By: Devynn Brown
As winter break is approaching many students have different reasons behind why they are celebrating Christmas. Whether it is for religion, a time for family, or the gift of giving, all reasons are welcome.
Kendall Valenzuela, ’22, celebrates Christmas because it is the “birth of Jesus Christ our savior.” Valenzuela believes the meaning of Christmas is “not just getting with friends and family but because God sent down his one and only son for us. He loves us so much.” Valenzuela would like people to “not just celebrate the togetherness of family, but also celebrate the birth of Christ.”
Jackson Ford, ’22, celebrates Christmas because he has always celebrated it in his family with their traditions. Ford’s message of Christmas is the “giving spirit, and trying to make others happy. We try our best to make everyone happy on Christmas.”
Instead of celebrating Christmas this break Jacob Siegel, ’23, will be celebrating Hanukkah. Siegel celebrates Hanukkah because it is “part of my religion. It is something my family does every year.” The story behind celebrating Hanukkah is “back a long time ago the Romans built the original Jewish temple and they only had enough oil that was supposed to last a day to keep them warm. It ended up lasting eight days. That is the inspiration behind Hanukkah and why we light the candle every eight days.” Siegel would like people to know about Hanukkah that “its not a Jewish version of Christmas.”
Mr. Miller the journalism teacher, a pastafarian, celebrates Holiday instead of Christmas. Holiday is sort of like a “celebration every single day. Every day is a holy day.” The purpose of holiday is to “enjoy the day however we want to. There are no rules.” For example, a pastafarian can set at home one day and read a book and then the next hangout with friends and both are ways to celebrate Holiday. Mr. Miller says the overall meaning of being a pastafarian is being “glad that his noodly appendage, the flying spaghetti monster, has touched all of our lives.” Mr. Miller wants people to know that being a pastafarian is “all about freedom. And understanding that life is pretty funny and not to take it too seriously.”
Have a happy winter break, everyone can enjoy it!
Tags: christmas, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers
