Freshman Antwone describes: This picture represents the holiday season in our house. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during Christmas. My family also celebrates my birthday on December 21 and my parents remind me that they brought me home from the hospital on Christmas Eve.

This recipe was shared by sophomore Charvi, who describes: Every year since 8th grade, my family and I started a new tradition where we bake a cake called “Buche de Noel” or better known as a “Yule Log”. This started in my first year I started learning French in school. We had a feast for Chritmas and we got to learn about the French tradition for the Winter Holidays. They had a few students that were assigned to bake the cake and so I got the idea to why not continue that tradition at home, kind of like a reminder of French class at home.

Freshman Saniya:

Christmas is a big time of year for my family. We usually love to visit and enjoy it with loved ones. We like to cook, watch Christmas movies, laugh, give to others, and decorate our trees. This quote resonates with my family because it is what Christmas stands for in my family. It is definitely one of our favorite seasons.

Senior Radhi says:

My family and I are Hindus who practice Hinduism. This image above includes multiple objects of decoration, the top ones are called diyas (dhee-yahs), and the long one on the bottom is called a toran. We usually keep our toran decoration tied to our front house door. This special decoration is considered extremely auspicious and it is used to keep the negative energy and evil spirits away during a time of celebration, such as Diwali for example. It is also sometimes believed that tying the toran on our door will grant our desires and wishes true. It is also significant because it welcomes guests and there are several patterns and designs consisting of beads to enhance the festive mood like flower torans, bead torans, thread torans, and torans with special motifs. For the diyas, it is mainly used during Diwali or the Festival of Lights. Diyas are placed in temples and used to bless the worshippers. For the toran, it is also used during Diwali. During Diwali, which is celebrated for five days at the beginning of November, my family and I spend time cleaning our house, setting up light decorations for our house. Instead of participating in Christmas celebrations like cutting a tree and opening presents, we spend valuable time together as a family and enjoy the break as well as being grateful for everything that is being offered to us and what we have.

Sophomore Sania says:

In the Christian tradition, my family and I make a nativity scene during the Christmas season every year as this represents the birth of Jesus. This is one of the major ways that we show our faith in God. My mom makes it very clear through this nativity scene it reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. For many Christians throughout the world, especially my family we believe that this nativity evokes the miracle of Jesus’ conception and his gift of everlasting life to those who believe.

Freshman Sanjana  describes how her family celebrates the holidays by spending time together. By doing exciting activities such as building gingerbread houses with her sister, her family can make the most out of the holidays. They also love to put up a Christmas tree in their living room every year and decorate it with ornaments. Overall, decorating anything festive whether it is gingerbread houses or Christmas trees for the holidays is her favorite tradition with her family.

Mrs. Biddle has collected Star Trek Hallmark commemorative ornaments since 1992. This is the first year she was able to display them all on their own tree.

MYP Bio teacher Ms. Arents shares her holiday with us. It is of the miniature ceramic school building my mom added to her winter village this year in support of her and her first-year teaching at HHS.

Leya Kappukattil is a senior IB student and she is innovative for the decor in her house. As Catholics they must have nativity, and it’s Indian tradition to have stars for decoration. Enjoy a happy healthy holiday season.