As the holiday season approaches, students begin preparing for their individual holiday celebrations. Some students have already celebrated, and reflect on their experiences.

Junior Elissa Perez

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I go to Barbados for two weeks, and I celebrate with my family. Also, I don’t open any gifts until I get back.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“I do a lot of traveling, I get to be with my family, and I’m not just traveling for fun.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“Going to the beach on Christmas and being with my family.”

Freshman Eliya Denali

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“My family celebrates Hanukkah, so we light the menorah and we play dreidel.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“A lot of people celebrate Christmas. On Christmas, I just go out to eat Chinese food.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“I like playing dreidel and eating latkes because they taste good.”

Junior Michael Wegerbauer

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I go out to Connecticut to hang out with my cousins and grandparents.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“I celebrate in another state instead of just staying in Wayland.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“My favorite part is that I get to hang out with my family.”

Senior Samantha Neuman

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“My family likes to light the menorah every night, we open presents, we sing two prayers, and we switch off [with who] lights the candles because my sisters get annoyed [about] lighting the candles for Hanukkah.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“We don’t have a Christmas tree and we don’t celebrate Christmas. We just celebrate Hanukkah all eight nights and make a bunch of Jewish food. Also, we have a special prayer that we sing as a family. It’s a song we sing after the prayers and no one else does that, which is cool.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“My favorite thing is probably the food that we make. We made latkes and matzo balls, and they were really good. Also, the presents because we love our presents [in] the Neuman household. [Also] the decorations are really fun because this year we made a Hanukkah house thing that turned out to be a disaster. It fell apart, but it was still really cool.”

Freshman Alex Kotzampaltiris

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I spend Christmas with my friends and family friends, and I get my presents at midnight.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“I get to have a bunch of family over and be with them.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“The food is my favorite. We get to eat a lot of ham that my mom makes and it’s really good.”

Sophomore Meghan Flathers

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I usually go and visit my extended family – all my cousins and aunts and uncles. On Christmas we sit under the tree, and we do a Secret Santa swap. Afterward, we eat turkey, ham, potato salad, and my uncle makes a special jello salad.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“I get to visit my grandparents, who live in Montana, so we get to travel.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“My favorite part is giving people presents because I love just buying presents for other people.”

Freshman Martina Riascos

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I celebrate Christmas, and family friends and I do Novena.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“We sing a lot and we speak Spanish. We use different instruments and we say prayers together, which is different.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“My favorite part is being able to see other people and spend time with friends.”

Senior Jacob Schilp

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I go to see my family and we all spend Christmas together.”

What makes your celebration different from others?

“I have to drive five hours to go see all my family, and we always make certain traditional foods that are different from the rest. [Also], I go out of state to visit my family.”

What is your favorite part of the way you celebrate the holidays?

“I just love spending time with my family because they’re fun to hang out with.”