We all have a basic idea of the visual and auditory elements to the holidays. The beautiful lights, the smell of a Christmas tree, the constant barrage of holiday ads and the general vibe of the holiday season. Most have basic things they associate the holiday season with. However, many South students have very specific senses they associate the holiday season with while others feel the excitement of an upcoming holiday in an entirely another time of year.
Jayden Jelinski ’27 associates the holidays with perogies. Every year on Christmas Eve, Jayden’s family gathers to celebrate the holidays by making handmade perogies. It is Jayden’s favorite Christmas tradition.
“Perogies are the main course at our family dinner on Christmas Eve,” Jelinski said. “What I love most about making perogies every year is the opportunity to spend time with my family and feel closer to my Polish culture.”
When Christmas comes around, Jelinski can’t help but feel the nostalgia the perogies give him about his childhood.
“My favorite memory was when I was really young and it was the first time me and my siblings helped make the perogies. It didn’t go well and we messed them up really bad,” Jelinski said.
For Helen Haindl ’27, the holidays might be a bit different than most. She associates the holidays with an annual trip overseas. During Christmas, Haindl celebrates in the Swiss Alps at her grandparents’ house in Switzerland, a cherished family tradition.
“For Christmas, my family visits my Oma and Oppa in Grundewald, Switzerland, and we typically try to stay through the New Year,” Haindl said. “Our Christmas isn’t all that different from most. We have a large family dinner of cooked goose on Christmas Eve followed by the unwrapping of presents while Christmas is a much more relaxed day to play games with the family.”
However, the anticipation that the holidays bring for many at South is not felt in the same way by all. Tazmeen Bashar ’28, a practicing Muslim, feels the anticipation of a holiday during the months of March and June, when her family celebrate the holiday Eid.
“Eid is celebrated on March 29 or March 30, which signifies the end of the fasting month for Muslims: Ramadan. We celebrate the end of fasting by going to the Mosque as a family followed by going to major gatherings and meals, which sort of feels like celebrating the end of an era,” Bashar said. ”It’s the day of the year I am most excited about because it is the end of a whole month of fasting, and it’s a very beautiful thing to just eat and hang out at the end of it all.”
