The Holidays

By: Fernando, Syd, Rowan

As he emerged from the shadows, field with vengeance, Father Christmas suited up, exclaiming “it's christmas time”. Moving aside from that totally real screenplay, Christmas is a time for the whole world to come together and be with the ones we love. This sense of unification is so strong, that on Christmas Eve during WW1, there was an unofficial truce between the Germans and the French and British. In which soldiers sang christmas carols, exchanged gifts, and even had mini soccer matches. Even in other countries where Christianity isn’t the dominant religion, many still recognize and celebrate some aspects, such as gift giving and arranging gatherings. This leads one to question, how are people in AMHS celebrating Christmas?

Most people at AMHS celebrate with hearts of joy and Christmas spirit. This can look different for everyone, as people embrace it through various ways. 

Some students are channeling their adventurous spirits, roaming across the world, Em, a 10th grader says, “I’m going to California to visit the redwoods and I’m going to San Francisco like San Jose, to just go sightseeing with my family and then I;m going to Santa Cruz and to Portland, then going back home”

Other students want to enjoy time away from school, as Juni states, “ My plans for the holiday is to celebrate with my family and enjoy some relaxation away from academic stress.”

Some individuals are spending their times at home, enjoying the moments of community, connection, and affection with their families. Sometimes, these are the best moments of the holidays. Ms.  Aline, an office secretary says, “I’m spending time with family and probably just doing a lot of Christmas things around the area.”  

Some teachers and staff are reconnecting with their families, and their children are coming home from across the world to embrace the holidays!  Mrs. Austin says, “My Plans are to spend time with my family. All three of my children are in college, and one is teaching in Hawaii.”

She elaborates and says 

“I'm super excited to spend time with them. And my kids are hopefully gonna go skiing, so they’re super excited, but I am recovering from a foot surgery so I am hoping that it heals fast so that I can soon play in the snow too.” 

The seek for the loving kitty:

Mr. Gordon, the Journalism Club Facilitator states, “Oh, uh I actually think tonight it's a Wednesday, uh my partner who works at and Newear middle school, we might go get a a couple cats, because our kitty passed away in October, so now we're ready, because we're waiting for breaks, so we're home for like two weeks. but it takes like two days, I guess. like you apply and then it takes like two days. So, where we might go and see which ones like us. And then like, you know, go in a room and hold them and we found a couple last weekend but then they got adopted like later that day. So we gotta go quick. But yeah, that's pretty much it. I Don't really visit my family too much, so yeah.” Some people are both: depressive, and excited for the holidays. Mr. Gordon has faced unfortunate circumstances, specifically, the death of a cherished one. Although Mr. Gordon has been commenced with  adverse events, the holidays are inspiring him to celebrate with his loved ones, and find a new cat to fulfill his denatured soul.

Generally, people at AMHS are celebrating the holidays in multitudes of ways. Whether with family, with loved ones, at home, or across the world, we’re all embracing the holiday spirit, connecting with the principles of connection, love and celebration.