From Thanksgiving meals to Christmas gatherings, families embrace traditions that keep them united.
By: Samantha Alderete
With the holiday season quickly approaching, members of the CSI community say they are already preparing the traditions that make this time of year meaningful. As students finish final papers, faculty wrap up coursework, and advisors help guide students toward the semester’s end, many at CSI are turning their attention to the rituals, memories, and celebrations that help them transition into the holidays.
Spanish professor Yasmin Garves says the season has always been defined by family gatherings and the anticipation that marked her childhood.
“Christmas was the time where for us kids, it was like the time where you were going to receive gift,” said Garves. “And it was a time where we will come together. My grandmother is the person who kept the tradition alive.”
For Garves, the holidays were never just about gifts; it was the moment the entire family returned to the same space, continuing a rhythm of togetherness that defined her upbringing.
Across campus, similar themes appear in how students, faculty, and staff describe their holiday traditions. Even as responsibilities pile up in the final weeks of the semester, many say the familiar routines of decorating, cooking, or reconnecting with loved ones serve as an anchor during a stressful time of year.
For academic advisor Tara Lao, the most important part of the season is the pause it offers time to slow down, gather with family, and reset emotionally before the new year begins.
“Just having that quality family time together where everyone’s just in the spirit and enjoying each other’s company,” said Tara Lao. “And of course, spending time with my nieces and nephews as well.”
She says those simple, shared moments revive her energy after a busy semester of supporting students. Lao adds that the holidays allow her family to step away from their separate routines and reconnect around shared traditions.
CSI students say they look forward to the holidays for similar reasons. Sophomore Tiana Diaz says her family’s tradition centers around collecting meaningful ornaments, one for each member of the family.
“We used to have a tradition where we would get one ornament for our Christmas tree,” said Diaz. “That represented a person in our family.”
Diaz says these ornaments, gathered over many years, have become a visual reminder of everyone who has shaped her family of people who are still present and those who are remembered through the stories connected to each ornament.
As the academic calendar winds down, these traditions begin to take shape in small ways across campus: students talking about travel plans, faculty preparing end-of-semester gatherings, or advisors encouraging students to take breaks as finals approach.
While the holidays mean different things for different people, the season’s arrival sparks a sense of anticipation throughout CSI.
Many in the community say these traditions feel even more important now, especially as college life becomes busier and more demanding.
Rituals, whether decorating a tree, attending a religious service, cooking a family recipe, or exchanging simple gifts, help provide continuity from one year to the next. They allow students and staff to step out of their routines and reconnect with the people and places that ground them.
For some, the holidays are about joy and celebration. For others, they are a time of remembrance, honoring the people and memories that have shaped their lives.
Across CSI, traditions take many forms, some cultural, some spiritual, some passed down through generations, and some newly created. What they share is the ability to bring people together, especially as the year ends and a new one begins.
As Garves reflects on what the season ultimately represents to her, she says the heart of the holidays goes far beyond decorations or gifts.
“It’s being unity,” said Garves. “It’s being family and those beautiful memories of people that are no longer with us.”
