HOLIDAY DIVERSITY

Diverse winter celebrations Certain religions dominate ways people celebrate winter season

Mason Gushwa gushwcha000@hsestudents.org

In the midst of the holiday season, everyday people celebrate +hristmas diff erently or do not celebrate at all. During the holiday, two of the main fi g]res that come to mind are 2es]s and Santa, which both surround Christian ideals. In school during the holiday season teachers may have festive decorations on walls, Christmas plays and musicals take place, and winter dances occur. Amidst all of these festivities, however, people that are not Christian or faithful may feel pressured or feel obligated to take part in something they may not be comfortable with.

“Christmas is celebrated the heaviest in the United States because people start talking about it months ahead of time, which doesn’t happen with any other holiday,” junior Daniel Schroeder said. -^en before the holiday season oٻ cially starts, stores and other places begin to advertise, tempting customers to get started on Christmas shopping early. Schroeder states that no other holiday gets this kind of recognition. According to Pew Research Center, 9 out of 10 Americans celebrate Christmas, and 95% of Christians celebrate Christmas.

“I personally don’t ever feel uncomfortable or press]red celebrating 2es]s¼s birthday# howe^er, the school community can be quite aggressive and demanding with the celebration of the holiday,” junior Michael Harvey stated.

Harvey is agnostic, believing that nothing is known and has no faith nor disbelief in god.

Although public schools may not intentionally be trying to pressure students into celebrating Christmas in school, sometimes it may be impossible to escape.

For example, many classes have Christmas parties that may evolve around Secret Santa or other Santa related activities. Within those parties they most likely have played some type of music with Christian ideals such as “Hark the Herald”or “Mary Did You Know?” Although these may seem like harmless jingles, some students may portray them as more.

According to Public School Review, if one comes from a religious or cultural view that does not celebrate Christmas, he or she likely has a heightened awareness of the holiday celebration problem that is present in many public schools. )long with celebrating ;anta or 2es]s too much, there is a lack of representation of other holidays, such as Kwanzaa, which is December  2an]ary , and 0an]SSah, which is December 22-30. Students that celebrate these holidays have little to no recognition at all within school. This lack of representation can lead to frustration for teenagers in high schools.

Although public schools face disproportionate representation while celebrating Christmas, regardless of celebrating or not, it is a time to spend with families and loved ones.