Living in “Christmas-Town USA” brings with it many holiday traditions.
Websters defines tradition as,” the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction.”
An important part of traditions is learning about their origin. Choir teacher Mindy Wall shares about her experience carrying on the tradition of holiday Village Voices, a non-auditioning choir, with all levels of experience from the community of Leavenworth, performances for her fourth year: “Our mission is to spread the joy of music and of Christmas to Leavenworth and the surrounding areas. We try to do that by appealing to both locals and people who are coming in to visit.”
This year, she is building community and creating new musical traditions by having the Cascade choir sing a piece with the Village Voices. Wall describes this unique piece that bridges old traditions with new traditions: “The last two years we've done an African piece and that's kind of been my favorite thing for us to do, just because I have connections to west Africa, and I travel there a lot. And both of those years my husband arranged the pieces for choir, so it’s been really fun to do those African pieces in an African language.”
Holiday traditions aren't all about formal events, they are also about the small, spirited moments that make Cascade High School special.
The Kodiaks have a tradition of winter spirit week leading up to the holiday break. Winter spirit week, led by ASB Leadership, is the week before winter break and a fun way for each student to express their holiday spirit. This year, it included days such as Ugly Sweater Bash, Home Alone, and New Year, New Me.
“It's a fun way to get everyone excited for the holidays and be able to show spirit as a school. It can be a great way to make students look forward to school more because it's something out of the ordinary,” Cascade High School's sophomore class president, Georgia Holm, said.
Kate Smith described how winter spirit week is a fun way to escape from the business of the season: “I think winter spirit week is a great way to start off holiday break and keep morale high during the high workload of the week.”
Not only is winter spirit week full of fun themes and activities, but it also gives students an extra boost of motivation. This year the activities include sugar cookie decorating, photos with the Grinch, resolution writing, a pancake breakfast, and holiday wishes being granted. A wish granted this year was the choir serenading Mr. Stubbs with Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, a wish thoughtfully crafted by Kate Smith (10).
Whether Kodiaks are singing carols or showing off ugly sweaters in the hallways, these festivities remind everyone that even the smallest traditions help shape Cascade High School and the local community.
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