HAILEY HOWELL / FEATURE EDITOR

With finals season quickly approaching, students are watching the countdown to intersession with a close eye. San Diego winter has officially hit, which means the time for watching holiday films and drinking hot chocolate has finally arrived. The upcoming break allows students to look forward to catching up with family and friends, enjoying their favorite hobbies and possibly celebrating the holiday season. With holidays such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas right around the corner, students are getting ready to celebrate or participate in winter traditions that come with the season. From baking sweets to watching holiday movies, USD students have a variety of activities that they plan to take part in during this upcoming winter break. Many students are looking forward to visiting home and being around family during the holidays. USD first-year Gabe Ambrose shared his travel plans for visiting family over intersession. “I’m from Malaysia,” Ambrose said. “My family’s there, and I’ve not been back for Christmas for two  years  now. I  kind of  told my  mom that I  wasn’t going  to go  back  this  year  for  the  third  year in a row. Then I kind of teamed up  with  my dad, and said, ‘Money  comes  and  goes, but memories last forever.’ So I got my  ticket   like a  week ago to go see my  family  and my mom has no idea, so I’m going to surprise her.  So  I’m  looking  forward  to it  and  I arrive on Christmas Eve.”

Ambrose also shared how he usually experiences the holiday season outside the U.S. 

“In Malaysia, the Christmas stuff starts really early,” Ambrose stated. “You don’t have Thanksgiving. So pretty much once   you   reach  the  [cold] months like September … Christmas preparation started really early. Your decorations are up,  no  snow or anything but really it’s just  time with family and time with people you love. Usually,   for  me, Christmas  time is less about myself and more about  being  able  to  give because I think that’s where I find more joy.”

Many students agree that winter    intersession   can   be   a great   time   to   catch  up  with  family   and spend   time  celebrating the holidays. USD junior  Ava Carter  shared  some of her    favorite   Christmas traditions. 

“One of my favorite holiday traditions  is  definitely, definitely, definitely decorating the tree,” Carter said. “I love doing that with my mom and my girlfriend and my brother and the rest of my family, so that’s definitely one of my favorites. And then on Christmas Eve, we’ve always watched ‘Polar Express.’ So that’s definitely a really fun one, and then [we open] a gift the night before.” 

Carter    also   shared  more  about what hobbies she was looking forward to pursuing over break.

“I love to cook, [but] when you’re  busy and  stressed it’s hard to cook big meals and then clean all of it up in one night,” Carter said. “So I’m excited to cook more. And I live off campus in an apartment  and I play instruments, so  I  can’t  really play my drum set in my apartment. That would be crazy. I have  a drum set  back  home so I’m excited  to  do that and  play guitar.”

While some students are celebrating   one  holiday, others are celebrating multiple. USD junior Isabelle Rands shared what her winter break typically looks like. 

“I am both Jewish and Christian,” Rands said. “So for Christmas, one of our main traditions we do [is] deco drive, we call it. Which is where we go around and we drive and look at all the Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. That’s one of our main  traditions. Hanukkah is one of the other holidays we always celebrate when we get home.  This year it is on Christmas which is exciting, but will also make it harder  to  celebrate  both  holidays. Normally we  light  the  Menorah, open presents and make latkes. And then on Christmas Day, one thing we always  do when opening  presents  is  we  go one at a  time,  which  I think  is  really nice because we get to see what everyone got. Another  tradition  we    always  do   is  we  always  watch ‘Christmas Vacation.’ We already watched it.” 

During this season, many students have annual traditions that they love to get involved in  with their families. USD  sophomore Kristi Phillips shares what she is most excited  for when she arrives home.

“I’m looking forward to Christmas  Eve,  which is  when me and  my 14 cousins  all get together at my aunt’s house, and we   do a massive  charcuterie board making contest,” Phillips shared. “They’re huge. Last year we  actually used a mirror and built like a whole mirror of charcuterie … And then I’m also just  looking  forward  to spending time with my family, like we always  watch Hallmark movies at night. Even though they’re usually really bad, we still watch them.”

Many students are feeling the stress of finals week, but that doesn’t stop them from  looking forward to breaking  away for the holidays. 

“I definitely feel ready for a break because I felt ready for a break at Thanksgiving and coming back is always a tough push,” Phillips said. “But  keeping break  in  the back of my mind is just helping me to get through finals and keep the stress levels down because I know it’s at the end.”

Even  though   this   can be a busy time for students, the upcoming break from classes is helping many students push through their coursework. Toreros  are welcoming  the holiday season and looking forward to a variety of annual traditions.

The USD Christmas tree stands tall overlooking the Paseo de Colachis. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista