Christmas and New Year’s Eve are just a few of the festivities celebrated during this season. The Oarsman asked Venice students about their best holiday stories.

Donovan Agee, Junior

“During Christmas, my entire family comes to visit us from Malibu. Since we see each other once a year, it’s a really special moment. My little cousin Nicholas, he wants to play basketball because he looks up to me.

“So one day during Christmas Eve, he came up to my back porch to play basketball with me and my older cousins. I was messing around dribbling the ball then I crossed him over and, unfortunately, he fell on his arm. He got hurt so he had to leave. That’s a sad story. I remember, it was pretty bad.”

Alejandra Gomez, Junior

“A couple of years ago me and my family decided to go to my aunt’s house. Since I haven’t seen one of my friends in so long, more than eight years, she came to a Christmas dinner party. I started crying when I saw her. It was really emotional to see her. It was a really special moment for me.”

Donaji Garcia, Junior

“One of my fondest Christmas memories was when I saw snow for the first time. It wasn’t too long ago, about three years ago. My uncle told me we were going to the park and I had no idea what kind of park it was. He just asked me to wear warm clothes and to get in his truck. I did what he said, but I had no idea where we were going.

“We finally got to a National Park. It was about to be New Year’s Eve and that was the first time I saw snow. We celebrated by making a snowman and snowboarding. It was a really great surprise for me.”