As November begins, so too do the debates about whether holiday music and movies should be played prior to Thanksgiving. The end of the Halloween season marks the beginning of holiday celebrations for some, while others believe it is too soon to start the festivities.
“The second the clock hits 12 [midnight] on Halloween, I’m celebrating Christmas,” said sophomore Katie Deraffele. “I prefer Christmas over Thanksgiving because there are more festive things to do to celebrate it, which is why I start right away.”
For Deffarele, “Friendsgiving” is just as important as any other holiday of the upcoming season.
“I love doing Friendsgiving. I do one with my friends here at Sacred Heart and my hometown friends,” said Deraffele. “We don’t always do traditional Thanksgiving food with turkey and mashed potatoes, we just bring whatever foods we want to eat. Sometimes it is Thanksgiving food, but last year my hometown friends just brought McDonald’s and our favorite foods.”
“I still celebrate some things, just not as much,” said freshman Kayla Berson. “Passover, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah are all the holidays I celebrate with the Jewish side of my family, but we still celebrate Christmas, just not religiously.”
Like Deffarele, Berson also celebrates the holidays alongside her friends in addition to family celebrations.
“My friends and I go ice skating back home a lot,” said Berson. “It’s just like a fun thing to do to get in the holiday mood. We get hot chocolate and just mess around. Even though we aren’t really good.”
Sophomore Will Luceno has a variety of traditions throughout the holiday season, ranging from sports to attire to meals.
“We used to hold a family football game when I was younger,” said Luceno. “We would get my dad, my younger brother, my uncles, and cousins and just play football. It died out as we all got older and tackling resulted in injuries, but I have some really great memories.”
Old traditions are adapted as family dynamics change. While Luceno’s family may not host an annual football game anymore, new holiday festivities have been formed.
“Recently, since my little cousins were born, I started to dress up as Santa for them,” said Luceno. “I have a three and five year-old cousin, so I dress up as Santa and bring in a big sack of presents for the kids since I’m the oldest cousin.”
“My family’s Italian, so we do the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve,” he said.
According to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes stems from 20th-century Italian-American immigrants, combining classic Italian dishes with seafood.
“You basically just pick any seven fishes to eat. We usually do bacalao because it’s very common and affordable. Calamari, shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels also,” said Luceno.
Luceno isn’t the only SHU student who has participated in the Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition.
“My family used to do the Seven Fishes and the whole nine yards, but now we just have traditional Italian food. We always need to have some kind of fish for my Nonni though,” said junior Honora Saccu.
A newer tradition that Saccu celebrates is driving around with her younger sister to look at the festive holiday lights. “It’s just a time for my sister and I to catch up, take a break from the rest of the family, and spend time together,” said Saccu.
Sophomore Frankie Morle holds a Secret Santa with his family during Christmas.
“We get the whole family in on it: uncles, aunts, cousins, everyone,” said Morle. “I have a pretty boring holiday honestly. We just have big dinners with the whole family and have a good time.”
“I also don’t do much during Christmas,” said sophomore Matt Blanco. “My grandma gets me a new nutcracker every year, I have 19 right now. I keep them on top of a wardrobe, and they’re all themed. I have a dog one, a Giants one, Olaf, math themed. I wonder what this years’ going to be; it’s the 20th one, so it’s a big one,” said Blanco.
Sacred Heart University will be hosting multiple holiday celebrations on campus as the season approaches. Keep your eyes peeled for events from the Student Events Team (SET), clubs and more!
Valentina Massoni contributed to this article.
