Students Celebrate Winter Holidays 

Niskayuna High School has a lot of diversity within its student body, and everyone has their own customs and unique traditions. More prominently, religion is one of these things. A wide variety of holidays are celebrated during the winter season, and during this, everyone celebrates their holiday in their own way. It ranges from waiting in suspense when playing dreidel on Hanukkah, rushing for presents on Christmas morning, filling your house with wondrous lights on Diwali, or any of the other traditions that come with the excitement of your holiday. Winter is filled with fabulous holidays and the question is: how do people at Niskayuna High School celebrate? 

Hanukkah is celebrated by Jews around the world. Also known as The Festival of Lights, Hanukkah commemorates the miracle many years ago, during a war with the Jews where there was oil that supplied light, which was only supposed to last for 1 night, but ended up lasting for 8. Therefore, it is celebrated for 8 days. Hanukkah celebrates this miracle where the oil lasted and supplied light for the Jews when they needed it. Celebrations include lighting the Menorah or playing dreidel, which is like a spinning top, and you see which side the dreidel lands on. Each side has a different letter from the Hebrew alphabet and each represents how much gelt (chocolate) you win. Many students at Niskayuna High School celebrate this wonderful holiday. 

Interviews: 

How do you celebrate? 

• Usually on the first night of Hanukkah we go to our grandparents house -Grady Goldner 

• We light candles for each of the 8 nights on our Menorah, and sing prayers. We usually make sufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts), which always taste delicious! We also make latkes (fried potato pancakes) which we eat alongside applesauce and sour cream. After meals, we play dreidel. Finally, my family attends a few Hanukkah dinners from synagogues all across the area. These are fun and lively events that are great ways to celebrate Hanukkah with a lot of other people! -Aryeh Korevaar

Christmas is perhaps the most widely known winter holiday, and is celebrated by many people around the world. Kids and parents alike get excited on Christmas Eve, which leads into the festivities of Christmas Day on December 25th. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, who was the founder of Christianity. The holiday holds many traditions, such as kids rushing to open presents on Christmas morning, waiting for Santa to arrive and leaving out cookies and milk. One of the most common traditions is setting up the Christmas tree that presents are left under, and the decorating of the tree is a fun activity many families participate in. It is a time where many family and friends celebrate together and many travel to be with relatives and/or friends. 

Interviews: 

How do you celebrate? 

• At TaeKwon Do we have a Christmas tree and students are allowed to bring in ornaments -Tanisha Muralimanohar

• I go to Church with my family. -Maria Samuel 

• We make homemade lasagna, and we do a german tradition of finding a pickle ornament on the tree. -Maddie Farina

New Years is a time to celebrate, from yelling at the top of your lungs when you count down to zero or pranking your parents when they take a “quick” nap. In the Japanese culture, they have their own ways to celebrate.  Manami Kerins showed me what excitement lies in many Japanese winter holidays. If it's eating “Christmas cake” or fried chicken, Christmas is similar to what we do here, but with New Years, differences are more clear cut. Kids get enveloped money called Otoshidama, and they eat Mochi and Japanese New Year food called Osechi. Traditions can vary, with it being a time for family. The holiday is wrapped up like a present with fun activities like eating noodles, watching the classic new years show, or going to the temple or shrine. 

The holiday Diwali is celebrated for 5 days. It celebrates the winning of good vs. evil and many lights like lamps are lit to help signify the good in the world. Celebrators pray to the Hindu god of wealth and continuously celebrate the victory of good. Some customs are lighting lamps (diyas), doing lakshami puja (a prayer to the Hindu goddess lakshami), or making rangoli which are colorful powder designs. Many families celebrate together and it can be a time of great joy with tons of lamps being lit and happiness for all who celebrate.

Interview: 

How do you celebrate? 

I call people over for a dinner party to celebrate, make rangoli, light many lamps (diyas), hang kandils (paper lamps), make diwali faral (snacks), and clean the house. -Simran Utturkar

The holiday Eid is one many people will get excited for, happening twice a year, one of the two Eids happen after the month of Ramadan, which is when Muslims have to fast for 30 days, Eid signales the time for a feast and the end of Ramadan. Following the Lunar Calendar, Eid falls different times each year, with many traditions tied to it. Aneesa Noorzai showed me the excitement of this holiday. Sharing her traditions, I heard about how she celebrates with her family, goes to her grandparents house to have the long awaited feast, and then heads to the Mosque where she and her family partake in different prayers for Eid. These traditions can vary, as some people even go to trampoline parks or a grand dinner. Overall, it's a great holiday to celebrate.

Just like around the world, with people celebrating different holidays, at Niskayuna High School there are more holidays that you can find. This list of holidays is only a few out of the many others that haven’t been covered here. In the winter as the cold approaches, the mood doesn’t turn sour, and students have different holidays they celebrate to keep them warm.