As autumn says its goodbyes, temperatures go down, and illuminated white snowflakes go up on lamp poles, a new energy settles in the city. Winter in New York City carries with it a feeling and energy that is indescribable to those who have never experienced it. Rosy cheeks glow in the light of store windows, and a certain joy fills the air. Perhaps it’s the sort of joy that can only come in those few “it’s almost break!” weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, before the New Year comes, and before the clear and crisp December days are replaced by the monotonous gray slush of February. 

With the many assignments and assessments crammed into the weeks preceding winter break, many Bronx Science students eagerly anticipated the 2021-2022 winter holidays. For the past few months, we have been trepidatiously returning to an altered normal. During the mostly remote 2020-2021 academic year, holiday celebrations were significantly limited by the Coronavirus pandemic. For the many Bronx Science students who normally traveled to spend the holidays with family, celebrations were suddenly a lot smaller and quieter. Still, people made the best of it. “We did what we could,” said Elizabeth Matta ’23.

While many were excited about the December 2021 holiday break, there was also some stress associated with the season. “I felt a lot of pressure to make it super amazing,” said Katherine Hankin ’24. “All I wanted last year was a ‘normal’ holiday with all kinds of fun things, so now for the December 2021 holidays, I felt like I needed to be doing fun holiday things all the time which stressed me out a bit.” 

The “12 Days of Coping” event organized by the Guidance Department, as well as the Parents’ Association and S.O. Cabinet, held in the days before winter break, helped students with any difficult emotions that they might have been dealing with during the 2021-2022 holiday season. Each day centered on different activities, including card making, gratitude bingo, coloring, hot chocolate drinking, and more. Monday, December 20th, 2021 was the much-anticipated coffeehouse, where students had the opportunity to perform poetry, music, and songs, and sing karaoke in the cafeteria during their lunch periods. 

The S.O. Cabinet had big plans for fostering holiday spirit here at Bronx Science. Although COVID-19 stopped it from happening last year, the annual Winter Wonderland celebration was back. On Thursday, December 23rd, 2021, there were games, music, decorations, and many other opportunities for students to have fun before break in the cafeteria. Prior to the event, Matta, who is also a cabinet member, said, “There’s going to be an ugly sweater contest, musical chairs (holiday edition), and cookie decorating outside — it should be a lot of fun! There will also be a lot of holiday-themed games.” Cabinet members spent weeks preparing for this event — staying after school, and pitching in during free periods. “There’s two grades that have never experienced a Winter Wonderland,” said Matta. “We want to brighten peoples’ moods, have a good time before break, and end things off well.”

The Jewish Student Union kicked off winter holiday celebrations with its Hanukkah party on Tuesday, November 30th, 2021. Students gathered in room 307 to participate in activities including a doughnut eating contest, “ugly Hanukkah sweater” decorating (a spin on the popular “ugly Christmas sweater” tradition), and games of dreidel for prizes. While many JSU meetings focus on more serious topics like Jewish identity, history, current events, and culture, “the goal of this meeting was just to have a lot of fun for our members, especially since December can be really stressful,” explained JSU president Leona Teten ’23. “We had great attendance — a lot of new students showed up, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves.”

Bronx Science students had big plans for the 2021-2022 holiday season: decorating Christmas trees, making gingerbread houses, baking, spending time with friends and family, drinking hot chocolate, and ice skating, among other activities. Food often plays a central role in many students’ holiday celebrations. When Fiona McLaughlin ’25 visits relatives during the winter holidays, baking for her family is an important Christmas tradition. “I bake a pie myself, usually pecan pie or apple. It’s 90% sugar — Karo syrup and eggs and probably more sugar.”

While some whip together a holiday treat at the last minute, Kazi Gilman ’23 and her family prepared for weeks beforehand. “We baked about 15 types of Christmas cookies, which were given out to friends and family,” Gilman said. “They were all different types: gingerbread, which we decorated and hung on the Christmas tree, chocolate and orange meringues, Linzer cookies, and a long roll filled with nuts that was cut into pieces — and that’s only a few of them.” 

The previous December 2020 holiday season was a very isolating one for many. For this reason, this winter is an ideal time to nurture connections with friends and family (safely, of course, given that we are in the midst of a COVID-19 wave with the Omicron variant) — however that may be. Bronx Science students have worked hard this fall and winter. It’s important to take time to slow down, connect with loved ones, and enjoy this holiday season. “I love that holidays give everyone the chance to do fun things just because they’re fun without needing another excuse,” said Hankin ’24.

While many were excited about the December 2021 holiday break, there was also some stress associated with the season. “I felt a lot of pressure to make it super amazing,” said Katherine Hankin ’24. “All I wanted last year was a ‘normal’ holiday with all kinds of fun things, so now for the December 2021 holidays, I felt like I needed to be doing fun holiday things all the time which stressed me out a bit.”