There are many winter holidays each with their own special traditions. Some students at Patrick M. Villano School, such as sixth-grader Ava Samuels, celebrates two different ones.
“I celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas,” Samuels said. “On one night during Hanukkah, we usually have a family dinner. On Christmas Eve, we go to my grandma’s for dinner, and on the 25th we open gifts and [eat] breakfast.”
Hanukkah is eight days long, while Christmas is celebrated on one day. Another holiday in December is New Year’s Eve which carries over to January 1st, also called New Year’s Day.
“I stayed with my grandmother and we watched the ball drop,” Kaylie Brea said about New Year’s Eve. “My three uncles and my aunt were also there. I helped my grandma make pasta and shrimp alfredo, and I ate a lot.”
The sixth grader also made a goal for 2025.
“I set a resolution which was to lose some weight, which I think I’m doing well so far,” Brea said.
According to Britannica’s online website, different culture celebrate the new year in different ways. People from the Netherlands eat doughnuts for good luck. Southerners in the U.S. eat black-eyed peas for the same reason. Rosh Hashana is the Jewish new year. It’s thought that eating sweet honey leads to a sweet new year. Chinese New Year is a month long festivity that has parades and fireworks.
“During the Hindu New Year festival called Diwali, people exchange gifts and light ceremonial lamps,” stated the website.
