With the holiday season behind us, nostalgic feelings still linger that are full of memories and traditions. As Blue Valley North students return to the classroom, three shared some of their favorite memories from this time.
Freshman and avid Chiefs fan Connor Wall shared the story of receiving his most cherished present.
“About three years ago, I went to my grandparents’ house in Indianapolis for Christmas,” Wall said. “While I was there, my parents gave me a Patrick Mahomes jersey. I’m a really big sports and Chiefs fan, and had wanted one for a while, so I was super excited. I’ve worn that jersey for every Chiefs game since that night.”
Wall wasn’t the only student with a story involving a special gift. Junior Emily Patterson talked about her annual Secret Santa gift exchange with her family in Springfield, Missouri and an unusual gift that her grandpa received.
“My grandpa is a huge frog lover, Patterson said. “So, there was one year when my cousin got him a mistle-toad. It was a toad with a missile on top of its head, and it was dancing on a bunch of mistletoe. My grandpa absolutely loved it.”
Outside of gifts, Patterson’s family also reigns in the holiday and winter season with another tradition that spans years: making a snow fort. It began as a post-snow ritual between her and her dad, but has since turned into a way that she connects with others in her neighborhood.
“As my sisters have graduated and gone off to college, and my dad is busy with work, I’ve kind of taken up the mantle,” Patterson said. “Whenever there is a snow day, my dad and I will go outside and shovel the driveway, and put it all in a pile, but I’ll be the one to carve it out. And although I’m too big to get in it now, my neighbors have really young kids, maybe around 10 to 11 years old, and they’ve started coming over to play in it, and even building their own fort in their driveway.”
Senior Nadia Moiny, who celebrates both Christmas and Yalda, the Persian celebration of the Winter Solstice, shared her experience around the holidays.
“Growing up, we would read the Hafez, which is a Persian book of poetry and have traditional Persian food, specifically pomegranates and persimmons,” Moiny said. “We would light candles and sit while Oud music plays in the background. It’s not the major Persian holiday, but it’s a fun thing to do during that time of year.”
Moiny also spoke about a funny encounter with her dog on Christmas Eve, where she found him eating all of the cookies they had set out for Santa earlier in the night. It stands out to her as a reminder of the love for her dog that stemmed from an early age.
“I had wanted a dog for so long, I literally dreamed of waking up on Christmas to a puppy,” Moiny said. “We had just gotten [our dog] last summer, so this was our first Christmas with him, and seeing him eating all of those cookies just made me realize, ‘wow, the dog I’ve wanted for so long is here, with me.’”
These stories just begin to touch the surface of the many others associated with this time. As time passes and years go by, the holidays remain a constant reminder of all the joys and traditions from years past.
