| Huth Middle School is located
about 30 miles south of Chicago. Our students come from many different cultures and
celebrate the Holidays in a variety of ways. We are happy to share our Holiday
traditions. We celebrate Christmas in
the same way every year. On Christmas Eve we go over to my aunt and uncle's
house. We eat a huge dinner starting with the traditional sour soup. Our family has
been doing this since before I was born. On Christmas morning we get up early and
sing 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' as we walk down the stairs. Then we open our
presents. We just started the tradition of Kwanzaa
last year. We have a Kwanzaa book and each member of my family reads a story from
it. This year my mom wants each person to come up with a new tradition.
I can't wait to hear everybody's ideas. On the Sunday of Christmas, we attend a mass
called Sima Gabi. We usually buy a real tree and put ornaments and lights on
it. We also put up outdoor lights. For Christmas we have a big feast including
roast duck and ham. On Christmas Eve my sisters and I get
Christmas pajamas. We always open our presents early on Christmas Eve and then visit
with relatives. My family always attends Christmas Eve services at our church.
Every year for Christmas my mom bakes
cookies for seven days - a different kind every day. We get our tree soon after
Thanksgiving and decorate it with lights and ornaments and place the angel on the
top. My grandmother comes over early Christmas Eve and we sing carols
together. Before we go to bed, we read 'The Night Before Christmas' and open
one of our presents. In the morning we open the rest of our presents and for dinner
have honey ham. One tradition we have is decorating the
tree. We always get a live tree from a local tree farm. We decorate it with
lights, tinsel, and many ornaments. Some ornaments are new and some are handed down
from generation to generation. One ornament we have is more than 60 years old.
My family always has a Christmas breakfast
with eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast, waffles, and orange juice. Then after
we eat, we open up our presents. Each year we hold the event at different people's
houses. We celebrate Christmas, but it is not a
religious holiday for us because we are not Christian. In our culture, we celebrate
Divali which is the Festival of Lights. This is in November, but it's our Hindu
Christmas and we go to our temple. We have a big feast that my mother spends all day
preparing. On Christmas Eve we go to church for the
Christmas Liturgy. When we get home, we go to sleep. My mom makes most of the
food for Christmas dinner. She cooks ham, turkey, candied yams, macaroni and cheese,
greens, stuffing, and sweet potato pie. When she mixes the pie filling in the bowl,
my sister and I get to lick the bowl clean.
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