Settling down for the holidays, sophomore Hope Banghart shows her Christmas spirit. Provided by: Hope Banghart
By Katie Sommers
Once the bell rings on Friday, December 21, students may be more than ready for Christmas Break to begin as family, friends, vacations, and traditions await them at home to start the celebration of the holidays.
Holiday traditions are what make families unique and different from other families. Traditions bring family and friends together for a moment to celebrate and do something special as a unit.
Sophomore Hope Banghart said, “Every year we do a large puzzle. We also watch the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story. My aunt and uncle bought my mom a 3-D puzzle, and ever since then we have done a puzzle of some sort.”
Junior Wesley Seidelmann has had his tradition since he was little. He and his family wake up at four in the morning to open presents. Not everyone wants to wake up that early for Christmas, which makes this tradition so unique.
“My family has a pretty unique tradition. Every year we buy Chinese food to eat on Christmas night rather than eating ham or turkey,” said freshman Alyssa Shortt. Her family got this tradition from the movie, The Christmas Story. Her brother shares his birthday with Christmas, and one day he asked for Chinese food for his birthday dinner. “Most of the people I know make homemade food for Christmas night. They eat turkey, ham, or food like that,” Shortt said. This tradition has been around since Shortt can remember, and it occurs on Christmas night. Shortt also added, “This is just a very special tradition to me and my family. We look forward to it all year long, and rarely get Chinese food throughout the year.”
When decorating for the holidays, senior Abbigail Gouker and her family place an angel on the top of the Christmas tree together. Provided by: Abbigail Gouker
Junior Cheyenne Schwertner has a tradition that began in the year 2002 when she moved to Indiana. “We go up to Texas or we bring Texas up here,” she states This tradition for her has been around for almost a decade. Her family’s tradition is unusual because she has a southern heritage, so it makes for interesting stories around Christmas time.
Senior Abbigail Gouker has a special tradition. “Everyone puts the angel on the tree at the same time on Christmas Eve,” she said. This makes this tradition so unique to her family because they all do something together. This tradition started before she was born.
The next tradition is by sophomore Layne Holloway, who states, “My family always waits for everyone who is coming over for Christmas to get there. Then we eat this breakfast casserole made from ham, cornflakes, eggs, and cheese. Then someone starts opening one present, and it goes on until everyone’s presents are opened.” This tradition came to be when Holloway’s grandma, found the casserole recipe from someone in her family and made it. “We all liked it,” she said. This tradition was started before Holloway’s time and usually occurs at her house.
Junior Sommer McClellan has a tradition as well. “Every year we open up one present on Christmas Eve,” she stated. This tradition came to be when McClellan and her brothers were too excited on Christmas Eve. From then on, her parents let them open one present.
“Opening stockings on Christmas eve, and opening presents on Christmas day,” is senior Abby Schumacher’s unique Christmas tradition. “When we were little we waited up all night to open presents so, my parents let us open stockings,” she says. It started when Schumacher was only six years old.
These are just some of the traditions students have and are looking forward to during break. Each tradition is special to every individual, and traditions create memories that last a lifetime.