Traditions are one of the unique things families celebrate together. Families have passed down Christmas traditions but not everybody has one–people might sometimes try new things every holiday or even new recipes. Families spend time doing activities together such as building a snowman, making gingerbread houses, baking cookies or cooking dinner, caroling, and much more.
“On Christmas day we always stay in the house and my parents would go first to the living room,” said student Miranda Jester. “We would go to the Christmas tree and open all the gifts for each other. We usually go to my nana’s house and have a big Christmas party.”
For kids and even teens, opening gifts might be the best part. Other different ways of spending time together includes playing games, cooking together, taking part in an outdoor activity, or just visiting.
“Me and my brothers go outside and play soccer,” said freshman Juan Yanez-Torres.
Jester and Yanez-Torres’ traditions both started when they were little and they both say the best thing is being with family, messing around with each other and having a good time.
Reuniting with families is hard during the busy holidays. Many flights get canceled making it hard to reunite with families more when there is a longer distance. Airlines around the U.S. like Southwest AIrlines, United Airlines, Alaska AIrline, etc. cancel about 12,000 flights due to severe winter storms. Canceled flights cause a lot of rescheduling and making families mad, tired, or even canceling plans. Others would drive to meet with their families instead of flying, but roads also get closed due to the piles of snow or fallen trees.
Sweets, goods, and desserts are everyone’s favorite. Cinnamon is one of the most used ingredients during this time of year. It is used in pies, bread, drinks, cinnamon rolls, gingerbread houses, and much more. In Finland on the morning of Christmas, families eat a traditional porridge made out of rice, cinnamon, milk, or butter. Whoever finds an almond in one of the puddings first, wins.
Jester also says she just has the same Thanksgiving food on Christmas Eve, but not everyone has the same traditional food for Christmas. In Hispanic cultures, they would usually make pork or chicken tamales, pozole, or mole.
Some individuals around the world celebrate Hanukkah. Hanukkah has been around since 1979 in Jewish cultures. Hanukkah is also celebrated at the White House with music, speeches, activities for kids and the lighting of the menorah. During Hanukkah, families read a daily scripture or recite Psalms in the Bible. In Toronto, Canada, they have the wonderful annual Cavalcade of Lights. This event began in 1967 to show the newly constructed City Hall.
One tradition that is a staple in most households is to place a tree in the house. People never actually think about why pine trees are put in houses, but it all started in the 16th Century, Christians in Germany are credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition. The trees are put up as a symbol of hope and abundance during the cold winters.
A newer tradition is to wear an ugly Christmas sweater. Families might even have competitions for who has the best or worst sweater. While it is a more recent tradition, its roots date back to the 1950s, when it was popular to wear a Christmas jacket, also called a “jingle sweater.” In the 1990s the sweaters became unfashionable and started to lose their popularity. In 2002 the sweaters started kicking off in Christmas parties and got their new name as “ugly sweaters.” Over the following decade, the festive knit evolved into a new tradition.