The holiday season brings people together to gather around one special place: the dinner table.

Our classmates shared their experiences during our winter break. Here are some of our classmates’ stories:

“Every year, my grandparents have a Hanukkah party that all my mom’s family attends. We have traditional Jewish food such as brisket and matzo ball soup for dinner, while dessert is usually sufganiyot (jelly donuts) — a traditional Hanukkah dish,” senior Jake Gidney said.

Latkes are potato pancakes cooked in a skillet until golden brown. They originated in Italy and were made from cheese originally. They turned into a Hanukkah staple known today.

“My grandmother and great-grandmother cook homemade latkes together for our entire extended family. They use an old family recipe that my great-grandmother used to cook with her mother in South Africa.

My family eats them with apple sauce on the side,” Jake said.

“My grandma once told me, ‘When you and [your sister] were younger, you used to grate the potatoes with your great-grandma. She would tell us stories about her growing up in South Africa and how her mother would make a huge family dinner’,”Jake said.

He shared that he cherishes these childhood memories and looks forward to the holiday season each year.

Other classmates, like senior Nikki Mielcarek, have similar familial stories, but in a different setting.

“Every winter holiday I go to Mexico to see my family by the beach. We have a whole potluck of food, with all different Mexican dishes. My grandma makes homemade tamales. It’s so good.” Nikki said.

Many believe that tamales were first made by the Aztecs to be brought into battle.

They are made from ground corn wrapped in corn husks and filled with meats, vegetables, and spices.

One of Nikki’s favorite memories during the holiday season was when she was making tamales with her grandma.

“It is a very special time I spend with her ‘cause I don’t see her very often, obviously, so I definitely love making them and talking with my grandma,” Nikki said.

May people will remember these holidays as time to be with their family.

“We usually spend our holidays at home, and we usually invite any family that’s in town to light the candles with us,” senior Sasha Drucker said.  “For Hanukkah, we light candles and say prayers every night before opening presents. Latkes are a comfort food I look forward to, especially with sour cream, they taste better when you eat them in front of the menorah light.”

Latkes can come with a variety of sauces, the most popular however is apple sauce. Latkes can also be dipped in aioli sauce, garlic aioli, hot honey, or sour cream.

“I loved getting to peel the potatoes for the latkes when I was a kid, and I honestly just love sharing something with my whole family that dates back thousands of years and connects us to our culture,”  Sasha said.