AMBER MATTICE
Staff Writer
Holidays are an integral aspect of culture, and, because of this, it is important to recognize that the celebration of certain holidays differs from one culture to another. Christmas in particular is celebrated differently by almost every family both in the United States and across the world.
In America, Christmas is a holiday closely associated with Christianity, but has been adapted to suit other religions and cultural practices. Gifts, Christmas trees, lights and leaving cookies out for Santa Claus are common associations to the holiday.
It is typically a family-oriented celebration in which people are expected to be social with one another. Friends and family are to be appreciated and gifts symbolize this appreciation. Families, religious or not, partake in at least these aspects when celebrating the Christmas holiday.
“My mom was raised Russian Orthodox, so sometimes we attend a Russian Orthodox Mass, but generally we go to our usual church and altar [service] for midnight mass,” said Melissa Neuburger, a freshman animation and illustration major. “Family is a really big aspect of the holiday for my family so we usually decorate the tree and house together, make dinner together and basically spend all of Christmas, and the days before Christmas, together.”
Neuburger gave small details of her holiday as she told about making perogies and latkes with her family, and celebrating Hanukkah, as well as a traditional Russian Orthodox Christmas, in order to incorporate the religions of both sides of her family. Her Christmas illustrates the emphasis on family and faith that many people value during the holiday season.
For Makenzie Smith, a freshman English adolescence education major, religion doesn’t play a role in her holiday festivities.
“Religion doesn’t really play any part in my family’s celebration,” she said. “We typically celebrate with gifts and focus on spending time together rather than going to any sort of church service. Christmas is almost a second Thanksgiving for us, as we use gifts and such to celebrate the roles we play in each other’s lives.”
Smith’s Christmas reveals a more secular, but also heavily family-oriented, holiday celebration. This diversity is true across most of the United States.
It is still important to recognize, however, that holidays vary between cultures as well. Christmas in Japan for example, is very different than Christmas in America.
According to Japan Monthly, a web magazine, Christmas in Japan is a more intimate holiday. The emphasis is on couples and is a chance to take one’s significant other out for a romantic evening.
The emphasis is also on what America considers Christmas Eve. Most often there is a Christmas cake and the main dinner is centered around chicken versus the traditional ham or turkey. Presents are typically given to lovers rather than entire families, though this does not mean the holiday is not celebrated by families.
For freshman music education major Katharina Misanes Christmas is a little bit different in her family.
“I’m part of a Filipino family, so we’re very religious and Christmas is very Christian-based,” she explained. “We celebrate Christmas starting from Dec. 16 all the way to Christmas Day. We have this event called ‘Simbang Gabi,’ which is night Mass and you go whenever you can. Christmas in the Philippines is also really family-based and is about paying respects and coming together as a family. For example, younger kids take part in an event called ‘mano,’ where they go up to elders or godparents and put their hands on their elder’s forehead as a blessing in return for a small gift or money.”
Each student celebrates the holiday season in a different way, but all value that time the same amount. There are several illustrations of the holiday season as each family has a set of traditions either incorporating religion or simply spending time with loved ones.
There are juxtapositions among each culture and ways of life, but there is no denying the sentiments that are prominent in everyone’s lives during the holidays.