The recent long weekend served as a short holiday break for many Miami Palmetto Senior High students, as Palmetto is a community of people from all different cultures and backgrounds. Whether one enjoyed Easter, Passover, Ramadan or any other holiday, students took the time from Friday, Apr. 15 to Sunday, Apr. 17 to celebrate their cultures. 

Below is a look into how some Palmetto students celebrated their holiday:

Easter:

Easter Sunday took place on Apr. 17. Many Christian families honored Jesus Christ’s resurrection by attending mass at their local church. Families traditionally attend church in the mornings and then partake in Easter festivities later in the day. Families will host brunches at home and do fun activities such as Easter egg hunts, Easter egg painting, Easter basket making and more. Miami locals have the option to celebrate in many areas due to the pleasurable spring weather, including the beach, parks, the pool or even one’s backyard. 

Passover:

This year, Passover began on Friday, Apr. 15 and ended on Saturday, Apr. 23. Jewish students at Palmetto celebrated over the long weekend through Seder, a Passover tradition. Seder practices include families telling the story of Passover, drinking four cups of wine, making and eating matzah, eating symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plates and other traditions unique to each family. A few Palmetto students celebrated by reading the Haggadah. 

“I celebrated two nights of Passover Seders, and the first night I was with my mom’s side of the family at my grandma’s house. Then, the second night, my family hosted my dad’s side at my house. We sang tons of songs and did plays throughout the night to remember all the stories of Passover in a fun way. We had good food, a lot of which was symbolic of the struggles that the slaves went through in Egypt and the freedom they achieved,” Palmetto sophomore Dahlia Harris said. 

Ramadan:

In the U.S., Ramadan began on Apr. 1 and ends on May 1. The month-long holiday is associated with many different traditions, including the traditional fast, where Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk for 30 days. After sunset prayer, Muslims gather in their homes or mosques to break the fast with a meal called ifṭār. The meal is often shared with friends and extended family while eating dates, apricots, water or sweetened milk.