Winter break is about so many different things for so many different families—it’s a time for family gatherings, friends, snowy weather, and celebrations. Some assume that the majority of Fossil Ridge High School students will be celebrating Christmas, but that’s not necessarily true.  “My favorite part [of the holiday season] is being able to celebrate it with my family—and the snow; snow is amazing,” FRHS sophomore Cassidy Kendall said.

SaberCats celebrate a variety of holidays over winter beak, and many students don’t know what the other holidays entail.  Some celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, Eid al-Adha, or Hanukkah. Even those who celebrate the same holiday as one of their friends may have different traditions.

In a survey that asked 31students what holiday they celebrated, 91 percent said Christmas, 6 percent said Hanukkah, and 3 percent said Other.

Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is a Jewish holiday that lasts eight days, and each day one of the candles of the menorah is lit.  The middle candle, or the Shamash, is used to light the other eight candles as the holiday progresses. “Once our menorah candle fell off and burned our table. I think there’s still a burn mark,” FRHS sophomore Danielle Kolsin said.

Gifts are exchanged and traditional food is served as well. Classic Hanukkah foods include potato latkes, chocolate coins wrapped in gold paper called gelt, and jam filled donuts called sufganiyot. “I love the food because it’s food that we don’t normally have and it’s really awesome,” Kolsin said. “My favorite food during Hanukkah is potato latkes; they are always a treat.”

This year, Hanukkah lasted from Dec. 8-Dec. 16.

During Christmas, a tree is decorated with a variety of decorations varying from bulbs to hand-made ornaments to strings of popcorn.  Stockings are also hung above the fireplace and on Christmas morning, which is on Dec. 25, gifts are stuffed inside the stockings for people to find.  Gifts are also wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree and they are opened on Christmas morning. “We always do Santa shenanigans—decorate the tree, open presents, everything,” FRHS sophomore Kylie Neal said.

Some families include a toy train in their decorations that runs around the bottom of the tree, or a miniature Christmas village somewhere around the house. Another common decoration is a nativity scene. “We have a garland where we hang little presents,” sophomore Noah Clark said.  Some of the typical foods that are popular during Christmas are gingerbread cookies, eggnog, apple cider, and roasts or meat like ham or turkey.

Games and activities also vary for many holidays.  For Christmas many children make gingerbread houses, decorate the tree, and wrap presents.  The Dreidel is a well-known aspect of Hanukkah that people play with.  It’s a four sided top and each side is imprinted with a different Hebrew letter.  Families who celebrate Christmas might sing carols or play Find the Santa: a Santa Claus ornament is hidden on the tree somewhere and the first person to find it gets a gift.

Sometimes the traditions are specific to the family, and sometimes they are custom to the religion behind the holiday. “We light the menorah and then we say a prayer,” Kolsin explained. “Traditionally we might read a whole script about how Hanukkah came to be, but my family isn’t that religious so we don’t.”

Some families don’t do anything special in particular, but that doesn’t mean the holiday isn’t as much fun. “The pumpkin candles, and the drinks—all the special Starbucks drinks that they only sell around the holidays; I love those,” FRHS sophomore Taylor Northcutt said.

More holidays are celebrated other than Hanukkah and Christmas, and students definitely don’t need to celebrate a well-known holiday to have a good time over winter break. “It’s called Eid,” Northcutt said. “It’s a Muslim holiday that occurs at the end of Ramadan.  It was pretty early this year; back in October.”

Eid al-Adha takes place 11 days earlier each year.  This year it was celebrated Oct. 25-26. “We don’t celebrate Christmas,” said Northcutt, “but it’s hard to explain to my brothers that Santa isn’t real, and that all the other kids are getting presents but them.  It’s generally small, but it’s fun anyway.”

Occasionally, one of the best things to do is to take time and relax over break. “We get a lot of sleep,” Kendall said. “We do that every year actually; that is our tradition.”