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Christmas tree ornaments tend to be as unique as the family, ranging from traditional candy canes and angels to crazy preschool macaroni-and-glue projects, and the Thoeny family’s collection is no exception. Reid ’17 and Renata ’16 Thoeny always add an extra special decoration to their tree. “We have this ornament that my Old Oma (“Oma” is German for grandmother) knit when she was younger. It’s a snowman, but she messed it up because she forgot to do the curves, so now … we just call it ‘Frosty the Paramecium.’ It’s just an oval with a hat,” Renata said. Tradition is a big part of the Thoeny family’s Christmas celebration. On the other side of the family, the Thoenys have different ways of celebrating Christmas.
“Our great-great-grandma’s favorite Bible reading was always read at Christmas, and now we still read it [every Christmas],” she said. Lighting candles on the tree and singing “Silent Night” is another part of their greatgrandmother’s tradition. “We lit candles on the tree last year and it almost burned down,” Renata said. Continuing this tradition started many years ago is important to the Thoenys because it offers a way to remember a family member who is no longer living. Of course, there are other joys of the Christmas season for the brother-sister duo. “[I like] the wintery-ness and just hanging out with my family,” Reid said. COMPILED BY//JAYCIE WEATHERS
Holiday for the homes PHOTOS BY//LIZZIE PRUNEAU
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In December, it is difficult to find yourself doing anything other than listening to holiday music and cuddling by the fireplace. Traditional holiday activities range from baking cookies to putting up decorations, but some families do things a little differently. The WSS set out to investigate some of these familial traditions.
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Thomas Sparks ’14 and his family turn their kitchen into a bakery every winter to make loaves of banana bread for friends and family. “Last year my family and I made about 140 loaves of banana bread,” Sparks said. They have two Cuisinart food processors that help them create their gifts. Each loaf of bread is wrapped in Saran wrap after it has been baked and a bow tied around it. “Our schedules revolve around the bread; my sister and I have alarms set on our phones to take the bread out of the oven,” 16 FEATURE DECEMBER 2013
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Molly Lipman ’15 gets into the Hanukkah spirit by decorating with menorahs – and lots of them. Her family proudly displays their collection of menorahs around the house. “When [my brothers and I] were little, we would pick out our favorite menorah each and then bring it to the judges, aka my parents, and they would give us style awards like most colorful or tallest. They would basically make up awards on the spot to make us feel good,” Lipman said. Their constantly growing collection varies in size, shape and color. “My dad’s really into art and really likes constructing random menorahs, so we have a ton of weird menorahs that he’s made. In the past few years, he’s made a giant menorah that is in our front yard currently, to replace what we’ve always wanted as Christmas lights,” she said. Because Hanukkah happened to fall over Thanksgiving this year, Lipman’s father created a “turk-norah”, a menorah that looks like a turkey, complete with the turkey’s feathers arranged like the traditional candles. “It’s fun that there is so much variety [for the menorah award ceremony] … on any given night, I like to pick out my favorite newer one or the one with the crazy candles,” Lipman said. COMPILED BY//JAYCIE WEATHERS
he said. Sparks said that he and his family really enjoy coming together to bake. According to Sparks, the funniest part of the tradition is going to Fareway every year and buying old brown bananas, set aside for him and his family. “We have been doing this since I can remember,” Sparks said. The family gives away most of their bread to friends and family and even sometimes teachers, “maybe getting me that little bit of extra credit,” Sparks said. COMPILED BY//ABBY BURGESS
DESIGN BY//JAYCIE WEATHERS