The Christmas season is a time of love, giving, care and celebration. However, the manner in which people celebrate this holiday can differ depending on their cultural and personal traditions.
Although Christmas originated as a Christian holiday, some peoples’ traditions have tended to be more secular.
“My family, we’re Christian, but we don’t really do all that Christian stuff that everybody else does”. says Luke James Harmley, McDowell High School student. Though many people stray from their Christian roots, some people like to stick to the classics.
While most people who currently reside in the U.S. only celebrate the holidays during December, people from other cultural backgrounds may have a different story. Linda Velez, a Spanish teacher at McDowell High School, had some interesting stories to share about her Puerto Rican traditions. Their winter break on the island can stretch all the way to January 7. “They have a long time off because we celebrate both Christmas and three wise men.” She says that her family still celebrates Christmas as a Christian custom.
While the Christmas celebration might extend beyond Dec. 25 in some areas of the country, others don’t like that businesses begin Christmas even before Thanksgiving is over. Instead of family, businesses are focused on money during this time of year.
“I feel that the Christmas season has been extended far too long. It needs to be shortened so you can actually appreciate and enjoy the time with your family,” says Brady.
Velez agreed with the notion that the spirit of Christmas is disappearing to bring in more cash. “Yes, I think it’s a bit overdone and it’s all about money,” she says.
However, Harmley believes that the spirit of Christmas is still strongly present. “I don’t think it has, because I think it’s good that Christmas goes around and spreads to everybody. Having fun brings the family together,” he said.
In many homes, Christmas revolves around the Christmas tree. A very common tradition is to put a star on top of the tree, like Luke Harmley does, but that isn’t the only homespun tradition. “Every year we put a bunch of ornaments and lights around the tree, and sometimes we put a train around it,” he says.
Lauren Brady shares a similar sentiment. “We have a Christmas tree that has all the ornaments from when my kids were little or that they bought me. So we put those on the tree, and those are nice memories,” says Brady.
The focus of food at the holidays continues from Thanksgiving into the Christmsd season, where people still enjoy stuffing themselves with as much food as they can handle.
“A few years ago, my family would do a lot of big things, just bringing platters of food,” recalls Hayden Michael.
“Our Christmas dinner is completely different,” Velez says. “We have rice with beans, we have roast pork,” she also reminisced about a dish called arroz con gandules that contains rice, beans and traditional Puerto Rican spices.
One of the most important strengths of Christmas is the power of traditions, especially those surrounding the spirit of love and family. “If I were to start a new Christmas tradition, I would definitely have less gifts and more just family time, playing games,” Michael says.
Harmley expressed a similar sentiment, “I think Christmas shouldn’t just be based on gifts and stuff. People need to look at it for what it is. Because every time I hear somebody talk about Christmas, it’s like, oh, gifts, nothing else. It’s not like we get to go spend time with our family or anything like that. It’s just we get a bunch of presents,” he says.
