By CAPA-JRC reporters Eileen Luo and Claire Yu
Introduction
It’s December, that time of the year again. Snow--we’re hoping--and snowmen, hot chocolate and knit scarves, roasted marshmallows and tangyuan.
This year, we asked our junior reporters about their favorite winter traditions and holiday plans. Let’s see what they have to say!
Traditions
We can’t speak for everyone, but we’re fairly certain that December is among students’ favorite months. Why?
Winter break!
“We usually invite some family and friends over and have a nice dinner,” Evelyn Shue said. Many reporters also put up the Christmas tree, go on vacation, or connect with the people around them. Doris Wang plans on visiting friends over winter break, while Sophie Huang noted that “calling relatives” is a holiday tradition.
Family and friends, after all, are a quintessential part of any celebration.
Holiday Plans
With Christmas coming up, quite a few club members are chipping in to Christmas preparations. “[It’s my] favorite holiday… because the decorations and lights are really pretty,” Jessica Zhang wrote. She plans on helping set up the Christmas lights.
Christmas, it seems, is quite popular–and with good reason! When asked what her favorite winter holiday was, Claire Yu responded: “Christmas each year has always been special to me because I get to exchange gifts with others.” We suspect we’re not alone; Christmas, after all, is nearly synonymous with gifts.
As Vicky Shan put it: “I like Christmas just because I get gifts.”
Evelyn named Christmas as her favorite winter holiday. “There's something about Christmas,” she wrote, “that represents being sheltered by warmth, love and light in the cold and dark, and nothing can quite match that feeling.” Beautifully said; we couldn’t agree more.
Traveling also seems to be a common theme. Julie Yang, the club’s sponsor, plans to go to hot and sunny Puerto Rico this year with Benjamin Lee and the rest of their family. On the other hand, Alvin Tong is traveling to Utah to snowboard and ski. And Angela Shen plans on taking a “[t]rip to Christmas Town VA.” We hope they have fun, wherever they’re going!
Conclusion
Ultimately, winter break is a great opportunity for everyone to rest and spend some quality time with friends and family. “I'll just be glad to be taking a break from school and everything else,” Allison Fan wrote.
We’ll be glad, too.
This article was provided by Chinese American Parents Association Junior Reporter Club (CAPA JRC) with members who interviewed, audio recorded, wrote, translated, and video recorded. CAPA JRC has 25 Montgomery County middle to high school students. They have created a bilingual platform delivering news and serving the community.
Instagram: @capa_jrc