Christmas, the most celebrated holiday of the year, has various traditions that are celebrated each year both within the Catholic sphere as well as the classic family traditions.
Within the Catholic sphere, the common traditions include Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, decorating the house with a nativity scene, and donating items for Christmas gifts to local charities for those who are less fortunate.
What really gets the most variety is within families. Different families with different cultures and customs often have unique traditions that are special to the family.
Karen Ocampo, a sophomore at Benedictine College celebrates Christmas at her aunt’s house.
On Christmas Eve, at her aunt’s house, they make tamales, a traditional holiday Mexican dish as a family and eat them together before praying the Rosary as a family.
The rosary is what she cherishes most. “I just feel so connected,” Ocampo said.
Then they do what they call “ajuyando el nino” which means they wrap a baby Jesus up in a cloth to represent the swaddling clothes he was wrapped in and then they sing him to sleep.
After these festivities they will end by opening Christmas gifts together.
The tradition of “ajuando el nino” is a Mexican tradition that derives from the Christmas Posadas which aims to recreate the original nativity scene.
Caroline Cunningham, a senior at Benedictine has an intense gingerbread house making contest as one of her Christmas traditions with her family.
They have a tight rulebook. All supplies must be edible, but glue is allowed for holding the house together. You only get four hours to work, and no work done ahead of time is allowed.
The winner of the contest receives a bottle of champagne.
“The first time I won the champagne bottle, I was 18, but I couldn’t drink yet, so I didn’t get the champagne bottle,” Cunningham said.
Some years, the family likes to add some twists to the contest.
One year, they did a Food Network-esque contest and did fun mock interviews with her family during the contest.
Recently, her family has started doing themes. Last year, the theme was movies, and this year the theme will be houses.
No matter how you celebrate Christmas, may it be merry and bright.
