The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with the holidays comes each family's special set of traditions. Here are some Christmas traditions from students and faculty at OSA
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with the holidays comes each family's special set of traditions. Here are some Christmas traditions from students and faculty at OSA
For 6th grade OSA Literary Arts student Ava Ford, Christmas morning is a very special time. But not for the usual reasons. Instead of waking up to presents under the tree, Ford and her two younger sisters wake up to three big velvet sacks filled with their presents. According to Ford's dad, the bags engraved with each sister's name fell from Santa's sled the night before into their home. This tradition has been going on for as long as Ford can remember and each year it delights her little sisters—so much so, that one year they disappeared and after a while of searching they were eventually found hiding inside the bags. This tradition is special to Ford because “It's really fun to have Santa's gift bag and it’s really original and sweet.”
For 6th grade OSA Literary Arts student Ava Ford, Christmas morning is a very special time. But not for the usual reasons. Instead of waking up to presents under the tree, Ford and her two younger sisters wake up to three big velvet sacks filled with their presents. According to Ford's dad, the bags engraved with each sister's name fell from Santa's sled the night before into their home. This tradition has been going on for as long as Ford can remember and each year it delights her little sisters—so much so, that one year they disappeared and after a while of searching they were eventually found hiding inside the bags. This tradition is special to Ford because “It's really fun to have Santa's gift bag and it’s really original and sweet.”
Ms Loretha Jones works at the office here in OSA and for her, being with family makes her tradition special. Each year Jones and her family wake up bright and early and open up presents. Afterwards, they all enjoy a large breakfast together. Then they go to their family’ house and hang out. This is a little more special for one of Jones’ children because her son’s birthday is December 24th or Christmas Eve. Because both of these holidays are usually celebrated by gifting presents, her son feels he should receive more, however Jones usually humors him by giving him a few extra on his birthday.
Like many others, family is a big part of Zanthe Jones-Gerachis’s holiday tradition. Every Christmas she goes shopping with her mom for holiday presents and then she makes pumpkin pie with her grandmother. Jone-Gerachis’s grandmother recently moved closer to them, and so they were able to start baking together. Along with baking pie, Jones-Gerachis also makes a Greek cookie with her mom and a Greek pastry called tiropita.
Literary Arts teacher Amelia Whitcomb has an abundance of holiday traditions. Whitcomb's parents are divorced and usually she spends Christmas Eve with her mom. They make bouillabaisse which is a French seafood soup and eat it with a crunchy French bread. Growing up, Whitcomb and her family would wait until Christmas Eve to get their tree. As a kid, she thought it was to make Christmas eve more special, but now she realizes it was to save money on trees. Now, Whitcomb and her mom get their Christmas tree earlier in the season.
After they enjoy the bouillabaisse, Whitcomb usually stays the night and on Christmas morning they eat bagels and open Christmas presents. Along with presents, they also open stockings. And in each stocking is an orange. This is a tradition passed down from Whitcomb's grandfather. When he was growing up, an orange was something they enjoyed only on Christmas.
Afterwards Whitcomb and her father go to a movie and cook together. Whitcomb said that “The whole holiday for me is just about being together with my family and the magic of the season, the smells and the tastes and the sparkly lights. It feels like a holiday that is cozy and about being together with family.”
Traditions make the holidays personal and special for everyone, and being with family truly makes this the most wonderful time of the year.
