With many similar holidays, comes each person’s unique traditions. No matter what, we find a sense of beginning within some holidays. For Robert, he shares about his Japanese traditions, “For a holiday, my family and I would travel to Japan. They have a holiday in July. We dress up in a traditional Japanese outfit called Kimono. The festival has many food vendors. They would serve you many kinds of Japanese snacks to enjoy throughout the night. It’s like the Fourth of July. The similarity comes from having fireworks at night. Said Robert”

Some  holidays have festivals to celebrate, but others remember the past such as Ellie celebrating Dia De Los Muertos on the second of November. “My family originates from Mexico. One special holiday that makes my culture unique is Dia De Los Muertos. We celebrate my family with la ofrenda. One favorite thing about my grandmother is her friendly atmosphere. In terms of holidays, it is kind of similar to All Soul Day. Another holiday would have to be Halloween in terms of costume dress-up. My favorite time of the year is New Year’s Eve. My family makes traditional tamales.” Said Ellie.

Holidays can celebrate many things such as individuals, or even specific groups such as Peter and others with German heritage do. “We don’t have a unique holiday besides maybe German Unity Day to celebrate the reunification of Germany after the Cold War. Germany was glad to be back to normal. It is kind of similar to the Fourth of July in that both of them became independent from a superpower. East Germany was under Soviet control while the United States had to fight Great Britain for independence. My American holiday would have to be Thanksgiving.” Said Peter

Religion can be a very strong aspect that brings people together for holidays, this is the case for Gabe. Gabe said, “Brazilians celebrate Carnival Day somewhere in February before the beginning of Lent. Our holiday is going out to watch the parade. My family doesn’t have anything unique. In terms of other holidays, we celebrate American holidays too. It is not any different. My favorite holiday had to be Christmas. ” 

In the end, Holidays can teach many valuable lessons and bring people closer together than before, no matter which holiday you celebrate.