With Christmas rapidly approaching and the large number of international students on campus the question was asked; how do they enjoy the festive period back home?
“I celebrate Christmas by going with my church to a hotel and they do breakfast. The hotel is on a beach so Santa comes in on a jet ski. So it’s basically breakfast with gifts from Santa Clause and a good, quality time with church members and some family.” –Khemani Roberts, a senior biology major from Trinidad and Tobago.
“We usually go for lunch and dinner on Christmas eve and Christmas. We have holidays like every country. We eat goat, we drink cider or wine with our family as well. Lots of families also go to church.” –Jon Ander Rodriguez Gurrutxaga, a senior electrical engineering major from Spain.
“We don’t actually celebrate Christmas in Vietnam. So, Christmas is more a kind of westerner holiday and most Vietnamese are not even Christian so we don’t know the meaning of it. My family live five minutes away from a church so we come by there to see the lights and everything and after that we get ice cream.” –Ling Do, a business analytics major from Vietnam
“In Germany we usually start 4 Sundays before the 24thand then on the 24thwe spend time with our family. We decorate the tree, have good food. Then the two days after Christmas we have holidays as well.” –Denise Preger, a Business and Engineering major from Germany.
“Back in India Christmas is everyone going to clubs and parties. We don’t celebrate with Christmas trees but people dress up as Santa and other costumes. They drink, they celebrate and we also sing Christmas songs. I also go to church with my Christian friend. Then we celebrate new year’s eve and that’s pretty much it.” -Darshan Jani, a mechanical engineering major from India.
