Traditionally Spreaking

The Importance of Christmas Customs

Traditionally+Spreaking

Maxie Eller, Newspaper Editor-In-Chief

If you listen closely, you can hear Christmas coming. It’s in the festive music pouring out of department store speakers. It’s in the warm greetings of complete strangers and the polite thank-yous as people take the extra time to open the door for people. It’s little kids giggling and dragging their parents towards the toys that they want. Christmas is the one time of the year where everything just seems to get better. What really makes the season special is the traditions and customs that families and friends have. Traditions are what make the holidays even more important to people.  

 

In my family, Christmas is full of traditions. We buy a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights and ornaments. Snowmen and Santas decorate the living room as well as depictions of religious scenes that are important to us. Music is blasted from the speakers as we dance and sing through the month. These things are what bring my family closer together every year. 

 

Traditions are important and should be a vital part of the holidays. They help remind us of what is really important during the holiday season.  They show what is important to us and express how we feel. Traditions reflect on where we come from and what we want to instill in our families in the future. 

 

Some families get together every year for a grand dinner where they spend time catching up and exchanging memories. Some people meet with close friends where they play games and give gifts. Groups of people make it a tradition to go caroling around their neighborhood or to host a yearly party for everyone that they know. 

 

People have traditions that have been passed on for generations. These include things like reading a special story every year or having a special decoration displayed in the house. Those traditions bring us closer together as a family and as a community as we celebrate those that have come before us. They help us to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. 

 

For me, one important tradition is that my parents get a special ornament for my siblings and I each year. The ornament reflects what we have done the past year or something important that we have accomplished. My family has done this every year since I was born, and it is special to me because it reminds me of what I have done in the past years. My parents love to see the looks on our faces as we unwrap the ornaments and put them on the tree. 

 

Even if you don’t have a tradition already, it’s not too late to make one. To some, they may seem to be dumb things to do for little kids, but traditions are fun for everyone. It doesn’t have to be something grand or expensive. You could gather a few friends and go look at Christmas lights while drinking hot chocolate. You could get your family together to have a Christmas song karaoke night. Having a tradition helps people to look forward to the holiday season and is an important way to celebrate the holidays.