Home for the holidays

student life

Home for the H o l i d a y s

Winter holiday celebrations for North students are celebrated differently this year.

By Kara Deskin

In past years, families would gather together from different locations and commemorate their unique winter holiday. But this year, will celebrations look different? From Christmas to Lunar New Year, there are an assortment of traditions and sacrifices families plan to make during the winter holidays for 2020-2021. A deeper look into the experiences of several families’ winter traditions is included in each of the features below.

Diwali

Also known as The Festival of Lights, the holiday Diwali signifies how good prevails over evil, according to senior Madhu Parthasarathy. Diwali took place Nov. 14 and is a five-day festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains around the world. There are many different versions of the holiday, but for the Parthasarathys, Diwali is a celebration of light. The light is used to represent the good lighting up the darkness, Parthasarathy said.

In this abnormal time of a world pandemic, the celebrations of Diwali looked somewhat different from past years. This year, families across the United States celebrated by sending positive social media messages to one another instead of meeting in large gatherings, and also by having Zoom calls.

The Parthasarathys usually don’t celebrate with the whole family, so COVID-19 did not have a major effect on the celebration this year, allowing them to still have a glimpse of light during this isolating time. Some of their traditions include the lighting of lamps and cooking traditional dishes.

“We lit lamps, and there is a tradition where you wear new clothes on the day,” Parthasarathy said. “And it varies between North and South India because the cuisines are so different, but for us we make fried lentil cakes, and we make some sweets, too.”

The celebrations for Diwali this year looked many ways around the world, but for the Parthasarathys, the holiday was almost the same for 2020.

Thanksgiving

The aroma of croissant rolls and turkey flood through the Patterson household as they prepare for their annual Thanksgiving meal. They mingle with their extended family as the dinner is cooking and enjoy each other’s presence during the holiday, according to sophomore Abi Patterson.

“It’s really upsetting because I love seeing my family,” Abi Patterson said. “But I probably won’t get to see them this year because of COVID. We don’t want to expose my grandpa.”

The Pattersons usually spend Thanksgiving putting up Christmas decorations, cooking their favorite meals and having everyone in the family watch senior Isaac Patterson’s basketball games, including the extended family.

“This year was a lot different because usually I have games or early 8 a.m. practices,” Isaac Patterson said. “But this year we didn’t do much. I felt fortunate to be around my family, and we did our best to stay safe.”

Despite the challenge of not getting to celebrate with the extended family this year, the Pattersons planned to celebrate with their immediate family by cooking meals and reminiscing about what they are thankful for in 2020.

“We eat turkey and my brother usually eats like 15 croissant rolls,” Abi Patterson said. “But this year, we ate mac and cheese, stuffing, turkey, pumpkin pie cheesecake, and lots of other sides.”

Abi Patterson also used the holiday to give thanks to those she was thankful for.

“I am thankful for my family because they have all been so positive during this time,” Abi Patterson said. “I am also thankful that the teachers have been so flexible, too.”

Hanukkah

For freshman Jaden Jacobson, Hanukkah signifies the union of her family. The holiday is also celebrated to remember the miracle of candles that lasted eight days, instead of just one. But according to Jacobson, Hanukkah is not the most important holiday celebrated by Jewish people.

“Yom Kippur and Passover are more important,” Jacobson said. “But Hanukkah usually brings us all together, more than just my immediate family.”

The origin of the holiday derives from a miracle that occurred during the second century B.C. when the Jews rose up against their Greek-Syrian tyrants.

“In the story the kids learn first, the Jewish temple was burnt down by the Greeks, and so they went to go light a candle with oils, but they only had enough to last one day,” Jacobson said. “It ended up lasting eight days, so that’s why they consider Hanukkah a miracle.”

The lighting of the menorah is the most important part of the Hanukkah celebration, according to Jacobson. But this year, things will look a little different for the family. The celebration will consist of Jacobson’s immediate family to avoid the spread of COVID-19 to other family members.

“It’s different from past years because we won’t all be together, which is what Hanukkah does,” Jacobson said. “I will miss seeing everyone and just having that normal holiday feel.”

Despite the changes, the Jacobsons are staying optimistic and look forward to meeting with the extended family on Zoom in order to make the holiday feel as normal as possible.

Christmas

Nearly 93 percent of Americans claim they celebrated Christmas in 2019, according to a Gallup poll. In Christianity, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25, but the holiday also focuses on the act of giving, selflessness and spending time with one's family, according to senior Grace Summers.

“Every year, on my mom’s side of the family, we all meet at my grandma’s farm,” Summers said. “My cousins from Alabama come, and it’s really an exciting time for everyone.”

At the farm, Summers and her family spend time reading different passages of the Bible, exchanging gifts and cooking traditional Christmas dishes. The family always makes a traditional feast that includes ham, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and many desserts.

The significance of the holiday for the Summers is mainly devoted to their religion. Depending on the year, a different kid in the family will take turns reading a passage from the Bible to remember the importance of the holiday. And as Baptist Christians, the family commemorates the birth of Jesus.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “celebrating virtually or with members of your household poses the lowest risk for spread.” Although the Summers will continue their tradition of going to the farm and celebrating with cousins, they will practice mitigation strategies before leaving, including wearing masks and social distancing to prevent the spread of the disease.

“For my family, I do not think Christmas will be affected at all,” Summers said. “We are all staying safe by making sure none of us have been exposed, and practicing safe procedures, so we can all meet.”

Chinese New Year

Soon, China will be decorated in splashes of red and traditional activities that signify the Lunar New Year will begin. In Overland Park, junior Harry Wang and his family will also celebrate the Lunar New Year with many activities, festive dishes, but also social distancing.

“I know in China the virus isn’t nearly as bad anymore,” Wang said. “For us, the celebration is probably going to be a lot different this year, but my parents said that China already has started some of their activities.”

Wang celebrates The Lunar New Year the same night as the American celebration of the new year, and additionally he participates in some of the activities that occur in China during their celebration, which is Feb. 12, 2021. Normally, the family spends time at friends’ houses — staying up late and participating in activities like the game Mahjong and a checkers tournament. For the Wangs, the holiday will be somewhat atypical from previous years.

“For us, the celebration is probably going to look a lot different this year,” Wang said. “There will be fewer gatherings and it will just be people in our circle instead of large gatherings.”

Despite the changes in this year’s celebrations, the Wangs will try to continue their festivities while accounting for the safety of their family.

“We will still get to eat with friends and family, so I don’t think that COVID will affect the celebrations too much,” Wang said. “We cook dumplings every year and play Chinese checkers, so that will be fun.”