Although many people celebrate the holidays, each person experiences them in their own way, with various traditions and ideas about how each one should unfold. The holiday season is important to many since it is the time of the year when people come together to enjoy each other’s company and to appreciate all that they have been given. At Cape Henry Collegiate, students and teachers each have their own ideas about the season.
“The word that I think describes the holiday season the best is ‘cheerful’ because everybody needs some holiday cheer, and I think that it spreads a lot more during the holidays,” junior Rhiannon Walter said. “Everyone is nicer to each other during the holidays, everybody wants to give to each other during the holidays.”
This time is when the community tends to have more of a giving spirit in comparison to the other parts of the year. CHC hosts many events during the holiday season in order to have the people who are a part of the community begin to think about all that they have, and all that they can give back to others. Before Thanksgiving break, Cape Henry hosted a “Turkey Toss” to donate turkeys to families who were in need. Due to this food drive, the school was able to collect over 300 turkeys. Also, CHC has planned a future toy drive starting on Monday, Dec. 4, and concluding on Friday, Dec. 8 so that people have another opportunity to bless people during this season.
Holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas bring the family together to enjoy both the food that is prepared, and each other’s company. Although this time is for giving gifts to others, many people have ideas for what they wish to receive each year.
“For Christmas I would like to receive a car – either my mom’s car or a Ford,” junior Braeden Mebane said.
However; for some, the only gift that is desired is to be with their loved ones.
“There is nothing material that I really want or need, my gift is to have all of my kids and my grandchildren together for a day or two just to celebrate our family, so my gift in any holiday season is to always have everybody together, under one roof,” Mr. Christopher Souther, a chemistry teacher at CHC, said.
Not only is it nice to stay home and relax during the holidays, but it also allows many students and families to go on vacation. The break is meant for travel, building new relationships, spending time with one’s favorite people, rejuvenation, discovering new hobbies, playing games, dressing up and dressing down, making food, decorating, shopping, and enjoying the winter weather.
“During my break I typically don’t do any school work – I take a break from that, as I hope my students do as well – and I like to relax, but I also like to work out,” Mr. Souther said. “I like to stay up a little later and watch some shows that I can’t normally watch when I’m in school because they’re on too late, and I love to watch all the football.”
New Year’s: a holiday that is often overshadowed by Christmas, is a holiday that also comes with a few traditions. While some stay home and watch the Times Square ball drop on television, others would rather go to parties with friends and family members. A common New Year’s Eve tradition is contemplating New Year’s resolutions while keeping in mind the previous year in order to improve their upcoming future. Ideas for resolutions include wanting to become better at a particular activity, acquiring a new skill, taking new steps to improve one’s health, becoming more organized to benefit one’s job or grades, etc. On the other hand, many believe that one should live in the moment and create changes to advance on a daily basis.
“I’ve kind of tried to live every day knowing what’s good for me and what’s not good for me, so I don’t really make resolutions,” Mr. Souther said. “I might look at what I need to do if we want to travel, try to make plans for when we want to go and so forth. But as far as going on a diet or giving this up or that up, I don’t do that anymore. I’m past all of that, life’s too short.”