It’s the most wonderful time of the year yet again, and each one of us has our own way of celebrating. Christmas celebrations are rooted deeply in tradition, but traditions vary from one family to the next. Over the years, families have embraced old traditions, along with creating their own, to get into the holiday spirit.
Movies
One of the best ways to prepare for the big holiday is to watch festive films. Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” marathon makes this easy, as they have been showing holiday-themed movies every day in December since 1996. This makes it possible for viewers to enjoy a variety of Christmas movies all month long.
However, even with this assortment of holiday movies available, some like to stick to the classics in the spirit of tradition. Junior Jon Webb said that his family always watches the claymation Christmas movies. Sophomore Madi Bobb shared that her family watches “White Christmas” (the movie musical starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) “as many times as humanly possible during the month of December.”
Watching these movies isn’t just done in preparation for the holiday either — they’re also enjoyed on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Senior Luke Phillips said that his family always watches “It’s A Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve in their pajamas after coming home from the Christmas Eve church service.
The Tree
The tree is a vital part of the holiday. Regardless of whether the tree is real or fake, it remains the centerpiece of yuletide decor. Simply having the tree is a tradition, and so is going to get it.
“We cut the tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving,” said junior Claire Nickell. “After we get out of church, we go and get a tree then decorate it that night.”
Junior Elle Crossman’s family has a felt tree, which is covered in pins from every place the family has visited over almost twenty years.
What you do — and eat — while decorating the tree can become tradition, too.
“I don’t know why, but we always make deep fried oreos when we set the tree up,” said sophomore Carter Hammond.
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is a day full of anticipation — and Christmas customs. Every family has found a way to make the day go a little faster.
Some families read stories to pass the time, like sophomore Gabe Ernst, whose family reads “The Night Before Christmas” together.
Others finish decorating, which reminds them of the meaning behind the holiday. Junior Katherine Doty shared that her family has a small nativity scene set up in their home, and each year on Christmas Eve her mom puts the baby Jesus in the manger.
There are families like junior Rebekah Kerby’s who take the time to enjoy each others company and reflect on the year.
“When we were kids my family used to sit around the tree drinking hot white chocolate on Christmas Eve and talk about what we were thankful for,” said Kerby.
Other common traditions included things like attending Christmas Eve church services and donning matching festive PJs.
Sophomore Noah Wright said that his family members get their pajamas as a gift at his grandmother’s house, then they put them on and take a family photo each year.
At the end of the day, however, it’s time for us to catch some sleep while Santa goes to work. Even the way we sleep on Christmas Eve has become a tradition in some families.
“My siblings and I are straight-up adults but we still haul our air mattresses into my brother’s room to have a sleepover in the same room we did when we were little, to make sure we don’t scare Santa off,” said sophomore Ivey Chrisco.
While some families are sleeping, others stay up into the late hours of the night.
Senior Sophie Saint-Firmin said that in her family it’s customary to stay up until midnight to open their gifts.
Junior Demarion Johnson’s family also stays up late on Christmas Eve, but instead of opening their gifts, they watch Christmas movies and decorate cookies while also watching the Santa tracker to see when their gifts will arrive.
Christmas Day
Finally, the day finally comes.
Full of excitement and joy, most of us remember rushing to the tree in the morning to see what surprises lie beneath the branches. However, ripping colorful wrapping off of boxes is just one aspect of the holiday — most families follow a routine that has become something much deeper than simple gift giving.
Junior Kiana Casto’s family has a tradition that is uncommon — they find their gifts through a scavenger hunt.
“We do search gifts every year where we get our first clue from the Christmas tree then go on a type of scavenger hunt for our last present,” said Casto.
Junior Hannah Becht gave a glimpse of what the holiday looks like at her house:
“My dad plays Christmas music over the speaker in our kitchen as we all wake up, it’s always the a capella Christmas album by Glad,” said Becht. “We come out of the living room and [my two siblings and I] sit by our stockings and my parents sit in the rocking chairs and we open everything in our stockings. While we do that my mom has a breakfast casserole in the oven, and after we eat a big breakfast together we go back into the living room and open the rest of our presents. The last present under the tree is always the Christmas story that my dad prints out and wraps up and we take turns reading it to remember what Christmas is really about.”
No matter how Christmas is celebrated, the common thread between each family’s tradition seems to remain the same — spending time together to honor the holiday.
