It might come as a shock, but Santa doesn’t only visit LHS students. Winter is always a festive season no matter where you live, and it’s fun to learn about how people celebrate the holidays outside of Oregon.
This tour around the globe is great if you’re looking for chilly travel destinations, know someone in another city or simply love learning about different traditions around the world. Let’s dive in.
Our first stop is one of the most iconic winter cities: The Big Apple. New York City is known for its holiday spirit in the wintertime. Some famous destinations include the Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue.
“It feels very festive when winter begins, the whole town changes,” said math teacher Carrie Chase. “The big department stores like Macy’s all do really big Christmas displays in their windows. Rockefeller Center has a giant tree, and a giant ice skating rink.”
While New York City Christmas centers around shopping, Boston is great for experiencing the snow. School gets canceled when there’s a dusting of snowflakes in LO, but in Boston they don’t flinch, even if there’s half a foot blanketing the roads. While the snow might be annoying for some, it has its benefits.
“Snow is great for sledding, skiing and hanging out with friends,” said junior Max Vandenburg.
Similar to New York, many festivals take place during the snowy season in Boston.
“There’s a winter market in the city where they sell Christmas themed stuff,” said Vandenburg. “You can get candy canes, hot chocolate and light up a tree.”
Boston and New York are both great examples of what the holidays look like on the east coast, but what about overseas? In cities like Osaka, Japan, people’s holidays look a bit different.
“The main event during the winter is New Year’s, since it’s a big part of most people’s lives spiritually and socially,” said junior Kiefer Meyden. “There’s New Year’s Eve traditions like the bell being rung at 12:00pm as well as New Year’s Day where a lot of people go to shrines to pray for resolutions and fortunes.”
Whether it’s Christmas in New York or New Year’s in Osaka, people have created wonderful winter traditions all over the world.
