Students and faculty at Eastern Michigan University celebrate a wide variety of holidays with different traditions.
In October, the Hindu community celebrated Diwali, a five-day festival of lights and spiritual reflection. EMU student Hut Patil celebrated by getting together with family to play Uno and poker.
EMU senior Drew Hengy is looking forward to going home for the holidays and taking time off from his double major in history and philosophy.
"It’s nice to relax and see people you don’t see often," Hengy said.
Casey Lamont, the marketing specialist for the College of Arts and Sciences, is originally from Tennessee. Whenever it snowed, Lamont’s family would collect the snow to make snow cream. Made from a recipe passed down from Lamont’s great-grandmother, snow cream is the combination of snow, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla.
"It was a good holiday when it snowed because we got snow cream," Lamont said.
Another tradition for Lamont is for all the family members to gather around the Thanksgiving table and say what they are thankful for. Then after the big meal, they play football, Lamont said.
EMU sophomore Tory Moore, who is studying criminal justice, goes home for Thanksgiving to spend time with family and eat good food.
"I love food and family, especially desserts," Moore said.
Some of Moore's favorites are sweet potato pie, peach cobbler and punch bowl cake.
Another student at EMU who is looking forward to the holiday season is Marissa Nowicki, a junior majoring in elementary education.
Nowicki spends time with grandparents, baking and decorating gingerbread houses. On Christmas Eve, they eat a Christmas sauce that has a secret ingredient only Nowicki’s grandmother knows.
Freshman nursing student Za'Riah Prather gathers with family around Christmas to watch movies. Prather makes homemade hot chocolate and roasts marshmallows during the holidays.
This New Year, EMU student Itono Suzuki will celebrate by eating "osechi," a traditional Japanese meal that features different dishes. Each dish has its own specific symbolic meaning, such as health, fertility or good fortune.
"My favorite is the sweet black soybeans," Suzuki said.
Editor's note: On Dec. 5, 2025, this article was updated to improve accuracy.
