BIFU’s Holiday Spirit

It’s the holiday season at BIFU, the air is crisp and cold, the sky is grey, and students are writing notes to pair with candy canes to be sent off to their friends. The winter holidays are a special time, as many spend time with family or friends, put up a Christmas tree, eat feasts, and give gifts.

But as the festivities buzz on, something becomes clear: the holidays here are personal, and each person celebrates uniquely.

For Sean Li, a sophomore, the holidays are about kicking back, travelling the world, and enjoying life in the moment.

“For Christmas, my parents always take us to really cool places, and every year without fail my brother buys us all gifts; he bought my entire setup. [For example] Europe, because my dad, he loves history and stuff and… he takes us to all the historical places, and on the way we see all this Christmas lights.”

But the holiday season is also a reminder not to overwork.

“When you're 50 years old, looking back, you're like, oh, I worked way too much. I skipped Christmas all these times. I have no family, no friends,” said Li, “and just been working all my life. So, Christmas is a great way to start avoiding that kind of thing.”

For Jasnoor Singh, a junior, Christmas is more about the gifts and traditions.

“Every year, we put up a tree, stockings, and cookies and milk for Santa,” said Singh. “Then, we wake up on Christmas morning, and open presents.”

However, as the years have passed, Singh has gradually come to recognize the importance of family and togetherness during the holidays.

“I think you have to shift your focus from it being about the gifts and the cookies to cherishing the ones that you love,” said Singh.

For some, the holidays mean giving back to the community.

Diva Shah, a senior representative of the GSA or Inclusivity Club, is hosting a stand where students can write their notes, a long-running tradition of the school.

Every year, Diva and her club members toil away for hours, collecting notes, spreading them out onto the floor, organizing by grade, filtering them, bagging them, and meticulously placing a candy cane with each note, ensuring every student gets one. But the effort, Shah says, is all worth it.

“When we hand them out, it's really rewarding because they all get really happy,” said Shah.

But the candy grams symbolize something of greater meaning. Shah recognizes the importance of inclusion, especially at a time when such a heavy focus on togetherness can make people feel alone.

“Everybody has their own problems that we can't always see. So when we do things like this, even if they don't show it,” said Shah, “I really think that they … feel like they have a community where they belong at school, especially during Christmas, because the holidays is a time where people can feel isolated.”

The following week, NHS and Psychology club hosted an ornament-making event. Students were given clear ornaments to decorate with beads, paint, and paper strips.

“I think the event is a great success,” said Shreyas Jay, a senior and NHS president, “Me and my friend, Aaron Josh Peter, made a Pokemon together, and I think it has just been a really, really wonderful thing to have in our school to celebrate the holiday season before we head off to break.”

Nina Khanna, a junior, is a member of Psychology club and spoke on the importance of the event.

“I mean, in a school like this, we study so much. We need that kind of balance,” said Khanna (11), “We need to feel the spirit. We need to feel together. We just need moments to feel like one community.”