When December comes to Bend, there is an undeniable happiness in the air. Storms blow cheer into the streets and festively decorated stores play a variety of Christmas classics while bakeries waft scents of cinnamon and sugar throughout the pedestrian clad streets. Before snow days took a toll on our learning and the magic of Christmas was lost, the wonder didn’t have to be orchestrated; it simply existed with us. Nostalgia clings to our memories, especially as teenagers pivoting towards adulthood. These memories hold a place in our hearts no matter how old we are. However these memories aren’t the same for everyone, they differ across different faiths and families and Summit students are willing to share their one of a kind stories.
Every student has their own unique holiday memories. Sophomore Abby Lachman discusses how hers are rooted in family time. “My favorite memory is when one year, we got snowed in and we had enough snow that my brothers, my dad and I could jump off the roof into the banks,” says Lachman. The vivid memory of Lachman’s childhood illuminates how these special moments help teens form strong bonds with the holiday season, reminding us of what we have and perhaps miss the most.
As we get older, siblings move out and eventually the magic spark of the holidays goes with them. Christmas comes and passes and we will carry our fondest memories dear to our hearts–as if it were a life line connecting us to the past when the future wasn’t looming so closely.
Academic pressure builds up slowly while we students go from grade to grade, taking away special holiday moments. Yet these moments stick with us far longer than any grade. Summit sophomore Sophia Boisseivian notes how her childhood memories are lasting, stating “I remember…the streets being buried with piles of snow and jumping in. I remember watching the tree with its tacky Christmas lights and [drinking] my hot cocoa after sledding for hours,” explains Boisseivian. Her experience shows how simple joy could come to us as children in these silly moments, while the feeling of nostalgia comes to us in freedom falling like snow from academics.
Snow used to grace us well before December came around, kids played with no care in the world besides the bribed hot cocoa to come warm up. Later in the night you’re greeted by houses decked head to toe in Christmas decorations. The colorful lighted houses are models that remind us of our traditions as a community; these reminders show us that holiday traditions look different for each household.
However, holiday nostalgia isn’t exclusive to Christmas, students from different backgrounds experience it in their own ways.
Summit senior Owen Cogen shares his unique experience as someone who grew up Jewish in Bend. “Growing up in a Jewish family, especially in Bend, which is such a Christian town, is kinda odd,” says Cogen.
He then goes on to discuss his family’s traditions, noting how every year they have this little doll nicknamed Tubin with a red hat that they would hide around for the duration of Hanukkah.
At the end of the day, holiday nostalgia is more to us than a regular memory, it’s a feeling of life in that moment. Even as we grow older, go to college and make our own traditions, the comfort of past winters lives in our thoughts. Painfully admiring the sweet childhood innocence that makes us physically sick to look back upon. When the lights go up and the snow falls we feel that unforgettable tug once again, the silent reminder that the magic of holidays never truly disappears. It simply waits for us in our memories.
