If you were to ask junior Zach Grob-Lipkis what his favorite time of year is, his answer would undoubtedly be the holiday season. Grob-Lipkis and his family are Jewish, meaning that his holiday season centers around Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights.

“Hanukkah is definitely the best time of the year, especially because of the food and the family time,” Grob-Lipkis said.

Along with the traditional lighting of the Menorah on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, Grob-Lipkis and his family have several different traditions, including  playing dreidel — a game centered around a four-sided spinning top.

“I like playing dreidel because it’s the only time when my parents will let me gamble,” Grob-Lipkis joked. “We don’t actually use money, but instead we use chocolate coins, meaning that I’m generally on a sugar-high during the entirety of Hanukkah.”

Along with these games, the Grob-Lipkis family has their own tradition of a large, pot-luck style dinner with their closest friends and family.

“The food at these dinners is unreal,” Grob-Lipkis said. “My favorite is the challah bread that we get, but everything is just awesome.”

For Grob-Lipkis, having the opportunity to spend Hanukkah with the people that he cares about most is one of the main reasons why he appreciates the holiday so much.

“I don’t think it matters what holiday you’re celebrating. Traditions don’t matter and they aren’t fun if you don’t do them with the people you love,” Grob-Lipkis said.

Because Grob-Lipkis and his family have several friends who are Christian, they try to incorporate Christmas into their holiday celebrations. Furthermore, they genuinely enjoy being able to participate in all parts of the holiday season.

“My family is very pluralistic and we believe in celebrating all cultures, so we like to follow some of the Christmas traditions,” Grob-Lipkis said. “We like to get a Christmas tree and then put a Star of David on top of it.”

On Christmas Eve, they also have a long-standing tradition of getting take-out Chinese food from their favorite restaurant. The combination of Christmas and Hanukkah has become a norm for Grob-Lipkis, and he believes that the end of the year would not be the same for his family without both celebrations.

“I love Christmas and I love Hanukkah,” said Grob-Lipkis. “It doesn’t matter to me what religion it’s related to, as long as I’m getting presents.”