What Charlie Coder-Arce, sophomore, loves most about celebrating the annual Yule festival with his friends and family is a homemade cake made by his mother which is filled with creamy, dark chocolate.
The holiday is celebrated by burning a Yule log, specially selected to be burnt in a fire during the festival. Yule is the celebration of the rebirth of the sun, and it’s on the winter solstice, Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year.
“It feels less materialistic. I get to just appreciate nature itself,” Coder-Arce said. “It’s more for my friends rather than spending money because I get to make things.”
Coder-Arce has special traditions which he celebrates each year as well, including cleansing his house for the winter solstice and getting yule logs.
Around the winter season, there are multiple different ways in which the winter season is celebrated, with many different holidays being observed. Some examples include Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. At MHS, students and staff have their own ways they celebrate each year as well.
For example, Steven Schmitt, math teacher, celebrates St. Nick’s day on December 6th.
“It’s kind of a dying tradition among many people,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt said the tradition is to put up stockings the night before, on the 5th, and to wait for St. Nick to come overnight to fill them with treats, goodies, fruits, nuts and toys.
Schmitt said he uses the holidays as an opportunity to bring his family closer. Schmitt said that both of his daughters live out of town, but this year, they’re both coming home for the holidays.
“The holidays are always about just being with friends and family,” Schmitt said. “There’s time to do things together. It’s a rare opportunity to get the houses clean and decorated. It’s just fun to get together and pick up where we left off.”
Schmitt also said he put up a Christmas tree this year, and that his cats especially enjoy it.
“It’s mostly about the cats,” Schmitt said. “That’s why we put the tree up. It’s for the cats.”
Samridhi Singh, sophomore, also has a unique tradition. Every year while celebrating with her family and friends, Singh enjoys playing a game called “Unwrap the Gift.”
Singh said the premise of the game is to wrap a gift in many different layers of gift wrap and put smaller gifts throughout the layers of the wrap, making a big gift. This big gift is passed around in a circle, and while one person starts unwrapping it, another person starts rolling two dice. Once the two dice match, the big gift is passed onto the next person.
When the big gift is completely unwrapped, there is one big present in the middle, and whoever was holding it last gets to keep it.
Singh said this game and the festive spirit of the holiday is special because she gets to celebrate with her family.
“I like getting together with everyone once a year,” Singh said. “Everything’s so busy and we don’t get to see each other, except for Christmas.”
