This article was created in collaboration with the PHS PE Department
At Patriot High School, we are incredibly lucky and fortunate to have such a diverse cultural range throughout our student body. Simply walking down the halls we can observe ethnicities from across the world. For many of us born Americans, the holiday break is associated with celebration and gift-giving; a Christmas tree to be decorated, cookies to be baked, gifts to be exchanged, and lots of family time. As the holidays approach, we are reminded that our diverse population is preparing for their own unique traditions and beliefs, including not celebrating Christmas perhaps, or for some, not being able to reunite with their loved ones due to distance. We respect and celebrate each unique tradition and culture that belongs to our Patriot community.
Winter Observances Around Patriot High School
We had the opportunity to speak with several students from different cultures and find out how they celebrate the holidays in their cultural communities.
Hispanic Traditions
Composing about 84% of the PHS student body population, our Hispanic students have many unique traditions for the winter season holidays. From South America to Central America, and Mexico, Hispanic culture is as diverse as each country’s name.
A student in Mrs. Kendall’s soccer class Juan Pablo Neira, from Bogota, Colombia talks of celebrating Los Villancicos, a recognition of the Three Wise Men, for an entire week or more before Christmas. Celebrations include prayers, singing of Christmas songs (villancicos), recreating the nativity, and lots of great traditional food, like arepas, and family time. Fireworks fill the sky on December 31st announcing the new year.
Student Jesser Lozano, from Venezuela, a PE student in Mrs. Bukarau’s class talks about Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) as gift-giving begins at midnight, along with lots of food, and family laughs. He speaks of Parrandas, parades with dancing lining the streets of Venezuela as the festivities continue through the holidays. Typical foods on Noche Buena are Hallacas (big tamales) wrapped in banana leaves, accompanied by chicken salad, and sweet pan de jamon (sweet ham bread). As a kid, he remembers waiting for midnight for the fireworks to be set off.
In Honduras, the streets fill with people, markets, fireworks, and churches come alive. PE students Angi Lopez and Yoseli Avila, from Ms. Kang and Mr. Monroy’s PE classes, tell us how Catholicism is the main religion in Honduras and it takes center stage during the holidays. Las Posadas is a tradition that reenacts how the shepherds, the Three Wise Men, Joseph and Mary, and the angels traveled to Bethlehem to give birth to baby Jesus. There are multiple processions through the streets in every city and village in Honduras and adults and children walk the streets reenacting this journey. Families open their homes to feed the people in the processions. The Nacatamal is a favorite food at this time, which are “big tamales” wrapped in banana leaves. Eating 12 grapes as you make 12 wishes on the 31st of December is a fun tradition to welcome the new year, as well as hugging your family members at midnight, and going outside to see the fireworks.
Maira Gonzalez, from El Salvador, tells the story of El Nacimiento, the birth of Jesus, and how in her family from the 24th through the 31st of December, they say many rezos (prayers) of thanks for the past year and rezos to welcome the new year. She also says that wearing new clothes for the 24th and 31st of December is very important and a must. Food like yuca con chicharron is the meal she will miss, as well as family time, and fireworks. She is thankful that Patriot is a welcoming school.
In Mexico, students Brisalinda Sarabia from Guerrero, Eva Esquivel from Michoacan, and Dana Mora from Guadalajara, also speak of Posadas beginning the 16th of December through the 24th of Noche Buena. These nine days of rezos (prayers) and misa (mass) are followed by going to three homes with lit candles and spending time eating with family and friends. They laugh remembering the Rosca de Reyes (King’s Day Bread) tradition in which whoever finds the baby Jesus in their piece of bread gets to make tamales for everyone. They all play Loteria (Bingo), laugh, eat, and quickly come indoors at midnight for the fireworks as some people may choose to shoot guns in the air to celebrate the New Year.
Filipino Celebrations
Patriot is also home to a small but mighty group of Filipino students. These students tell us that celebrating Christmas in December is late for their culture. The Christmas season for Filipino culture begins in September! Student Cyan Bibit shares that she and her family celebrate all of the “ber” months, as nicknamed by her family, with festivities and decorations. In the Philippines, neighborhood streets are lined with ornaments called parols that are large 3-D stars. They can be intricately made with bright colors and ribbons or simple yellow compositions.
