By: MAGALI MOUTON/ STAFF REPORTER
The time of the year most of us are all waiting for is almost here... Winter break!
After a long fall semester, what is better than going home and enjoying the holidays?
Holidays are for spending time with the people you love, taking time for yourself, doing things that you normally wouldn’t be able to do, especially with classes, work or practice.
Winter break is a time to partake in family traditions like eating with your family and giving each other gifts.
For most, winter break means celebrating Christmas, but it’s important to remember that not everyone celebrates Christmas as there are over 10 other holidays observed in December.
Adelyn O’Dell is a senior at LIU who is really close to her family and looks forward to spending winter break with them. Her holidays are when she gets the opportunity to spend some quality time with them. However, not all students have this same opportunity.
“I am going to Canada with my family to go skiing,” said O’Dell. “We do not really celebrate Christmas as everyone does, where we do traditional gift giving, we don’t even have a Christmas tree, but we still celebrate holidays in our own way by spending time together.”
Finals end on Dec. 23, a date that is very close to Christmas Eve which might force some of the students, especially international students, to stay in the United States, for various reasons. A big one being the cost of international flights during this time of year.
Junior Maaike Broersma is from the Netherlands and mentioned how Christmas will feel different for her this year.
“I cannot afford a ticket to get a flight to go back home, but I am going to be in Indiana, to spend the holidays at one of my friend's houses,” said Broersma.
Flying internationally, especially during this time of the year, can be very expensive but Broersma isn’t alone.
Christmas means a lot to Broersma and her family and even if she will not be able to spend the holidays with her family.
“We will just call each other on December 25 and that will still be something,” said Broersma.
Omar Johnson, who is a Jehovah’s Witness, explained how he also does not celebrate Christmas.
“This coming holiday is another break for me, nothing special, or something coming up, I will be spending time at home in Texas,” said Johnson.
It is interesting how people from all over the world celebrate and perceive holidays differently. It does not matter how you spend it, if winter break means spending time with your family, or if it means doing nothing, as long as you are doing what makes you happy.
Kommentarer