We Need To Be Inclusive of all Religious Holidays
Via Solaine Bardin
December 6, 2021
Winter break is prompted by the widely celebrated Christmas holiday. It has become sort of a societal celebration, regardless of religion. December is often deemed “the most wonderful time of the year,” as the extended holiday break allows friends and family to spend time together. However, though other religious holidays occur around December, they are deprioritized by the focus on this Christian holiday, which is an issue as it diminishes diversity.
“It’s very Christmas oriented,” says freshman Sarah Lehman, in regards to our holiday break, “but the most telling thing is that most people aren’t aware of the existence of other holidays besides Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.” When asked which other religious holidays she knew of during December, freshman Mira Lehman described “[her] inability to answer the question shows the general lack of education towards the other religious holidays celebrated during this time.” She went on to depict how the awareness of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa themselves are mostly due to how they occur around Christmas time.
For this reason, it’s imperative La Jolla High School students and staff become more aware of other religious holidays. Simply educating oneself on these different religious celebrations is the first step. If our school can become more cognizant of these occurrences, exams and tests conflicts can be avoided, so students won’t be pressured to miss out on these celebrations. In addition to this, straightforwardly rebranding the “Christmas spirit” to “Holiday spirit” will encourage this inclusivity.
Creating a more all-embracing school environment by promoting the recognition of all religions, not only those occurring in December, will bring all of us closer together. Though it’s unlikely that more two-week breaks will be prompted by the acceptance of more religious holidays, as our community grows in diversity, La Jolla High should also choose to embrace it.