Winter, a season filled with festive joy, offered State High students the opportunity to participate in various festivities. Celebrations such as Christmas, New Year’s, and Hanukkah are observed within the high school community during this time.

During the break, junior Cecelia Corro celebrated both Christmas and New Year’s. For her, winter break unfolds as a time to travel and reconnect with family and friends.

Christmas mornings are spent with her family coming together to prepare a big breakfast, including gluten-free muffins, bacon, and eggs. Occasionally, they make pancakes and waffles before unwrapping presents. “And then we sit down to watch a movie or a show that we’re all interested in,” Corro said.

With friends, they gather for video games and gift exchanges.

“Most of the time, I just get a bunch of small little trinkets, and I’ll try to get people candy and cards,” Corro said. For holiday shopping, she favors Five Below for its adorable themed candies and chocolates.

This New Year’s, Corro attended First Night, and spent time downtown hanging out and painting pottery with her friends at 2000 Degrees. “Because the college students were not in town, there was way more space [downtown],” Corro said.

Similar to Corro, senior Christianna Hoover also embraced her break, celebrating Christmas and New Year’s. Hoover’s Christmas traditions involve baking and decorating cookies with family, opting for fun cut-out shapes to add a unique touch. “We make nutcrackers and snowflakes, gingerbread men, and many others too,” Hoover said.

As for holiday shopping, Hoover’s go-to destinations are TJ Maxx and Target. However, she enjoys handmade gifts. “I usually make jewelry — earrings and bracelets — as gifts!” Hoover said.

But for senior Eva Wilf, winter differed from Corro and Hoover.

“I celebrate Hanukkah,” Wilf said. “It’s a celebration of when an oil lamp in a reclaimed temple was saved for eight days even though there was only enough oil for one day.”

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday taking place in November, December, or January, with its dates changing every year based on the Jewish calendar. It is eight nights long, and each night a candle is lit on the menorah, a special candelabrum, to mark the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days. Hanukkah includes various traditions like gift giving, playing games, and enjoying foods.

“It’s traditional to eat fried foods because the holiday is about oil lasting for so long, so we eat foods like latkes and doughnuts,” Wilf said.

Following the Hanukkah festivities, the dreidel game takes center stage. This traditional game utilizes a four-sided spinning top, the dreidel, with a Hebrew letter on each side. As players spin the dreidel, they perform actions based on the landed letter, determining whether they win or lose tokens, represented by chocolate coins.

Hanukkah, with its strong emphasis on light, is a luminous celebration that symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness—making the winter season brighter and more meaningful. “It’s a holiday that acts as a way to light up the dark, especially in winter,” Wilf said.

In essence, regardless of the holiday embraced, winter break was an opportunity for State High students to unwind with loved ones, momentarily stepping away from academic pursuits, and instead honoring their respective traditions. It served as a period for much needed rest, allowing students to recharge and indulge in the festive spirit only to come back to school with renewed motivation.