On Jan. 13, the Spanish Honor Society held its first meeting of the new year, along with a White Elephant Gift Exchange, where students brought in gifts for points that count toward participation in the club. Aside from its participation point benefits, the gift exchange was more importantly the club’s way of commemorating the famous Latin holiday: Dia de los Reyes Magos.

“The holiday celebrates the three kings who came and gave gifts to baby Jesus. In the spirit of belated Christmas and this very popular Latin holiday,” club officer junior Saketh Kurnool said, “the least we could do was provide a gift-giving opportunity for members.”

From the confused faces and questioning glances it was apparent that the rules and restrictions of the gift exchange were complicated. But, after 5 minutes and countless explanations, eventually the game found its flow. After gifting one another and stealing each other’s gifts, the club officers proceeded to pass out the club shirts that members ordered since November of last year. With the gift exchanging and t-shirt receiving done, club members began to pack up and leave the classroom to enjoy the rest of their lunch. 

The club celebrated Dia de los Reyes Magos last year, but the large influx of participants this year as compared to last made the festivities much more exciting this time around.

“Since we had a lot more people than last year, it was fun to see what people chose and contributed themselves,” Kurnool said. “I think the spirit of the holiday was preserved better this year.  More liveliness and that is a marked progress point from last year.”

The club hopes to improve in the future and create more opportunities for students to embrace Spanish and Latin culture, but for the members and its officers the club’s purpose boils down to the enjoyment of its activities.

Additional reporting by Tyler Lin.