The holiday season usually starts with retrieving Christmas CDs from behind the backseat of the car or topping a six-foot tree with an angel. Colored lights decorate the houses, which flash colors into the street. Everywhere one looks, Christmas has come.

Although many celebrate in a unique way, personal traditions seem to make Christmas special.

“This Christmas, I am going back to Korea over break,” Da Eun Sunwoo, ’10, said. “I haven’t seen my family for five months, and I miss them a lot.”

Christmas traditions vary from family to family. Most presents are placed under trees or hidden in stockings, yet there are some who find that vacation during Christmas is important.

“Over break, I always go hunting,” Walter Scott, ’08, said. “My Dad and I go up to our cabin and go out together. It is kind a cool Christmas thing we do.”

Some seem indifferent about the size of the gift, but focus on the meaning.

“I love getting gifts from my family and friends,” Tonia Keys-Bramlett, ’09, said. “It doesn’t really matter how big it is. It’s just nice to know that there are other people who are thinking of me and what I like.”

Christmas packages are not the only things that are important on Dec. 25. Some believe in the importance of family.

“A lot of people think presents are the most important part of Christmas, but I disagree,” Hierholzer said. “I think it’s best to be close to family, and to have a good time together.”

Others simply take an earned break from school by leaving on vacation during the holidays.

“Every Christmas, my family and I go up to the mountains, and we stay there over break,” Keys-Bramlett said. “We ski or snowboard, or just play in the snow.”

Even teachers find that they have certain Christmas traditions with their family. Mike Fenton, math teacher, spends time on the 24th for a special Christmas ritual.

“I know people who have all their Christmas presents wrapped in November,” Fenton said. “My family and I do not do that. We get all of our presents, and on Christmas Eve, we spent all evening wrapping the presents. Then we get up the next morning and unwrap them again.”

Few students feel that the responsibility to make Christmas on campus memorable should not fall only on the teachers’ shoulders.

“Every year, Sam (Grizz, ’07) and I make flyers asking for five dollars from each member of a band,” Hannah Wilhelm, ’07, said. “Then we go out and buy a gift card or something else for our band director. However celebrated, the Christmas season will continue to gather traditions, new and old.”

For more information, check out Benjamin Dang’s, Dec. 12, 2006, article, Christmas sparks tradition.