By Gavriella Geffner,
Staff Writer.
The term “Happy Holidays” has recently become an increasingly more common phrase during November and December. It allows some people to feel great about themselves because they’re being “inclusive.” The thing is, there is a lot more to being inclusive around the holiday season than a simple change of phrase.
The school certainly makes an effort, like turning the “Ugly Christmas Sweater” spirit day into “Ugly Holiday Sweater” day. But at the same time, the lunchtime activities are giving out candy canes and Christmas cookies, and the music played is all Christmas-related. Again, a simple word or phrase change does not constitute inclusivity. In no way am I saying that Christmas activities should not happen. The majority of the school celebrates Christmas because it isn’t just a religious holiday anymore, but a traditional American holiday.
Although those who do not celebrate Christmas are the minority, it would be nice to see some more effort to include students of all religions and cultures. We see classrooms and offices draped in Christmas lights and other decorations each year but have seen very few with decorations for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or other holidays.
The problem is not only in the decorations, but food as well. Every year on Ugly Holiday Sweater Day, the student government serves hot cocoa and Christmas cookies in the basement, but there are some other budget-friendly holiday foods.
Gelt (chocolate coins) is a very popular gift and sweet treat during Hanukkah, along with sufganiyot (donuts). It shouldn’t be very difficult to find chocolate coins in bulk for a cheap price, and the inclusion of Jewish students’ traditions is worth more than what would be spent. Most traditional foods for Kwanzaa are not easy to distribute at school, like sweet potatoes and collard greens, so instead, we could include decorations of red, black and green, or the kinara, which is the seven-branched candle holder.
A key part of understanding inclusivity during the holiday season is that Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas are not the only holidays in December. There are Buddhist holidays, like Bodhi Day that commemorates the Buddha’s enlightenment. Furthermore, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate any holidays, so that’s something to think about as well. When asked about how much she knows about different December holidays, senior Deja Jones said, “I really only know the bare minimum of like Hanukkah and stuff.” Doing research about different December holidays may also be helpful, because it can be very frustrating for non-Christmas celebrators to answer question after question about basic parts of their religion or culture.
