Holiday Break… Without a Holiday
posted by Emily Newton | December 19, 2016 | In NewsFSU’s winter break takes place from December 10-January 14. The majority of students will spend at least some of their break celebrating a holiday. For most, that holiday will be Christmas. Other common holidays during winter break include Bodhi Day, Boxing Day, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Kwanzaa, and Yule- just to name a few.
Xin Yin, a MBA major, has a family that converted to Buddhism. Although she does not consider herself religious and does not celebrate Christmas per se, she still participates in exchanging gifts and is “a big fan of Christmas movies.” Winter break coincides with Chinese New Year and her break mainly includes New Year preparations and festivities. When asked if she prefers the phrase “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” Yin replied that she liked “Merry Christmas” better.
There are many people, however, who don’t celebrate any holidays during Winter Break.
Taheerah Watson, sophomore biology major, and her family are Nation of Islam Muslim. “During winter break, we try to give back and volunteer more. We also celebrate my grandma’s birthdays because one is on December 24th and the other is the 25th.” Watson does not participate in gift exchanges or watch Christmas films. “Sometimes, we try to abstain from eating land animals during the break,” she said. When asked if she prefers the phrase “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” Watson replied, “I prefer to say ‘Happy Holidays’ because it encompasses all the winter holidays in one breath and it eliminates the possibility of offending anyone.”
Hanine Mohamed, of the religion Sunni Muslim, says that for her, winter break is “kind of like summer break” since her family typically travels. “Every other year, we go to Disneyworld. Sometimes, people come to visit us. We also go to Myrtle Beach a lot,” she explained. Mohamed does not watch many Christmas films; she prefers to watch Home Alone videos and is “more of a Halloween person with movies.” And, although her father will give gifts to his employees and her mother buys gifts for the children’s’ teachers, neither she nor her family participate in family gift exchange. “I tell my friends Merry Christmas if they celebrate,” she added.
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