The two week Winter break saw some students leaving for home or new lands, while others stayed and worked.
As “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” came out Dec. 18, many students had Christmas breaks mixing Christmas traditions with watching the seventh installment of the space opera.
Freshman Sarah Harmon, an undecided major from Ohio, returned home to cold weather and a family enthusiastic to see Star Wars on Christmas day. “My family bought the tickets months ago and were like ‘We’re going to see Star Wars on Christmas day in 3D!’ and it was like a big thing.”
Harmon said although she is not interested in Star Wars, her family definitely is. “They all dressed up for it, so Christmas morning was… interesting, you could say.”
Josie Hancock experienced a similar situation when she arrived in Arizona for Christmas with her family. She said none of her siblings were there, and they didn’t do what they normally did on Christmas. Like Harmon’s family, she and her parents also went to see Star Wars. “My family is huge Star Wars fans.”
Although they didn’t dress up, Hancock said, “My mom kind of went crazy. She was just yelling the whole time.” The reason for the commotion was her mom’s devotion as a fan. “When Finn used the lightsaber she was upset” because there was more to it than “just pushing a button.” Hancock said she agreed, but admitted to shushing her a couple of times.
Hancock concluded her stay at home with a bonfire, which is a weekend tradition at home.
Going from Hawaii winter to winter on the mainland can be a bit of a shock, Harmon and Hancock agreed. When first asked about how winter break was, Harmon immediately replied, “cold.” She said it snowed a little, but was mostly in the fifties.
In Arizona, Hancock said, “The weather was in the forties or fifties, so I was cold. Everyone was wearing T-shirts and I was freezing.” Some students decided to stay in the warmth of Hawaii weather to work hard and play hard.
Spencer Choi, a freshman from Korea studying TESOL, described his break as “productive.” He worked for 35 hours at the stake center as a custodian. “Because of that I had lots to do,” said Choi. Contrary to some stereotypes of staying in over the break, Choi said, “It was not bad, I used my time wisely.”
Christmas day, Choi visited one of his missionary companions whom he served with in Korea. “He’s Hawaiian, so he invited us to his home… and we had a party over there at Ewa Beach on the North Shore.”
Their Christmas party was complete with more of their Korean friends and Korean Food. Choi said his friend’s grandfather is Korean, and he cooked.
Traditionally, Choi said in Korea, Christmas is celebrated as more of a “holy day,” rather than the more westernized version of Christmas. He said at home, to celebrate Christmas he always gathers together with friends, so that was one tradition that remained constant.