Every year, nearly 2,050 million people worldwide celebrate Christmas, that’s about 32% of the entire population. With so many people celebrating one holiday, there are bound to be endless traditions that are specific to each family.

As Christmas gets closer and everyone who celebrates starts to feel the Christmas spirit, many families break out their most sacred Christmas traditions. For so many students here at WHBHS, Christmas is one of the most magical holidays and the traditions they share with their families mean so much. Junior Emma Youngs says, “My favorite tradition is building and decorating gingerbread houses with my sister and cousins,” which is something that millions of people do each year and is a great activity for people of all ages. Another student here at WHBHS, Junior Jessica Norwood, has quite a few family traditions, but her favorite one by far is her family’s Christmas Eve party where there are fun games for the kids and lots of Italian food. She says, “My favorite family tradition is our Christmas Eve dinner party, one plate at the kids table has $10 under it and before we eat, we look under our plates to see who gets the money…Since we’re all Italian, the food is always exclusively homemade Italian seafood, pastas, etc.”

Christmas time is so special for so many people, mostly because, no matter how busy you are all year, it is the one time where most families are able to come together and celebrate in the most meaningful ways. Even though Christmas is a holiday that involves a lot of spending and buying, there are still ways to make great memories that are free, and the perfect place to start is by creating family traditions that will last generations.