead of using her wheelchair, and in a way it’s to honor her,” Gomez said.
There are so many more momentous occasions that students of OHS celebrate every year around the holidays, but no matter the culture, they are all equally special in their own way.
“The holidays are always when I feel the happiest, no matter what’s happening in my life, and I feel like the most memorable memories are made for me each and every year during this time,” Delgado said.
