Questions
What are you doing for Christmas?
Do you have any traditions? Food? Activities?
Where do you celebrate Christmas?
What day do you celebrate Christmas?
What is your favorite part of Christmas?
Name: Michael Hurtado
Grade: 9
“For Christmas, my family tradition is to celebrate on the 24th. We usually eat dinner together before opening gifts. My favorite thing to eat is on Christmas is turkey. After dinner, we begin giving each other gifts. My favorite thing about Christmas is hanging out with my family.”
Name: Kimberly Vega
Grade: 10
“I will celebrate Christmas with my family at my aunt’s house. We celebrate on the 24th and the 25th. My aunts and uncles get together and we bring a gift to exchange. Throughout the day we play games and make gingerbread houses. For food, we make seasonal dishes like tamales, pasta, and for dessert we have flan. My favorite part of Christmas is spending time with family and friends.”
Name: Albert Mendoza
Grade: 10
“On Christmas Eve my uncles, aunts, and cousins come over to my house around 5 pm. Everyone makes something to eat, so we have a variety of food. The main dish is usually tamales. After we eat, we usually play games like Charades or Pictionary. When it gets closer to midnight we begin opening the gifts. All the cousins get to open their gifts first, then the adults. My favorite part of Christmas is eating and spending time with my family.”
Name: Jeralynn Querubin
Grade: 11
“This Christmas I will be spending time with my family on my mom’s side. Our tradition is to celebrate on Christmas Eve and we begin opening gifts at midnight. My family does a potluck style for food. Some of our traditional Christmas food includes Lumpia, Pancit, and rice. Lumpia are egg rolls and pancit are very thin Filipino noodles. We play some games before opening our Christmas gifts like Secret Santa, White Elephant, and LCR (Left, Center, Right), a dice game involved with money. I love spending time with my baby cousins during Christmas because they are so cute.”
Name: Ayla Duong
Grade: 11
“Two weeks before Christmas, my family and I go tree shopping and that same day we decorate it. We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at my house. That day we finish up wrapping gifts, place them under the tree, and we cook a meal together. Before opening gifts I enjoy eating with my family. My favorite part of Christmas is spending time with my family, giving gifts, and receiving gifts.”
Name: Angeline Siduch
Grade: 11
“We celebrate Christmas on the 25th but sometimes we celebrate it on the weekend so my family can come over. It all depends if they can make it on Christmas day. On the 25th, my siblings and I open the gifts my parents got us. My cousins, aunt, and uncle come over for a family dinner. We don’t have traditional food we eat every Christmas, but sometimes my mom makes Ya-Hon which is a Cambodian hot pot. An activity we enjoy is karaoke. The adults and the kids have their own karaoke session. My favorite part of Christmas is hearing my aunt sing because it makes all the kids laugh. I also enjoy being in my room with all my cousins talking about life.”
Name: Maria Huerta
Grade: 11
“For Christmas, we celebrate on the 24th and we stay in San Jose. My family has a small party. We usually eat pozole (Mexican soup made with hominy). When my siblings and I were younger we used to have activities but we’re all grown up now. My favorite part of Christmas is spending quality time with my family.”
Name: Autumn Guiam
Grade: 11
“My family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. My siblings and I gather around in the living room while we wait for our mom’s cooking to be done. As we wait for the food, we watch all sorts of Christmas movies. When dinner is ready we dress up and eat at the table together. After we continue to watch more movies or sing karaoke. When it hits midnight my grandparents start handing out gifts from under the tree. When we finish opening gifts we clean everything up and stay up for a couple more hours.”
Name: Amanda Do
Grade: 12
“On Christmas Eve my family stays home and we exchange gifts, which is something I enjoy. The next day, on Christmas, we celebrate my sister's birthday. It hasn’t hit me that it would be my last Christmas before starting college but I’m happy to celebrate it with my family.”
What are you doing for Christmas?
Do you have any traditions? Food? Activities?
Where do you celebrate Christmas?
What day do you celebrate Christmas?
What is your favorite part of Christmas?
Name: Michael Hurtado
Grade: 9
“For Christmas, my family tradition is to celebrate on the 24th. We usually eat dinner together before opening gifts. My favorite thing to eat is on Christmas is turkey. After dinner, we begin giving each other gifts. My favorite thing about Christmas is hanging out with my family.”
Name: Kimberly Vega
Grade: 10
“I will celebrate Christmas with my family at my aunt’s house. We celebrate on the 24th and the 25th. My aunts and uncles get together and we bring a gift to exchange. Throughout the day we play games and make gingerbread houses. For food, we make seasonal dishes like tamales, pasta, and for dessert we have flan. My favorite part of Christmas is spending time with family and friends.”
Name: Albert Mendoza
Grade: 10
“On Christmas Eve my uncles, aunts, and cousins come over to my house around 5 pm. Everyone makes something to eat, so we have a variety of food. The main dish is usually tamales. After we eat, we usually play games like Charades or Pictionary. When it gets closer to midnight we begin opening the gifts. All the cousins get to open their gifts first, then the adults. My favorite part of Christmas is eating and spending time with my family.”
Name: Jeralynn Querubin
Grade: 11
“This Christmas I will be spending time with my family on my mom’s side. Our tradition is to celebrate on Christmas Eve and we begin opening gifts at midnight. My family does a potluck style for food. Some of our traditional Christmas food includes Lumpia, Pancit, and rice. Lumpia are egg rolls and pancit are very thin Filipino noodles. We play some games before opening our Christmas gifts like Secret Santa, White Elephant, and LCR (Left, Center, Right), a dice game involved with money. I love spending time with my baby cousins during Christmas because they are so cute.”
Name: Ayla Duong
Grade: 11
“Two weeks before Christmas, my family and I go tree shopping and that same day we decorate it. We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at my house. That day we finish up wrapping gifts, place them under the tree, and we cook a meal together. Before opening gifts I enjoy eating with my family. My favorite part of Christmas is spending time with my family, giving gifts, and receiving gifts.”
Name: Angeline Siduch
Grade: 11
“We celebrate Christmas on the 25th but sometimes we celebrate it on the weekend so my family can come over. It all depends if they can make it on Christmas day. On the 25th, my siblings and I open the gifts my parents got us. My cousins, aunt, and uncle come over for a family dinner. We don’t have traditional food we eat every Christmas, but sometimes my mom makes Ya-Hon which is a Cambodian hot pot. An activity we enjoy is karaoke. The adults and the kids have their own karaoke session. My favorite part of Christmas is hearing my aunt sing because it makes all the kids laugh. I also enjoy being in my room with all my cousins talking about life.”
Name: Maria Huerta
Grade: 11
“For Christmas, we celebrate on the 24th and we stay in San Jose. My family has a small party. We usually eat pozole (Mexican soup made with hominy). When my siblings and I were younger we used to have activities but we’re all grown up now. My favorite part of Christmas is spending quality time with my family.”
Name: Autumn Guiam
Grade: 11
“My family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. My siblings and I gather around in the living room while we wait for our mom’s cooking to be done. As we wait for the food, we watch all sorts of Christmas movies. When dinner is ready we dress up and eat at the table together. After we continue to watch more movies or sing karaoke. When it hits midnight my grandparents start handing out gifts from under the tree. When we finish opening gifts we clean everything up and stay up for a couple more hours.”
Name: Amanda Do
Grade: 12
“On Christmas Eve my family stays home and we exchange gifts, which is something I enjoy. The next day, on Christmas, we celebrate my sister's birthday. It hasn’t hit me that it would be my last Christmas before starting college but I’m happy to celebrate it with my family.”