Winter Break 2023: Holiday Travel, Traditions, and New Year's Resolutions (Photos)
Students share their plans and wishes for winter break.
(From left to right) Autumn Cortright, C’25, Hannah Lee, C’25, and Liam Tan, C’27.
Autumn Cortright, C’25, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major
I’m looking forward to making gingerbread houses with my boyfriend and his family. We always do a gingerbread competition—it’s very fierce. My holiday wish is that Irvine Auditorium is packed for our Penn Symphony Orchestra concert this weekend. We’re all in it and this is the concert master (points to Hannah Lee).
Hannah Lee, C’25, Psychology major
Our family makes Korean-style New Year’s dumplings. I always celebrate the East Coast New Year with my parents, so 9:00 p.m. in Seattle, and then I do Seattle New Year’s with my friends. I’m looking forward to that.
Liam Tan, C’27, Undeclared
I’m going to see my five other siblings and then I’ll probably hang out with friends in New York City. Think that should be really nice. Hoping to see a holiday market while I’m there.
Alexander O’Connor, C’25, English major
For the holiday break, I’m excited to see my best friend from Texas. So, she’s coming back home. And then, I think after the break we're going to go to Texas to hang out for a little bit. I have no idea what’s in Texas so I’m hoping she’ll take me around and show me places. I always say that I’ll have one New Year’s resolution. So this year, if I stick to it, it would be to be more on time because I’m always five minutes late to class. So maybe not next semester, we’ll see.
Taylor Wilkinson, NU’25 (left) and Eric Danso, C’27.
Taylor Wilkinson, NU’25
I feel like it’s such a basic answer for any college student, but I’m looking forward to sleep. Also being able to cook home-cooked meals, that’s something I always look forward to. Usually the church service that we get is a really big church service, so the family all goes to that. We also have Christmas breakfast. Thanksgiving we have dinner but for Christmas we have a big breakfast—pancakes, waffles, and eggs. Salt fish because we’re West Indian, and bacon, things like that. And honestly, the NBA Christmas games. Me and my brother love to watch that on Christmas day.
Eric Danso, C’27, Undeclared
My parents, they’re very religious, so they love Christmas. And they make a lot of Ghanaian food during Christmas and New Year’s. I love waakye. Love, love waakye. It’s like beans and stew and pepper. It’s so good. We don’t really do traditions but we go to church. The 25th and 31st are big church days for a lot of people.
Gracie Zhang, C’26 (left), and Gisselle Porcayo, NU’25.
Gracie Zhang, C’26, Neuroscience major
I haven’t been home in almost a year, so I’m looking forward to seeing my hometown friends and getting to see my family. We don’t really have many traditions, but my sister and I are both very artsy, crafty people. Whenever I’m home for break we pick a different art to do—resin jewelry or crocheting or painting or whatever we decide to do that year.
Gisselle Porcayo, NU’25
I’m also looking forward to going home. I’m from Chicago. I’m looking forward to meeting up with my friends to go see the Christmas tree light up. With my family, we usually have dinner together at our house for Christmas and then New Year’s we meet up with other family. Then, on Dia de Los Reyes, which is January 6, we eat Rosca, which is Kings Bread. We just all get together and it’s kind of like a game where we cut the bread and if you get the little baby, you have to make food for the next holiday, which is Dia de la Candelaria on February 2. We have a lot of fun with the holidays and tradition.
Interviews by Amber Grier
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