“Merry Christmas!”

“Xin Nian Kuai Le!”

“Veseloho Vam Rizdva!”

These are just some of the many expressions you may happen to hear as you walk the halls during this Christmas season.

After talking to various students about their holiday traditions, it’s clear that Regina has an extremely diverse student body.

1. Xindi Sun ’18- China

“Chinese New Year, which is usually in late January or early February, is a huge holiday there.  Everyone lights lots of firecrackers and no one goes to sleep until midnight.  The adults give red envelopes filled with money and give it to their relatives. There is also a popular Chinese TV program that is shown every year.”

2. Marta Sanchez-Carpintero ’17- Spain

“Three Kings Day, January 6, is really big in Spain.  On the night of January 5 -the day before- there are three cups filled with delicacies such as wine or chocolate.  On that night there are carnivals and parades throughout Madrid.  As the “three kings” throw candy and you shout out what you want. You get a lot of presents. Then on January 6, you spend the day with your family- I usually spend mine with my mom’s family.”

3. Nikki Thanas ’18, Taylor Chioros ’15, Erina Loupos ’15- Greece

“On New Year’s Day, Greek people bake a special cake called a Vasilopita which has a coin hidden inside of it. After dinner, the head of the house cuts the cake. The first piece goes to Jesus, the second to the house, and then the rest go in order of the ages of the family members. The person who gets the piece with a coin in it has good luck for the entire year.”

4. Ally Li ’15- Russia

“We actually celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January, so we combine New Years with Christmas.  We go to a long mass and then have dinner and celebrate with friends and family.”

5. Sarah Mubarek ’15- Ethiopia

“Well I don’t have any special Christmas traditions, but my family celebrates a holiday called Eid during the summer months. It is a holiday that is observed at the end of the month of Ramadan, when Muslims begin a month of fasting.  All of our family gets together and dresses up to celebrate.”

6. Maggie McNeill ’18- Ireland

“Every year my entire family will usually go to my cousin’s house for Christmas. We eat a lot of mashed potatoes and ham and turkey. Also, my family usually has a party to celebrate St. Stephen’s Day, which is the day after Christmas.  Stephen was the first Christian martyr.”

7. Su Hee Jeong ’16- South Korea

“Christmas in Korea is very similar to Christmas in America, except there is less emphasis on the presents and more on the religious aspect.  We have a “Santa Harabujee”, or “Grandpa Santa”, and he basically does the same things that Santa does in America.  On Christmas Day, we get together with all our family and friends to exchange gifts and money.  Then we have a big meal with traditional Korean food.

8. Oriana Jastrembsky ’15- Ukraine

“Ukranians celebrate Christmas on the 5th and 6th of January. Each year my family and I go to my grandparents’ house and meet with all our relatives and go caroling which is pretty popular in Ukraine.  We eat a meal with traditional Ukrainian food, such as borsht, a Ukrainian beet soup.  One thing that my grandma does is she gets this special wheat from Ukraine and calls it “the Grandfather Spirit”.  It recognizes all our ancestors in our family, and we leave an empty plate for them as if they are there eating with us.”