Following finals week, many students at Winona State University will be going back to their home, near or far, and celebrating a tradition of some kind.

December is a multicultural holiday month. For those of Christian faith, Christmas is celebrated. For those of Jewish faith, Hanukkah is celebrated. People from Sweden celebrate St. Lucia Day and in Mexico, Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated. Several countries throughout the world celebrate Boxing Day.

“On Christmas Eve, we go to the gym and play volleyball as a family, go out to eat and then come home. We open our presents at about midnight,” Jessica Campbell, first-year criminal justice and psychology major, said.

First-year pre-nursing and pre-med major Michelle Perkins also shared some of her traditions.

“Opening presents is [done] in an orderly way by going youngest to oldest (kids open before dinner, adults are after). My dad used to always hold the trash bag for wrapping paper, [and] now it’s my job because I’m ‘next in line,’” Perkins said.

Sydney Bennett, a first-year student majoring in social work and Spanish, has a German tradition that her family follows of hiding a pickle ornament in their Christmas tree, and then the first person to find it receives an extra present.

Psychology professor Amanda Brouwer also talked her tradition of watching “Elf” with her spouse to get in the holiday spirit.

In addition to these holidays, New Years celebrates the upcoming year and possibilities. While it is widely observed, there are cultures that don’t observe Jan. 1 as the ushering of a new year.

In China, a new year is observed at some point between late January and late February, depending on the moon. In Iranian culture, a new year is celebrated around March 21, give or take a day depending on where it’s observed.

Whether it is Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day or another celebration, students at Winona State make the most of their winter break.