From nearby places/cities to out of the country, students have celebrated with their friends and family. It is always most fascinating for students celebrating out of the country, to recall their traditions and experiences they have during the holidays.

Junior Robin Clarke took his annual trip to Ireland over holiday break to visit with his aunt, uncle and two cousins who live down there. Clarke said, “As I got older I started to feel connected to the town and the country and Ireland and it has become a pretty special part of me.”

One tradition the Clarkes have is to play a game where you take items called “crackers”, which are just three cardboard tubes. The middle one contains a prize in the middle and the two people pull on either side. Whoever gets two of the three tubes wins the prize in the middle. The Clarke family also enjoys playing board and card games on Christmas like “Cards Against Humanity”.

Christmas in Ireland tends to revolve their Christmas meal around food, primarily Turkey, quite like Thanksgiving in America. Americans and Irish people share traditions such as putting up a Christmas tree and opening presents. “The getting together part of family and friends is very important,” Clarke said.

While most students have an ordinary Christmas every year, Silverglade goes somewhere new and unforgettable. Junior Michael Silverglade visited Costa Rica over the holiday break with his parents and siblings for an adventurous vacation. Because Silverglade is Jewish and does not celebrate Christmas, his family tends to take a vacation elsewhere every year for a fun time after celebrating Hanukkah in the States.

“I love getting away during Christmas because while everyone is celebrating with their families, I’m on a cool adventure with mine,” Silverglade said. Silverglade and his family went white water rafting and rappelling down the rivers in Costa Rica. Silverglade also worked on his Spanish there with the native speakers.

Junior Skye Nielsen spent Christmas in Denmark this year to be with her grandparents, uncles, and cousins on her Dad’s side. They put the Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve and ate rice pudding. After Christmas Eve dinner, the Nielsens sing, hold hands, and walk around the Christmas tree.

In Denmark, they open all their presents on Christmas Eve after dinner. So instead of waking up in the morning and opening gifts, they sleep in and then have a long big lunch with family.