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Lunar New Year, Lunar Nostalgia: How My Family Celebrates
Written by Will Chen Lunar New Year is one of my favorite holidays because its themes center on renewal, family, fortune, and prosperity. Each year, my family hosts a gathering and prepares a wide variety of Chinese dishes for everyone to enjoy. Cousins, aunts, and uncles come together to catch up and share updates about their lives. This sense of connection and togetherness is what makes me look forward to Lunar New Year each year. Traditional Lunar New Year Foods: One of my favorite dishes that my parents prepare each year is Cantonese-style ginger scallion lobster. This dish highlights the natural sweetness of lobster, enhanced by ginger and scallions that…
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How the Holidays Have Changed
Written by Mark Arranguez Each year, as the Christmas season approaches, my family would set aside a weekend to bring decorations down from the attic, adorn our tree, and fill each room with red, green, and gold. Over time, however, the help behind that tradition has dwindled. Early on, my dad limited himself to only the heavy lifting due to a “lack of creative vision.” In 2018, my brother began college, and the decorating fell to my mom and me. Then, when I began college in 2022, decorating became a chore to have to squeeze into Thanksgiving Break. As my on-campus responsibilities grew, I began to wish that when I…
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Asian Holiday Delicacies
Written by Asmi Chinauriya Asia is full of a mix of religions, and on top of that, there is the mix of holidays that have been practiced in Asian culture for centuries. So, how exactly do they celebrate their holidays? They will often agree on a celebration that can be agreed upon by anyone: food. Something that often comes as a surprise to many is that in Japan, the people celebrate Christmas with boatloads of KFC. Though I could not tell you how exactly this tradition started, I think it should be practiced more outside of Japan as well. It is also worth noting that during Christmas time, most of…
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How I’m Spending Winter Break
Written by Hannah Sazon One thing about UD is that we are blessed with an especially long winter break. With classes not starting back up until February, breaks are a rare opportunity to actually breathe, reset, and make the most of the time we don’t have during the semester. Instead of letting it slip by, I am planning to make the most of this break by keeping myself busy, balancing rest, personal interests, and preparation for the spring semester. During the semester, hobbies are the first thing to go when things get hectic, so one of my priorities this break is to get back into the things I enjoy. I…
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Best Christmas Songs
Written By Mikhaella Lopez Christmas. Pasko. There are many different names for Christmas across all cultures. Even for the families that don’t celebrate Christmas, everyone hears the same songs on the radio. No, I’m not talking about the same five pop songs that you hear on the morning AM radio on the way to work or school. I’m talking about Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You”, or Wham’s “Last Christmas” on repeat for the nth time in thirty minutes. As someone who started celebrating Christmas the moment September 1st hit, I’ve been listening to among the hundreds of thousands of holiday songs Spotify and the radio have…
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Holiday Joy, Cultural Tension
Written by Will Chen As a Chinese-American, I often feel left out during the holiday season. Christmas is many people’s favorite holiday and the one they look forward to the most. However, as a Buddhist, my family did not celebrate Christmas. When I would come back from winter breaks as a child, all my friends would be immersed in conversations about the gifts they received, while I listened from the sidelines, unable to chime in. My house during the holidays would look the same as usual. In a neighborhood full of bright lights, my house would be the only one that remained undecorated. Not celebrating Christmas as a child wasn’t…
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How Korean Americans Celebrate Thanksgiving
By Hera Lee Thanksgiving is a special holiday that is celebrated in the United States. Americans come together with families and friends to celebrate the holiday of giving thanks; hence the name Thanksgiving. One of this celebration’s main key points is sharing a huge and elaborate feast that includes foods like turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. These are the standard dishes you may see on the dining table, but some people, especially those from different ethnic backgrounds, might bring different cuisines. Korean Americans, for example, love celebrating Thanksgiving for sharing delicious food. Koreans are known for their style of sharing food—we don’t order food for…
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A Holiday Dish That Make My Taste Buds Sing
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and all I’ve been dreaming about is the endless selection of truly delicious eats. One that has been especially on my mind is the good old classic Honey Walnut Shrimp. This iconic dish is not only popular at Asian establishments, but in Asian households. What I love most about this fan favorite is the addition of walnuts. They bring an extra depth to the food with its warm and nutty flavor. Overall, the sweet and salty combination is perfect for special occasions, especially Thanksgiving. Follow this recipe taken from Tiffy Cooks to make your taste buds sing this holiday!
