Hundreds of twinkling eyes matched the vibrant lights of Main Hall as students completed their last final exams and excitedly welcomed the holiday break. The season’s red and green home decor, the fresh scent of evergreen trees, and the family bonding climaxed for most on Wednesday Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

Some Upper School students celebrated a traditional Christmas, complete with the unwrapping of presents, the company of friends and family, and a large Christmas dinner.

Nicky Semenza (12) felt that the arrival of break was in itself the best part of the holiday.

“On Christmas day, I did the normal stuff with family. [The day after], I went to a Christmas party with friends,” he said. “It’s nice to have a long break from classes.”

Also relishing in the newfound free time, others chose to spend Christmas day relaxing.

“We don’t really celebrate Christmas as a family,” Hazal Gurcan (9) said. “We did go out to dinner with relatives that were visiting from Turkey, though. There wasn’t really a big celebration; we just had Chinese food.”

Christmas Day was not the culmination of holiday festivities. Many students look forward to New Year’s Day to celebrate once more with friends.

For Helena Dworak (10), meeting up with friends was the most enjoyable part of the holiday vacation.

“I loved getting together with a whole bunch of my friends who graduated last year that I never see anymore,” she said. “My friends [and I] are also hoping to watch New Years fireworks.”

Filled with Yuletide cheer, students continue to enjoy the holiday in their own ways and count down the days until the new year, when they can cast off old burdens and ring in 2014.