December 25th, for many people, is a day focused on family and the gift of giving. It is a way to bring everyone together for that very special day. You wake up in the morning filled with glee and can’t wait to see what presents await you under the tree or to see the bright smiling faces as your children come down in awe because Santa Claus paid them a visit for being good and they made it on the coveted nice list.

Each year when Christmas rolls around, my family has stuck with the same traditions and it is always more fun as the years go on. We start off our Christmas eve by making our way down to Saint Agnes Church where we meet our family friends with whom we share the rest of Christmas Eve. Then we find ourselves back at their house having a huge 7 fish Christmas feast. After the meal is complete, we all hop into the car and begin our caroling journey to all our family and friend’s houses. Then off to bed, we go to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the next morning. My youngest sister always manages to wake us up before 6:30 a.m to open up presents. We each open them up one by one so we do not blow through all the presents at once. After presents, we get ready to go to my Grammie’s house to have dinner and end our day!

Similar to our family’s Christmas, Emily Franks also attends her church, Calvary, before her family dinner. Each year Emily’s family goes to a small in-town dinner to support them and they always give their waiter a generous tip for being there on Christmas eve because they know how important it is to be with your family. Emily said “giving the waiter the tip is so special to them and it’s great to see how happy it makes them for all their hard work”. Each year they also pick a family in need to help buy presents for their family and spread some Christmas cheer!

Spending time and gathering with all of your family and friends makes the holiday so much more special. Emma Shlotter and her family get together on Christmas Eve and attend midnight mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. Once Mass is over, they all go back to her Uncle’s house and open their gifts. Attending the midnight mass is very special to Emma, she said: “ever since I was little, we have gone and the first year we did, we got home, and all of the presents were under the tree. I couldn’t believe that Santa had already come”.

Christmas has been celebrated in many different ways by all kinds of people. In Scandinavia, the Norse began to celebrate Yule on the 21st of December. Families would enjoy the feast until the yule log burnt out which could take up to 12 days! Also, during the middle ages, many Christmas celebrations were similar to today’s Mardi Gras. In the U.S, Christmas wasn’t believed to be a federal holiday until the 26th of June in the year 1870, and shortly after, in the 1890’s Santa Claus donation collectors into the streets.