How holiday traditions bring everyone closer

BY BARRETT JORDAN / Multimedia Journalist

The holidays give us an opportunity to reminisce about the traditions and memories that make the season stand out each and every year. These moments are created through family gatherings, special friendships and our unique experiences stemming from childhood that are remembered well into our adult life. There’s something about the spirit of the season that makes for some of the most memorable times.

Looking forward to annual holiday activities surrounding family is one of the most common themes among favorite holiday memories.

And it’s hard not to put greater emphasis on holiday traditions celebrated with family. For some people, this time of year is one of the few times they can see distant relatives or have a majority of family members all gathered in one place.

Freshman Brooklyn Abbate appreciates the time she gets to spend with family during the holidays and one of her favorite traditions immediately came to mind.

“Every Thanksgiving we make gingerbread houses,” Abbate said. “It’s fun to be with all my family, we do it every single year and we always have a competition to see who can make the best one.”

For others, it’s family and those beyond blood-related with whom you’ve established solid friendships and connections over the years that deserve to be celebrated. 

For freshman Austin Hurdle, the holidays are a good reminder to be grateful for the positive influences and friends you’ve created lasting relationships with.

“I like Thanksgiving,” Hurdle said. “It’s a cool environment just to be surrounded by people you love.” 

For me, at some point in the middle or towards the end of December we usually host or travel to some kind of family get-together where we enjoy great food and everyone’s company during the Christmas season.

However, the memories and experiences that differentiate the holidays for me are the generational traditions passed on by my own parents to me and my brother to potentially share with our own families in the future.

On Christmas Eve before going to sleep we read Luke 2: 1-20 from the Bible and light a bayberry candle that burns through the entirety of the night until morning.

Traditions like these that reflect my personal values and hold generational significance will always make the holidays special for me. 

So, during this season hold on to the nostalgia of your childhood and past memories while also looking forward to creating new ones. Every year, new traditions are born; in a time where division is so prevalent in society, and everything seems to fly by so fast, embrace the value of togetherness that arrives with the holidays.