3 minute read
‘Tis the season for tradition
HANNA KRYHINA
Advertisement
Diversity. As one of the media’s favorite buzzwords, you can find the term diversity in the mission statement of many companies and organizations.
Now, it is time to apply diversity to the holiday season.
Of all the holidays celebrated during the holiday season, Christmas appears to be the most popular because Americans adopted elements of Christianity into everyday life throughout history. According to ShareAmerica, a website maintained by the U.S. Department of State, even some non-Christians celebrate Christmas.
At Carlmont, students and teachers alike observe Christmas on Dec. 25.
Spanish teachers Rosa Pissani and Maria Robinson present Latin American Christmas traditions and share their family celebrations to their students. Pissani and Robinson practice Peruvian and Mexican Christmas traditions, respectively.
Mia Yoch, a Latinos Unidos X Black Student Union senior and president, also partakes in Latin American Christmas celebrations.
As part of her Christmas tradition, Yoch spends time and cooks with her family. Together they make traditional Mexican dishes like pozole and tamales. Pozole is a soup made from pork; corn that has been first dried and then cooked, called hominy; and chile. Tamales are made from corn dough that usually encloses a meat filling. Then, the tamales are steamed.
Food preparation is an integral part of Christmas in Latin America. Likewise, Filipino culture is shaped by specific foods.
Valentina Espinosa, senior and president of Filipino Culture Club, explains that it is customary to leave puto out for Santa instead of the regular milk and cookies. Puto is a steamed cake made with rice flour.
Although Espinosa’s family follows many Filipino Christmas traditions, they also stray from some customs because of specific needs. This impacts her enjoyment of different moments during the Christmas season.
“Normally, on Christmas, Filipino people will attend midnight mass and open presents after, but because we have younger cousins, we attend afternoon mass. We always have a dinner of Filipino food and open presents after, on Christmas Eve. It makes actual Christmas less exciting,” Espinosa said.
While students like Espinosa celebrate Christmas, this is not the case for everyone.
Generally, students fall into three distinct categories. They only celebrate Christmas, celebrate other holidays in addition to Christmas, or don’t celebrate Christmas at all.
Seona Sherman, a senior and vice president of the Chinese Culture Club, celebrates Christmas and Lunar New Year.
In Chinese culture, Lunar New Year is the most prominent holiday during the holiday season. Besides China, many other east and southeast Asian countries also commemorate Lunar New Year on Feb. 1 to mark the first day in the lunar calendar.
To celebrate Lunar New Year, Sherman eats hot pot, in which raw meat and vegetables are cooked in a simmering broth, with her family. She also plays her favorite Chinese songs and puts up decorations.
“I love to decorate our house with lanterns, knots, and other decor, and just welcome the new year with fortune, happiness, and luck!” Sherman said.
Like Sherman, Yoch also celebrates other holidays in addition to Christmas. On Jan. 6, Yoch celebrates El Dia de Los Reyes, or Three Kings’ Day.
She explains that her entire family gathers to cut the Rosca, a traditional wreath-shaped sweet bread with candied fruit, which symbolizes the king’s crown. There is also an aspect of competition that goes along with this tradition.
“Each person takes a turn cutting a slice of bread until someone discovers a plastic baby symbolizing Jesus within their piece. The person to find the baby is tasked with inviting the entire family over for tamales that they must cook themselves,” Yoch said.
This gathering, which takes place on Feb. 2, is known as Dia de la Candelaria, or Candlemas Day.
While different cultures practice varying traditions for a spectrum of holidays, there exist common themes. No matter the specific approach, holiday traditions all emphasize the importance of togetherness and connection.
Yoch values participating in holiday traditions because they help her feel closer to her family.
“The most important part about these traditions is getting to be together as a family,” Yoch said. “Making these traditional dishes together allows us to become closer.”
ISAbELLE NUNES
