As winter approaches, anticipation for the holidays is in the air. Christmas, celebrated on December 25th, is a beloved holiday for most, offering families around the world opportunities to be together and exchange gifts. While rooted in Christian traditions, Christmas is celebrated by various groups for its fun-loving significance, yet this is just one of many holidays celebrated universally during this season.
This year, Grand Ledge High School (GLHS) embraces a season of diversity through a unique initiative. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion [DEI] organization partnered up with the Student Council to create a holiday-themed door-decorating contest. Students will decorate their Comet Care and Connect [C3] doors to represent 14 different holidays celebrated worldwide. This effort encourages students to learn and appreciate global traditions.
DEI, which helped foster these efforts, is an organization where head students of minority clubs are encouraged to meet and discuss how to include students in their associations.
Maansi Budapanahalli, the Vice President of DEI and a student at GLHS, emphasizes the importance of embracing one’s cultural identity.
“In 8th grade going into freshman year it came up that I don’t have to be embarrassed about what I celebrate, I can express this and once I changed my mindset on that and I started sharing it, expressing it, and teaching people about it, people were actually like ‘wait, that’s so cool, I want to learn more about this’” Budapanahalli said.
Being able to share various holidays is an essential aspect of DEI’s mission. For instance, Hanukkah, known as the eight-day festival of lights, is a well-known holiday celebrated by Jewish people beginning on December 14th of this year. Each night, a candle is added to the menorah, culminating with the use of the shamash candle on the ninth night to light the others. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of Jewish culture and the re dedication of the Second Temple, in which a single vial of oil miraculously lasted eight days.
Another significant celebration is Kwanzaa. Starting on December 26th, this holiday focuses on the principles known as the “Nguzo Saba” and highlights African-American and Pan-African heritage. Each day centers on values such as unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
As the holidays approach, it’s crucial to create a good environment where students from all backgrounds feel confident and proud to express and share their cultures.
“I feel like Grand Ledge has multiple cultures and differences, but we don’t know how to celebrate them because we don’t really know how to, and that’s one of DEI’s biggest missions is to figure out how to celebrate them. We think there’s so much representation, but half of it’s not being shared. Even though we might be a minority, that doesn’t mean we have not showcased what we learn, expressed, and what we do,” Budapanahalli said.
