The Christmas season is coming fast, and while I was wrapping Christmas presents as I listened to Christmas music, I couldn’t help but feel so excited for the most wonderful time of the year. As we speak, families everywhere are putting out Christmas lights, decorating their Christmas trees, sending out Christmas cards to family members and friends and celebrating Christmas according to their own traditions and culture.
That is one of the many reasons why I love Christmas: no one celebrates it the same, and we often have our own Christmas traditions that make the holiday so special and unique. Some of these traditions are simple but beautiful while others are quite original and strange. On a personal note, my family has followed the long tradition of setting up the Christmas tree and decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving. It’s an exciting and fun time I look forward to every Christmas season. I also asked other SNU students to share their family Christmas traditions.
“All of my siblings and I put each of our names in a hat and do a secret santa for the person whose name we drew,” said Bobby Cranston.
I also asked Joseph Blissett to share with me something special he and his family do around the Christmas season. “I can’t think of any weird things that we’ve done, but the holidays are times when all of us are together, so my brothers and cousin and I do crazy things,” Blissett said. “We binge on Super Smash brothers to see who’s better this time. Or we’ll go check out some supposedly haunted places. We just use the time to do fun stuff that we don’t normally get the chance to do with each other.”
Finally, sophomore Tiffany Rabe shared with me a unique tradition she does with her family every year.
“It’s a German tradition to have a pickle ornament. Someone hides the pickle ornament on the Christmas tree and we all look for it. Whoever finds it first receives a small present,” Rabe said.
I enjoyed listening to many of the stories shared with me about how each student here at SNU celebrates Christmas with their family. From the fun, to the common, to the downright weird, every family has their own special and meaningful way to celebrate this joyous season. It just goes to show that we are a culture rich with diversity and originality. I believe this is what makes Christmas even more special. So, let’s learn more about each other and appreciate what makes Christmas so unique! I encourage all readers to share their family’s Christmas traditions (be it weird, funny, or memorable) in the comments section below!
[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Celeste-Forrest-Bio-Pic.jpg” ]Celeste Forrest, Staff Contributor
Celeste is an English Education major with a passion for writing. She dreams of becoming a high-school English teacher and author. She enjoys sleeping, reading while its raining, spending time with her amazing friends, and drinking Puerto Rican coffee. [/author]