Celebrated all around the world, each of them with a different meaning for celebration. With holidays we have traditions, something we find ourselves doing every year around this time of the year, whether it be by ourselves, with friends, or with families.

The number one celebrated holiday in the United States is Christmas, which to most comes as no surprise. Christmas occurs in December and comes with a variety of traditions that families do every year.

“Christmas time is when all of my family gets together and spends a lot of time with each other,” sophomore Ian Hall said. “ We like to play a game called Hand Ball. It’s played in a big wooden circle and you have to hit the ball with your hand and if it hits your feet your out. It’s a really fun game and my family and I really enjoy playing it.”

Lively games aren’t the only thing incorporated with Christmas traditions. Baking food is another tradition you see many do around the holidays.

“My family likes to make tamales the day before Christmas Eve,” senior Adrian Preciado said. “My grandpa started the tradition in his youth with his family, and passed it down to my mom and she has been doing it every since.”

Christmas isn’t the only holiday with traditions, Hanukkah also comes with it’s own. Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish holiday that started on December 12th, 2017 and goes through December 20th, 2017. It’s another holiday celebrated all around the U.S., though it may not be as popular as Christmas, it still comes with a plethora of traditions.

“My family and I of course light the eight candles that represent the eight days of Hanukkah each night,” junior Amanda Simon said. “After that we occasionally give each other gifts, and my mom makes us a special dinner that we all look forward to.”  

Little do some people know, Christmas and Hanukkah can be celebrated together. You would see this mainly withpeople who have parents of different

religions. This can mean combinations of many holiday traditions making the holiday fun endless.

“I celebrate Hanukkah with my mom’s side of the family, and Christmas with my dad’s side of the family,” sophomore Molly Brown said.”For hanukkah we get $2 a day for the eight days, and for Christmas we get our actual gifts on Christmas day.”

Kwanza is another holiday that begins on December 26th, 2017 and ends on January 1st, 2018. This holiday is a week-long celebration that was made to honor African heritage, and usually comes with gifts and a feast. This holiday started in 1966 and it popularity has been increasing ever since.

Holidays are something people enjoy every year and look forward to. It helps them express how they are feeling whether it be through their pajamas, the way they decorate or just by their holiday spirit. One of the best parts of holidays, like Christmas and Hanukkah, is that none of them are celebrated in the same way, giving everyone’s holiday traditions a true sense of uniqueness.