When people think of winter break, they automatically think of the holidays that accompany it. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas are some of the most popular holidays, and for good reason.

The nice part about having winter break during the holidays, is that you have plenty of time to travel. With approximately two weeks off of school, you have a nice chunk of time to visit people and celebrate holidays with friends and family.

The holidays in winter are also much more lengthy than the other holidays. Christmas pretty much takes up the whole month of December as far as decorations, music, food and movies go. Hanukkah obviously takes up eight days. Other holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter, or the Fourth of July are over after only a day. I think everyone can agree that the longer the holiday the better it is.

Everybody is familiar with the numerous corny holiday movies that take over our TV guides. There’s nothing better than settling down with friends or family to watch some ridiculous movie that you’ve seen a thousand times. Plus, there are dozens of holiday movies to binge watch that will get you in the holiday spirit. Everybody secretly enjoys cheesy holiday movies.

With the approach of holidays, the appearance of holiday decorations come: lights, wreaths, and candles are in every window; the trees and bushes are covered in bright multicolored lights. No one can deny the beauty of the decorations, even if you don’t celebrate any holidays during the winter. The only thing that makes the lights prettier is when it snows.

Along with the decorations and movies, the music really helps to get people in the holiday mood. While a lot of the holiday music is about Christmas, there are still plenty about winter in general. The best part about the music during the winter is that everyone knows all of the songs because the music has been around for decades. The songs are always cheerful and gets you excited about winter.

Personally, my favorite part about the holidays is the food. It’s better than Thanksgiving, with apple cider, egg nog, cookies, ham, brisket, potatoes, candy canes… the list never ends. You can always find something that you like to eat during the winter holidays. Plus, the aroma that comes with the food is amazing: cinnamon, nutmeg, peppermint; all of scents that define winter fills up the air.

The movies, food, decorations, and music all contribute to the general atmosphere of the holidays. During December, everyone seems to be cheerful, happy and peaceful. People are more generous during the winter holidays; people donate to charities, give gifts to friends and family, and overall seem to be much happier.

While any kind of holiday is great, the holidays during the winter are much better, no matter which one you celebrate.