By Alexandria Martinez
Kasey Chronis, Div. 251, is usually anxiously awaiting her family’s holiday traditions as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Chronis, like many other Lane students, does not just look forward to the gifts and goodies that come along with the holiday season; she also anticipates celebrating the fun, strange, and often quirky holiday traditions she shares with friends and family.
“Every year we [my family] go to my aunt’s house on Christmas Eve and she hides a pickle ornament somewhere on her Christmas tree. Whoever finds the pickle first gets a small present,” Chronis said.
Chronis makes sure she is the one to earn the prize.
“I normally win because when I get to her house, I go straight to her tree and start looking for the pickle while everyone is saying their hellos,” Chronis said.
Chronis also shares holiday traditions with her family on New Years Day.
“On New Years, my grandma bakes a coin into a loaf of bread called a Vasilopita, and when it’s done, we break the bread according to age. The oldest member of the family takes a piece first, and it goes in order until we get to the youngest. Whoever finds the coin in their piece of bread is supposed to have good luck for the rest of the year,” said Chronis.
The Vasilopita coin is a common Greek Orthodox tradition, and is rumored to have begun at the end of the fourth century in Greece. The tradition still flourishes on New Year’s Day in many Greek Orthodox homes.
Alexandra Pizarro, Div. 273, does not know how or why her quirky holiday tradition came about.
“My family throws pies at each other on New Year’s Eve to bring luck for the New Year,” Pizarro said. “We used to throw actual leftover pie, but now we just use whipped cream pies.”
Ariel Castro, Div. 260, participates in an ugly Christmas sweater contest that her family holds every Christmas.
“My dad started the tradition a couple of years ago, and it stuck. We get really into it, and try to out-do each other,” Castro said. “Whoever wins gets a cash prize.”
Mercedes Lee, Div. 262, and her family participate in a White Elephant, a spin-off on Secret Santa every Christmas. Everyone participating brings a wrapped gift, and the gifts are placed in the middle of a room. Then, everyone who brought a gift picks a number and when that number is called, they can either steal a gift from someone who has already picked a gift, or pick one up from the center. The process continues until there are no gifts left in the center of the room. The twist: The gifts have to be funny.
“One year, someone got a giant tooth,” said Lee. “Another year someone got a bedpan…it was thrown away as soon as it was opened, but it was pretty funny!”
Edyta Borek, Div. 257, celebrates the holidays the “Polish way,” as she puts it.
“We basically celebrate Christmas Eve more than Christmas. We make traditional meals and we don’t eat meat for some reason, so there’s a lot of fish,” Borek said. “But, before eating we read a passage from the Bible and pray, then break bread and go around the table wishing everyone good health.”
At the Vo family household, holiday tradition doesn’t start until Christmas morning.
“My family wears Christmas onesie-pajamas when we open presents. It’s pretty funny,” said Alex Vo, Div. 259.
So whether it’s breaking the Vasilopita, or wearing an ugly sweater, holiday traditions prove to be fun for Lane students…no matter how wacky they may be.
