by: Lindsay Cox
Different cultures celebrate different holidays. Whether spending quality time with friends, family or even complete strangers, everyone seems to come together during holiday seasons.
Nicoline Hansen, a student from Denmark, shared her perspective on the holidays. In Denmark, the Danish celebrate the evening of Dec. 24 after dinner. She explained that the Danish don’t really do anything on Dec. 25, so it is just like any other day in Denmark.
Hansen said that after dinner and before presents are opened, Danish families will form a circle around the tree and walk around the tree while singing Christmas carols. They will hold hands and move in a long chain where they move through each room of the house singing the songs. When they are finished, they will open presents.
When it comes time to open presents, Nicoline shared that her family will choose someone to hand out presents and one by one they will watch someone open a gift. “It’s really nice to see the what they got, who it’s from and the person’s reaction,” Hansen said.
“Danish families will form a circle around the tree and walk around the tree while singing Christmas carols”.
Hansen’s favorite part of Christmas is the dinner. Besides having really good food, they usually eat a type of rice pudding with chopped almonds and a warm cherry sauce. There is a traditional Danish game involving the rice pudding; amidst the chopped almonds there is one whole almond in the big bowl of pudding, and whoever finds the whole almond gets a present.
She said that her family always makes a big deal of the game, meaning no one will say anything if they get the whole almond until the bowl is empty. They then will try to find out who has it. Pork roast and duck are common dishes served with red cabbage, regular potatoes and then white potatoes with sugar glaze.
Hansen’s favorite dish is her grandmother’s brown gravy. Unfortunately, she won’t be going home this year. Instead, she and her husband will have Christmas on Dec. 24, locally. They will try to make it as Danish as possible. She is even going to attempt to recreate her grandmother’s brown gravy.
Another international student, Victoire Mukumayi, told the Prospectus about his holiday experience. When asked what the winter holidays were like in his home country, Mukumayi revealed that most people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo don’t really look forward to Christmas. In the Congo, Christmas is mostly for children.
“Even though it is for children, it’s nice to see them all getting new clothes and new things,” said Mukumayi. The holiday that this student looks forward to the most is New Years. Mukumayi celebrates by going to church where they have a potluck; he enjoys trying all the different foods every year.
Jin Kim and Hanna Ma are both Parkland students from South Korea who shared their holiday traditions. Ma talked about the similarities and differences in the American Christmas versus the South Korean Christmas.
Both Americans and South Koreans participate in gift exchanges. South Korea even has something like the American “Secret Santa” called Manitto. During Christmas, Koreans will eat dinner and cake with their families.
Ma stated that many teenagers spend time with their friends or significant others instead of spending time with their families. For Christmas this year, Ma will not get to go home since the break is so short. She plans to celebrate by calling her family on Christmas Eve and then by spending Christmas with her friends.
Kim said that celebrating winter holidays depends on what the individual in South Korea believes in. If they are Christians, they will celebrate Christmas by going to church. If they aren’t Christians, then Christmas is just like any other day to them. Kim is excited to go home for the holidays even though he doesn’t have any holiday plans quite yet.
And finally, Ivai Warella is a student from Amsterdam, Netherlands. On Christmas or “Kerstmis” as it’s called in the Netherlands, he explained that the way he celebrates is a lot like the U.S. celebrates it; most families come together to eat.
The Netherlands also has another tradition called “Sinterklaas” which is during November and December. Sinterklaas and his helper zwarte piet (Black Pete) will give gifts to children when they put their shoes at the chimney before they go to bed.
Warella plans on going home to Amsterdam for the winter holidays. He looks forward to spending time with family and friends. When asked what he is most excited for Warella stated, “I think the greatest thing about going back to Amsterdam is to go to some places in the city on my bike without having to worry about anything. It just feels very relaxed to be back with my friends and family!”
Parkland has a diverse student body that hails from all over the world. The holiday seasons, which look different for everyone, are an example of a rich diversity. As they say in Danish, French, Dutch, Korean and English respectively, glædelig jul, joyeuses fêtes, fijne feestdagen, 즐거운 휴일 보내세요, and happy holidays!
