How Does SUA Celebrate the Holidays?
I hope everyone is excited for Christmas - I know I am! The SUA community has been getting in the Christmas spirit by setting up decorations all around campus, especially in classrooms. As I took a look more into the community and their traditions for the holidays in efforts to get and know more about our school as a whole. Let’s take a look at their thoughts, opinions, and traditions for this holiday season!
The majority of the school celebrates Christmas; however, we do have others in our community that don't! It’s good to be aware of the traditions and values that other cultures may have.
Although there really isn't a correct answer, many argued that Christmas should be celebrated during its appropriate time - in December AFTER Thanksgiving. Celebrating the holiday too early could cause people to get tired of all the music and take the fun out of the holiday all together after seeming to celebrate it for so long.
When celebrating, decorations are the easiest and fastest way to visualize your Christmas or appropriate holiday to get into the spirit! For some that may be a Christmas tree for the whole house or for others it may be a candle - for holidays for those such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Surprisingly enough, many don’t go to concerts to get into the Christmas spirit, however they listen to their artists to get into the spirit, and I can’t help to wonder if they listen to Mariah Carey……lol.
Desserts were expected to be the top voted for me. I mean, how difficult can it be to make an apple pie. . . especially if it’s just from the store.
Very interesting that we had so many votes with the song choice! Most people at Ursula that I associate with always mention how this song is overplayed and overrated lol. . . do you feel the same?
LOTS of the SUA community feels that regifting is completely acceptable. Some said, “You can give it to someone to prevent it from being in a landfill”, “It’s the thought that counts”, and “Someone will still find joy out of it through your regifting." However, those who don’t agree with regifting feel it’s “ungrateful because someone devoted their time and energy to the gift”, “it isn’t genuine”, and “it diminishes the value of the gift” mindset of regifting. Others had the opinion that “it depends how long after the gift was given to you to consider the regifting rude or not. For example, if a gift went many years without being used and was then re-gifted to someone not related to the original gifter, it’s fine as long as the gift doesn’t have a major significance to you. It would be rude, however, to re-gift something that has a personal significance behind it or something that was gifted to you not that long ago.
Seeing family during the holidays, especially when you haven't seen them in a long time, is definitely a feeling of happiness and gratefulness. However the gifts of course are also nice and appreciated especially when you’ve been looking forward to them all year.
Do you think the tradition died out? When I was younger they would come and sing at my grandmother's front porch; however, as the years progressed they began to come less and less. Seeing how rude people can be by closing their doors in their faces could be a possible reason. . . what do you think?
In addition to these questions, I also looked into what some people's most unique traditions were. Some said traditions such as Elf on the Shelf, singing Christmas songs with their families, playing games, cooking and eating monkey bread as well as cinnamon rolls, etc. which are things that may not seem as unique if you’ve been doing them. But, for others their agendas are different such as cooking an Italian meal with homemade sauce, celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve in México while eating a Turkey, sleeping in the hallway, celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah, finding a pickle ornament that your sister hides in the tree every year, and so forth! All of these traditions are what makes us united with our family and unique within our own traditions.
When asked what people were asking for this year, the responses obviously varied for each person, and many were asking for simple things such as clothes, good health, shoes, headphones, wallets, hair products, college items, food, and even a cat named Buffalo Chicken. But there were more. . . laborious I would say. . . gifts such as cars, mini hippos, ball gowns, refurbishing the house, and your parents allowing you to have a boyfriend. . . lol! Whatever holiday you celebrate - I’m hoping for peace, joy, and blessings for all :). HAPPY HOLIDAYS SUA 😚!