At Krop, students celebrate different holidays based on their backgrounds. These holidays include Christmas, Hanukkah, Three Kings Day, and Kwanzaa. Families celebrate differently with cultural/family traditions. Getting to learn about the different holidays for different religions lets you have more understanding of the people around you.
The Student Government Association organized a holiday spirit week, starting Monday Dec. 18 – Dec. 25, the last week before winter break. Offering faculty and students the opportunity to demonstrate their differing cultures and holiday practices.
“We organized this week to make sure students know this is a very diverse and inclusive school,” junior Sean Bah said. “SGA strives towards these events to get more participation from the student body. Our school is about academics but also fun.”
Christmas is a Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus. There are many international traditions to celebrate this holiday. Many well-known traditions include opening and giving gifts, eating with family and Christmas caroling.
“Me and my family celebrate Christmas and each year we have held a tradition of going out to have dinner on the 24th, and opening presents the next morning,” sophomore Adrian Orms said. Noche Buena is a Christmas Eve celebration that many Hispanic families take part in.
Noche Buena focuses on the night before Christ’s birth or Christmas Eve. This celebration usually consists of family and friends gathering to eat and share joy with each other.
“My family is Catholic and Venezuelan so we celebrate Christmas the night of the 24th, this is called Noche Buena,” sophomore Sophia O’Reilly said. “We have a family dinner and eat a dish called hacallas that is made specifically on Noche Buena,”
A holiday known as Three Kings Day, or Epiphany celebrates the day the three wise men saw Jesus and brought him gifts. There are many ways different cultures celebrate this holiday, usually across Europe and Latin America.
“I’ve celebrated Three Kings Day since I was young,” freshman Daisy Gomez said. “My family celebrated by buying bread with a little toy in it and whichever family member cuts into the piece of bread with the toy in it makes the tamales for the holiday next year.”
Hanukkah is a nine-day long holiday celebrated by people of the Jewish Culture. This holiday commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The common traditions include exchanging gifts, playing dreidel, lighting the Menorah, and family and friends dinners.
“My family is from both Israel and Puerto Rico, and we celebrate Hanukkah,” sophomore Theodore Reuven said. “On the first day, we hold a big dinner and open up the gifts of the first day, and continue gifts for the other days. We also play with dreidels all together.”
Each year, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa brings celebrations dedicated to honoring African-American culture and heritage. It celebrates seven values in African culture: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Throughout this joyous celebration, friends and family come together daily to express gratitude and unity.
“We have a party, get together, and talk about why we are grateful for one another,” Hospitality and Tourism teacher Kimberly Wilson said. “We talk about how as a family we can become closer and unite more as a family.”
‘Learning about different holidays and even traditions helps us build friendships and relate to the people of our school.