Dexee Aninon, a member of the Journalism Club, adds that in her family, some members observed Simbang Gabi which is a practice of early morning prayers by Filipino Catholics to welcome Christmas. Dexee and her family also start celebrating Christmas early. Food like pancit (a noodle dish), lumpia (spring rolls), and chicken adobo are staple foods, and caroling as early as August is part of the celebration.
Sikh Festivals and Commemoration
During the winter season, we must remember that not everyone celebrates Christmas. In fact, for some, this is a season of mourning. For the Sikh population at PHS, there are no celebrations during this time, but instead quite the opposite. A Sikh student, who wished to not be named, stated that it is reserved as a time of commemoration of the martyrdom of the four sons of the 10th guru (gurus are spiritual masters who shaped their religion) in late December. He also shared that the time that they revere as the happiest time of the year is in April when they celebrate Vaisakhi, the birth of Sikhism.
Additionally, some of our Sikh students celebrate Diwali, also known as Deepavali, a huge festival in India. It is observed as a celebration of the return of Prince Rama, his wife, and his brother after being exiled for 14 years. Celebrations include lighting oil lamps, big meals, and fireworks.
Syrian Food and Fun
Eddie Salhab’s, a student in Mr. Stewart’s PE class, has roots and traditions from his family’s origins in Syria. Traditions he remembers include families cooking a sheep and sharing it with other families as they all share blessings and well wishes for the new year. Carnivals, candle lighting, and fireworks are all part of tradition and celebration. For Eddie, Kibbeh (fried meatballs) is a favorite food he looks forward to eating and helping to prepare. He says it is a long process to cook but very worth it.
Pacific Islander Heritage
When we hear or read “Pacific Islander", what does it mean? According to the BYU McKay School of Education, “Pacific Islanders” are a wide range of cultural groups and nationalities from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. It includes people from Hawaii, the Easter Islands, Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu Islands, New Caledonia, Guam, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands.
Family and food is what brings all Polynesians together to celebrate the holidays. Mrs. Bukarau, whose husband is Fijian, talks of cooking an entire pig in a Lovo (earth oven) and sharing it with other families. Velonika Tuihalamaka, feels unique and grateful to belong to her Tongan and Samoan heritage. She knows who she is because her roots run deep in her family, she expresses. Celebrating the holidays comes with favorites like taro (potatoes) and her drink of choice Otai. On December 31st, many Polynesians attend church to welcome the New Year and then head to the beach since December is summertime.
Linda Blondie Adimailakepa T. Lasike-Tuuhetoka and (Toa) Toafilimoe'unga Longoi Malia Lasike-Tu'uhetoka from the Tongan culture talk of traditions that belong to them such as wearing a Taovala, a mat that is worn around the waist on formal occasions, like going to church to celebrate the holidays or a graduation. This formal wear is tied by a cord of hair belonging to the father or grandfather who is deceased. In Tongan culture, the hair of any member cannot be cut until the father or grandfather has passed away, and it must only be cut by the fahu, a special position only held by the sister of the deceased. For the holidays, the girls love sapa sui (chop sui noodles) and pani popo (coconut rolls).
Chinese New Year
In Phoebe Jiang’s household, Christmas is not celebrated, as it is not observed as a Chinese holiday. Instead, she will be waiting patiently for January 29th as this marks Chinese New Year. She will be able to celebrate as her family will go from relative house to house to spend time together, cook, eat, wish everyone well, and receive money from all adults. She loves the dumplings that her mom and grandma make. She tells us that the Year of the Dragon will come to an end and The Year of the Snake will begin in 2025. Rows of Chinese lanterns will be used to decorate the streets for the New Year.
Celebrating Diversity at Patriot High School
Learning about different cultures and traditions is what we believe to be a necessary part of being an interactive human being within our PHS community. These examples are a fraction of the celebrations, traditions, and beliefs we aim to recognize in each other during this school break. Let’s remember that in each culture we see hundreds of years of ancestry. Through these conversations, we had the pleasure of learning about only a few cultures at PHS and it only made us wonder more about the many other cultures and traditions that we have yet to hear about and discover.
We, as Warriors, are immensely fortunate to be a part of a myriad of cultures simply just by walking to class alongside each other. We wish everyone at Patriot High a good break filled with the things that are most important to you.
Thank you to the authors and the PHS PE Department for providing the time and space to speak to all the students featured in this piece.
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