Christmas traditions vary from person to person
Big tree or little tree? Artificial or real? These are a few of the questions that come with Christmas traditions.
December 25, 2016
A kiss under the mistletoe, holly on the mantle, seven fishes, star tree topper, poinsettias. All of these Christmas traditions are celebrated in all kinds of households.
Christmas is a favorite holiday of many. People go all out for Christmas, all the way down to the decorations on the tree. And everyone has a special Christmas tradition.
Some people get their Christmas tree early, while others wait until it is a little closer to Christmas.
Some may not even have a real Christmas tree. In fact Spanish teacher Senora Smith has an artificial tree she uses every year.
Mr. Travis Martin, the 8th grade World Cultures teacher, has a precise formula for his artificial tree.
I use an artificial tree brought up from the basement at exactly 9:32.32 on the ides of December.
— Mr. Martin
“I use an artificial tree brought up from the basement at exactly 9:32.32 on the ides of December,” he said.
Presents are another part of the Christmas tradition. Some people might open presents in the morning go outside and play in the snow until Christmas dinner is ready. Others open presents Christmas Eve, or use a combination of present-opening the day before and the day of Christmas.
You always get some presents under the tree before Christmas day and Santa arrives, but do who opens them up on Christmas Eve?
Sophomore Alex Frederick said he opens the smaller presents on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day he opens all of the other gifts he does not receive on Christmas Eve. But in some cases parents do not allow their kids to open any presents on Christmas Eve.
Mr. Partner, an 8th grade English teacher, is one of them.
“My kids only open presents up on Christmas Day,” he said.
Almost everyone has a big Christmas dinner, but there is a big debate of what is better for the big meal: turkey or ham.
“Ham is the way to go because there is more flavor on the taste buds,” said Alex.
You may think every person eats ham or turkey on Christmas, but in reality not everyone does. There are many different cultures that celebrate Christmas with different foods, like German Stollen, Italian panettone and Greek baklava.
In fact Mr. Martin said, “I eat an entire cheese ball and a lot of shrimp.”
Mistletoe is a tradition that is hit or miss with many people. While English teacher Mr. Naylor purchases a new mistletoe every year from JB Tree Farm, Mr. Martin said, “I used to do it, but it did not work for me.”
