Religions and traditions vary throughout the school population, but it doesn’t take away from the excitement of the approaching holiday season. People are counting down the days until they can eat home-cooked meals that only are made at this special time of the year and gather with family from out of town.

Raven Bullard, junior, who celebrates Christmas, starts her morning off with opening presents. Bullard is especially excited for the holiday season and the traditions that it brings.

“My family loves food. We do brunch instead of dinner,” Bullard said. “We do a really big brunch at my house.”

Sandra Asamoah, junior, thinks fondly of her past Christmases in her home of Ghana, Africa.

“My parents make a big deal out of Christmas,” Asamoah said. “We prepare a lot of food and play music.”
Although Asamoah’s parents lived a continent away and she stayed at a boarding house, she knew they were thinking of her during the holiday season.

“When I was in Ghana, my parents were in the United States for work and school so my Christmas presents were always a bit late because they had to ship them.”

Julian Albright, freshman, is one of the few students at the school who is Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah, which is also on the calendar in December.

“Hanukkah lasts for eight nights and we light a new candle every night,” said Albright. “We say a few prayers.”

Albright enjoys the traditional foods that are eaten during the time of Hanukkah.

“Sometimes my mom makes lakals,” said Albright. “It’s like a hash brown, but is more in the shape of pancakes.”

Coumba Tall, junior, is from Senegal, West Africa. Tall is Muslim and celebrates Christmas, but not for the religious aspect.

“We just do it to entertain ourselves and the kids,” Tall said.

Tall’s favorite part of the holiday season is cooking and eating food with family friends.
Christmas isn’t the only time where Tall gets to cook and eat. For Muslims, Ramadan is a major religious holiday season.

Tall said, “There is a month called Ramadan where we don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. We celebrate Ramadan to show how grateful and thankful we are to God.”