By Elizabeth Sanders

Staff Writer

    When people think of Christmas, they think of the classic American version of Christmas: a pine tree decorated with ornaments, presents under the tree, and a feast with family and friends. However, not every household celebrates this way; instead, they acknowledge their own unique cultural and religious traditions. 

    R.J. Reynolds High School staff and students of varying ethnic backgrounds fit into this category. The following is merely a sample of RJR Demons who spent Christmas and their break in distinct ways. 

    Senior Melina Ariza and her family travel to the Dominican Republic (DR) almost every year to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with relatives. While the country’s year-round warm weather means there is no white Christmas, the holiday remains a major celebration.  

    “We have big, big house parties,” Ariza said. “And the biggest thing there is dancing at these house parties. The reason I know how to dance Bachata and Salsa is because I grew up going to these parties, and you have to know how to dance.”

    Dancing is a thoroughly enjoyable aspect but the true crux of the holiday for Dominicans is community and family. For them, family always comes first, and there’s a heavy emphasis on connection within the community.

    “Over there, it’s really human,” Ariza said. “When you greet someone, even when you don’t know them, you greet them with two kisses on the cheek.” 

    Junior Jaylin Perla-Rodriguez’s family is from El Salvador and spends the holidays eating lots of Salvadorian foods. Besides their menu, the Perla-Rodriguez household has one more cultural tradition. 

    “We celebrate Christmas at midnight [Christmas Eve],” Perla-Rodriguez said. “We usually celebrate it throughout the entire night, so there’s no celebration the next day.” 

    This tradition is shared across many cultures. Senior Maria Nikolaidis, who is Greek and Catholic, attends a Christmas Eve service that lasts past midnight. This service marks the end of a fasting period from before Thanksgiving and requires Nikolaidis to follow a vegan diet until Christmas Day. 

    “It’s usually at midnight when we receive holy communion (the body and blood of Christ),” Nikolaidis said. “After we receive communion, we can eat regular food again.” 

    Some cultures don’t celebrate Christmas; instead, they have their own holidays that take place during the break. Jewish staff and students observe Hanukkah, a celebration that lasts eight days in December.

    “It’s a holiday that celebrates a miracle of a little bit of oil lasting a long time,” English Teacher Deborah Koerner said. “It was supposed to only last for one night, but it lasted for eight.” 

    As tribute to this oil, Koerner’s family eats a lot of food fried in oil, such as Latkes, otherwise known as potato pancakes, and donuts. Though oil is important, light is what the holiday is truly about, how it is apparent in the darkness, a sense of hope during hard times. Each night of Hanukkah, Koerner’s family waits until sundown to light the candles on a hanukkiah, which then serves as their only source of light for the evening. The candle lighting is just one part of the night’s activities. 

    “Every night during Hanukkah, you say a blessing, and you open presents,” Koerner said. 

    Hanukkah is often mistaken as the Jewish equivalent of Christmas because of the two holidays’s close proximity. However, they couldn’t be more different; for example, Hanukkah is a minor holiday in Jewish tradition, while Christmas is a major holiday in Christian tradition.

    There is beauty in what every student, staff, country, and religion do to celebrate their holidays, and it deserves to be seen. Ask a friend, a classmate, a neighbor, or a teacher what they did to celebrate the winter holidays, and if they don’t celebrate Christmas, ask about the holidays they do celebrate. Christmas may be over, but that doesn’t mean you stop spreading cheer.