DEEANNA HANEY
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

While finishing papers and studying for finals, Appalachian State University students may kick off the holiday season by attending several holiday events this week.

Appalachian Popular Program Society’s Special Events Council will allow students to sit on Santa’s lap and take a photo in the Summit Trail Solarium of Plemmons Student Union from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.

Students dressed as Santa’s elves will direct traffic to the Solarium.

Special Events Chair Yevgeniy Livshits said some people pass by the mall and have to pay $10 to have their picture taken with Santa.

The event, however, is free.

“It’s just a nice memoir to put in a picture frame on a desk or in your dorm,” Livshits, sophomore risk management and insurance major said.

Assistant Director for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership Augusto E. Pena said the most interesting part of the event includes learning about Eastern holidays that are not based on Christianity.

“I think participants can see a different way to look at religion and to look at holidays around the globe that aren’t centered around what most folks in this area see as religious holidays,” he said.

One such holiday, Makar Sankranti, is observed in the Hindu religion and celebrates the ascendency of the sun and its entry into the northern hemisphere, according to helium.com.

At the event, booths will offer activities and cuisine from the countries where each holiday originated; food at past events includes cookies, cakes, pudding and meatballs.

The event will also feature various versions of Christmas, including old American, present-day American and Mexican traditions.

“This event is kind of like a magnet, and it sort of attracts people from different places and experiences to learn about something new,” Pena said.

Some students, like junior advertising major Sarah I.C. Hostyk, will go home to celebrate Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean victory against the Syrian army.

“It really was a miracle that Judah the Maccabee was not defeated and we were able to go back to the holy temple, so it’s good to go back and remember what happened,” Hostyk said. “It’s a heartwarming experience.”

Hanukkah festivities will begin at sundown Dec. 11, and for eight nights, a light on the menorah will be lit, thus representing the eight days the eternal flame lasted after the temple was cleaned.

During this time, celebrators enjoy oil-fried foods, like latkes – potato pancakes – and various types of jelly-filled doughnuts.

Hostyk looks forward to lighting the menorah, playing games and being with her family.

She recently wrote legislation, currently making its way through Faculty Senate, that states students with religious obligations pertaining to holidays will be excused from classes without penalty.

“I did it so other students would not have to worry about not being accommodated for their religious practices,” Hostyk said.

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