This time of year is magical for a lot of people. Christmas lights blink from houses on every street, and festive music plays in the stores. But while many people are bursting with excitement for Christmas, not everyone celebrates this time of year. The Sudhian reached out to two South students to hear about other holidays their families celebrate.

When it comes to December holidays, the first that usually comes to mind after Christmas is Hanukkah, Judaism’s biggest holiday. Ella Sundheim, a student at South, shared what her family does to celebrate.

On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, they light another candle on their menorah, going from left to right. These candles are allowed to burn out on their own and are never blown out. They also say special prayers while lighting the candles. During the candle-lighting and the prayers, they wear a kipa, which is a small, circular hat.

Other traditions her family has include eating latkes (potato pancakes) with applesauce and sour cream, and playing the game dreidel. Sundheim said that although it is traditionally played with chocolate coins called gelt, her family sometimes uses M&M’s if they can’t find gelt in stores.

Outside of December come other large holidays for some religions. Another student, Ahmad Siar, told the Sudhian about Eid, the Muslim holiday his family celebrates. There are two Eids celebrated. The first is Eid al-Fitr, which will be celebrated on April 21 and 22 in 2023, and the second, Eid al-Adha, will be on June 28 and 29, 2023.

On Eid, Siar’s family starts the day with a special prayer service at a mosque. Afterwards, they visit family and friends, where relatives give gifts and money to children. They eat kabobs, chicken and rice, and sambusas (traditionally triangle-shaped, meat-filled pastries). Women typically wear long skirts and their headscarves on Eid, and men wear a type of traditional dress called a kurta.

While ‘the holidays’ can seem to revolve around Christmas trees and Santa Claus, that’s far from all there is. Especially with South being known for its diversity, it’s so important (and fun!) to learn about all the different holidays people celebrate in our community.