It’s the first week of December, and many winter holidays are rapidly approaching. From Hanukkah to New Year’s, Christmas and Kwanzaa to Winter Solstice, there are many reasons to celebrate even the chilliest weather.
And there’s plenty of magical ways to celebrate too, from the food we eat with loved ones to the traditions we uphold each year.
What winter holidays are you looking forward to, NIU, and how will you celebrate them?
Abby Byer, a junior business administration and hospitality management major, pulls out all the stops during the winter holidays.
Q: “What is one winter holiday you celebrate?”
A: “I celebrate Christmas with my family, and I also celebrate Hanukkah.”
Q: “What are a couple underrated traditions from Christmas and Hanukkah that you enjoy?”
A: “I’m not really sure of underrated traditions, but we recently started Secret Santa, and then I think it’s called White Elephant too. So, we’ll do a bunch of stuff where we will, like, find random things around the house that we no longer use and gift those to our friends and family. And then also, just like Secret Santa, like, picking one person is really fun because then you get to go all out. And that’s something my family just really recently started doing. And then also I always go on a trip around this time.”
Briana Guerrero, a first-year finance and Spanish major, enjoys Christmas for the quality family time.
Q: “What is one winter holiday you celebrate?”
A: “I really like Christmas.”
Q: “How come?”
A: “Just because, like, my family all gets together, so I really enjoy that.
Q: “What is an underrated Christmas tradition you enjoy?”
A: “Opening gifts at 12.”
Q: “Like 12 in the morning?”
A: “Yeah, like on the 25th.”
Drewan Fermin, a first-year medical lab science major and Vanessa Gatza, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, share the same favorite Christmas foods and traditions.
Q: “What is the best food to eat on Christmas?”
Gatza, A: “We have, like, because I’m Colombian, so, we make empanadas and arepas, and then sometimes, like, steak.”
Q: “What is one winter holiday you celebrate?”
Fermin, A: “Probably Christmas too. I think the favorite part is we set up this thing called a ‘Little Village.’ And every single year, there’s just more and more things added. So, I think it’s really fun customizing it.”
Jasmine Vanegas, a first-year psychology and sociology major, can’t wait to eat some holiday tamales.
Q: “What is the best food to eat on Christmas?”
A: “I like tamales. Because, like, it’s, like the one time of year, like, they actually bake them, so, it makes me happy.”
