How to Celebrate the Holidays With Your Roommates When You’re Different Religions

By Alyssa Laffitte

The holiday season is coming up, so it’s almost time to celebrate! However, as a college student, you are likely sharing a room with people of different backgrounds and religions. Part of the college experience is learning to live and work alongside a diverse group of people. The holidays are not an exception to that! In this article, we’ll discuss celebrating the holidays with your roommate when you are different religions.

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Put up multiple different decorations

Decorations are a big part of the holiday season. For example, many people think of a Christmas tree or a Menorah when they think of the holidays. A good way to include all your roommates in your holiday celebrations, allow everyone to put up their own decorations. Not only will it be beautiful to have all those decorations up, but it will also be a way to make sure everyone is represented. Just make sure everyone has an equal amount of space since you don’t want one person’s decorations taking over the entire room. You can even go shopping for the decorations together, that way you can choose colors that won’t clash with each other. Shopping for decorations together is also a good way to make sure everyone is on board with the decorations that will be up since you wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with decorations in their own living room (since it’s their living room, too!). One way to celebrate the holidays with your roommates of a different religion is to put up multiple decorations.

Be respectful of your roommates

Of course, this is a good rule to follow all year long, but please remember during the holiday season to be respectful of your roommates. Living with others involves compromise, and the holiday season is no exception. As long as things are fair and you are respectful to each other, you can have a fun holiday season.

Include your roommates in your celebrations

Another way to celebrate the holidays with your roommates is to include them in your celebrations. It’s a sweet gesture to ask your roommate if they would like to help you wrap presents or participate in something like a gift exchange or a Passover meal. Even if they decline, it still shows that you want to involve them in your celebrations. An invitation is a way to include your roommate, that you want them there even if they do things differently. It’s a great way to make memories and to celebrate this wonderful time of the year! In other words, you should definitely invite your roommates to participate in your holiday celebrations.

Join in your roommate’s celebrations

Conversely, if your roommate invites you to join in their holiday traditions, you should definitely accept! Participating in your roommate’s holiday celebration will not only educate you on how different religions celebrate holidays, but it will also help build your friendship with your roommate. It shows that you care about them and their traditions, which is a nice quality to have in a roommate. Plus, it will be fun to try something new as you celebrate the holidays. Part of going to college and living with a roommate is expanding your horizons and making friends. Accepting your roommate’s invitation to participate in their holiday celebrations is the perfect way to do both. In short, if your roommate invites you to participate in their holiday celebrations, accept the invitation!

Cook different types of food for the holiday dinner

Besides decoration, food is a big part of the holidays. For this reason, you and your roommate could cook different types of food to celebrate your respective holidays You and your roommate could cook different holiday foods and share them together. Eating typical food from the holiday your roommate celebrates is another way to participate in their celebrations (as I mentioned earlier in the article, participating in celebrations shows your roommate that you care). If you don’t want to cook a full meal, you can just opt for something more simple and likely to please everyone: baking cookies! If you want to celebrate the holidays with your roommate of a different religion, you can cook different holiday foods or bake desserts together!

Start new traditions together

Finally, another way to celebrate the holidays with your roommate of a different religion is to start new traditions together. You could borrow ideas from both of your religions and traditions, or you could do something completely different. When you create traditions together, everyone will feel included and involved. For that reason, you can decide to start new holiday traditions with your roommates.

In summary, it’s easy to celebrate the holidays with your roommates of different religions. As long as you are respectful of each other, you should have a great holiday. You never know if it will be a way to bond with your roommate!