Hi Reader,
The Omaha community is a beautiful tapestry, made up of different cultures, people and traditions. We love learning about others traditions, so to start our celebrations, we asked our team to share their holiday traditions. From travel to cooking to playing games – we loved learning about each other, and we want to share that with you!
“My family tradition is that on Christmas eve my husband and I spend the night at my parents’ and open gifts as a family in the morning and then in the afternoon and evening the entire family (there is a lot of us!) usually goes to my grandma's house for dinner.
We spend time there together for hours and play games.” - Leah Whitney Chavez (Executive Director)
“Our traditions begin the weekend after Thanksgiving when we take out the Christmas decorations and listen to festive music. We sing along and share the stories behind each special ornament. As Christmas approaches, we either have family over or travel overseas to visit them. Together, we make and decorate Christmas cookies, build gingerbread houses, and create Christmas crafts. Our holiday meals combine recipes from New Zealand, the US, and Chile. We love cooking at home, especially during Christmas. On "Noche Buena," we usually dress up and enjoy a formal dinner. Christmas morning kicks off with Santa's visit, bringing excitement that lasts all day. We savor festive foods, open presents, and often call our friends and family. For us, Boxing Day is a time to relax, enjoy leftovers, play board games, watch a movie, take walks, and depending on where we are, enjoy the snow or go to the beach.” - Paulina Campos Guzman (Programs Manager)
“For my family and me, traveling to welcome the New Year is a cherished tradition. We love starting the year in a new place, surrounded by fresh experiences and the excitement of exploring together. It’s more than just a trip, it’s a way to set the tone for the year ahead as a family. “- Arturo Aceves González (Language Accessibility Manager)
“For us, we celebrate mostly on Christmas Eve, la Noche Buena. All day is spent preparing Guatemalan tamales. Everyone helps, from youngest to oldest, there's a job for everyone. These include cleaning the banana leaves, then cutting the perfect size squares to wrap the tamal, to making the masa and putting together the other ingredients, to the assembly of the tamales, putting them in the big pot for them to cook over a few hours. And finally, in the early evening, everyone's favorite part, eating them! Most years we make between 200 - 250 tamales to share with family and friends. A variety of meats, such as chicken, turkey, pork, or duck, are used to give each tamal its delicious flavor.” - Cruz Cabrera (Linguistic Coordinator)
We are so appreciative for our community – you help volunteer, you come to classes, you step up to support us and you help us continue to weave a beautiful tapestry of language, accessibility and inclusion for our area. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
