Gibbons Gazette Winter Special Editorial

Gibbons Gazette Winter Holidays Editorial

     This year the Gibbons Gazette staff has come together to tell you how they celebrate the Winter Holidays. Every individual has a unique story to tell about this special time of year; some celebrate Christmas, some celebrate other holidays altogether. So, without further ado, let’s investigate how the Gibbons Gazette staff celebrates the holidays.

    Up first is a response from Gazette staff member, Hannah Newmark. Hannah celebrates the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. At the start of Hanukkah she lights the first candle of nine on the menorah. Hannah talks about how she receives presents for the next eight nights until the end of Hanukkah. Hannah also enjoys eating a food called gelt. You might be familiar with gelt, as it is similar to chocolate coins that you might find in a candy store. However, the most important thing is that Hannah gets to enjoy time with her family.

    The next response comes from a Gibbons Gazette staff member named Anvi Todi. Even though Anvi isn’t Christian, she still enjoys a traditional Christmas with her family. Anvi says that often her cousin will come over to enjoy the holidays with Anvi, and they really enjoy their time together. They like to bake and solve puzzles sometimes. At the end of the break, everyone is sad to go, but happy for the times together. 

     We’ve also received a very unique response from Siri Chillara, a valued member of the Gazette. Siri likes to have friends over for Christmas instead of just family. In some ways, friends can be quite like families; they’re the people who know you best and make you who you are. A lot of the holiday focus is on family, but sometimes it’s nice to celebrate with your friends as well. Siri and her friends like to watch movies for the duration of the holiday.

     Up next is a response from Karen Samuel, a member of the Gazette. Karen celebrates Christmas on January 7th every year and gets to take school off for the holiday. This is because she is Coptic Orthodox, which is an Egyptian branch of the Christian faith. 

  This final entry comes from Sam Hossler. He starts by saying where he goes for the holidays. Sam drives to his grandparents house despite the fact that they live hours away. Sam states that it’s 100% worth it though. Sam’s family even brings the family dog along to play with his grandparents’ dog. Sam and his brother always make a fun time out of running out of the car to ring the doorbell with his brother. The Hosslers can still find ways to have fun even if they’re not spending time with their grandparents. When Sam stays home, he wakes up early on Christmas morning to a tree and gifts. From there Sam has to wait in agonizing anticipation for his father to get up and start recording. From Sam’s perspective, it’d be better for his family to wake up at precisely 8 o’clock each Christmas morning and open their gifts at 8:30.

     Thank you to all who submitted their stories. The point of this article has not been to investigate how different families celebrate the holidays differently, but rather to see how they celebrate in similar ways. While every single person has their own way of celebrating, there are always common motifs among them. To most, this short, sacred week of winter break is looked at with reverie and joy. To me, I think the most important thing about the Winter Holidays isn’t how you celebrate, but how it makes you feel because at the core of every holiday, from every religion or culture, is that happy, warm feeling you get thinking about it. Around this time of year especially, that warm feeling comes from those you spend it with. It’s why all of the entries we’ve received have something to do with family or friends. Enjoying other people is the holiday spirit. Now, onto some statistics.

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