FROSTY FESTIVITIES

by Bridget Fitzpatrick ‘23

FROSTY FESTIVITES

Regis Jesuit students celebrate seasonal traditions and winter holidays of all religions

As Thanksgiving enters the rearview mirror and finals darken the horizon, students are counting down the days until Christmas break. The first semester is quickly drawing to a close, and Christmas lovers like me are already starting to prepare for the holiday season. I tend to pay attention only to the holidays I grew up celebrating, but after talking to my friends and fellow classmates more and more, I realized not everyone has the same traditions. Because we attend Catholic school, sometimes we forget to acknowledge winter holidays besides Christmas. We get so “wrapped up” in our own plans that it is easy to look past other cultures. Fortunately, Regis Jesuit is made up of a diverse student body that can share their different winter holiday traditions.

Día de los Reyes Magos is a very common holiday in Latino culture. “It’s a Mexican tradition that my family usually celebrates on the 6th of January,” Jose Banuelos ‘22 said. The day honors the Three Wise Men and remembers when they presented their gifts to Jesus. It is celebrated with gifts and Rosca de Reyes or king’s cake. Rosca is a sweet bread traditionally decorated with fruits. It is prepared in the shape of an oval to show how God’s eternal love has no beginning or end. “We’ll put little baby Jesus in the bread so when we’re eating, if you find one of the baby Jesus, you get punished. It’s kind of a roulette,” Banuelos said. “We also have a feast and at night we put one shoe in the Christmas tree and the three Reyes Magos come and leave gifts, almost like a second Christmas.”

Certain African American cultures observe Kwanza, a week of festivities celebrating community, family, and culture. Originally, it was established to help African Americans reconnect with their roots and heritage. In 1966 after the Watts riots, Dr. Maulana Karenga wanted a way to bring African Americas together. He started researching African “first fruit” harvest festivals and by combining aspects of them he formed the basis of Kwanza. On each of the seven nights of Kwanza, families gather, light a candle on the Kinara candle holder, and discuss one of the seven principles of Swahili. These principles are African values that reinforce community among African Americans. Today it’s celebrated differently by every family, but celebrations usually include singing, dancing, storytelling, and a large traditional meal.

Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday that takes place over eight days to commemorate rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. In the second century B.C. during Syria’s oppression of the Jewish people, their community revolted against the Greek Syrian army in the Maccabean Revolt. According to legend, a miracle took place. There was only enough oil to keep the menorah’s candles lit for a single day, but instead it lasted eight days.

On the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev, the date when the Temple was rededicated, and usually falls in November or December, ending after eight days to represent the miraculous oil. Hanukkah is traditionally celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, food, and gifts. Asher Weisberg ‘23 lets us in on some of her family’s Hanukkah traditions. “Every night we open a different gift from one of my family members and, depending on who it is, we usually call or FaceTime or do a family zoom,” she said.

Learning about different holidays and traditions helps to teach us acceptance. It does not take away from our beliefs but rather allows us to learn and celebrate with others. Talking to people who celebrate them is the best way to find out more. These cold months provide an opportunity to cozy up and discuss traditions with your family and friends, a huge step towards gaining a better understanding of the world.

LUKE MORSE ‘23

AND HIS PARENTS celebrate the holiday season making it a December to remember

CHARLOTEE TOLVA ‘24

AND THE TOLVA FAMILY have their lights shinning bright in the yard for all to see their Christmas spirit

NO SNOW? by Colin Beatty ‘23 Denver has had a record snow drought. What in the world is going on?

DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE YEAR IS COMING TO A CLOSE, Denver has

received almost no snowfall throughout the span of this recent winter season. Averaging 62 inches of snowfall a year compared to the 28 inch average of the US as a whole, it is unheard of for this city to go without snow.

While Denver would normally be up to it’s knees in powder, it is instead experiencing one of the worst droughts in it’s history. It has been 230 days since measurable snowfall fell in Denver as of December 8th, 2021, and it unfortunately seems that this will be a trend for the foreseeable future.

This might be due to the fact that we are in a year of “La Niña,” meaning we should expect higher temperatures and lower humidity throughout the rest of the winter.

Denver is also on track to beat the record of longest time without snowfall in Colorado, the former record being 235 days in 1887. This means Coloradans should take advantage of the sun and heat while they still can. Enjoy the clear roads, dry shoes, and not shoveling before the first winter storm eventually hits.

WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN FULL SWING,

there’s no shortage of festive food items available for those who want to buy some Christmas spirit. While many chains have milkshakes and other products in line with a typical fast-food diet, I wanted to try something a little more homey this year, something that would make me feel less like I was eating the usual garbage with peppermint added. The Starbucks Snowman Cookie fit the bill and, after a particularly cold day of school, I went to pick one up.

An ideal Christmas cookie should check two boxes: it should be decorative, fitting the aesthetic conventions associated with the season, and it should taste good in a sweet, childish way. The cookie I purchased from Starbucks mostly passed in terms of looks. It was cute. It was clearly a snowman, and the frosting was neat. Despite this, there was an off-putting rigidity about it that I guess should be expected from something made by a company as big as Starbucks. It would be hard to mistake it for something homemade, but the design is still charming and feels more personal than, say, a peppermint latte. When I bit into it, however, I was immediately aware that what I had purchased would never be fully satisfying. It was intensely dry, not quite hard enough to be called stale. There was no warmth to it and little in the way of flavor, either. Overall, it felt unnatural and stiff.

It would be stupid to complain about a cookie from Starbucks for feeling exactly how food from a multi-national coffee corporation is supposed to feel. It’s fine. I think if you want to eat something with a smile on it, you should try it. And, if we’re comparing it to the kind of Christmas cookies you might make yourself, or the kind that someone close gives you, I think the Starbucks Snowman Cookie isn’t far off. You eat them because they look fun and it’s the thing you’re supposed to do over the holidays, not because they’re delicious.

Maybe the Snowman Cookie didn’t taste fantastic, but doesn’t it feel nice to eat something that looks fun? Don’t you feel like you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing? ‘Tis the season.

by Matthew Tierney ‘22

A CRUMBLY