The Impact of Christmas

Christmas time brings about diverse feelings and activities amongst each individual person, which makes it truly one of the best times of the year.

I asked a handful of AFS students: Calysta Salas ‘27, Adalyn Smith ‘27, Tiye Abange ‘27, and Lauren Washington ‘26 to answer some questions revolving around Christmas time. They derived very different answers, which indicates how each person values Christmas in their own unique ways. 

When should people start decorating their trees? When should people start listening to their Christmas music? What do you do to decorate for the holidays? What Christmas related activities do you do during December? What does Christmas mean to you?

Before we can begin to pick apart what some AFS students get from Christmas and what it means to them, we must first understand where Christmas originates from. 

Christmas time was originally inspired by the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas was recognized in the Christian faith as a time to celebrate our Savior. Mary, Jesus’ mother, traveled to Bethlehem on a donkey. Mary and Joseph (Jesus’ parents) went from door to door asking for somewhere to stay. 

One person did not turn them away. They offered that Jesus could be delivered in a barn. Jesus was born in the manger. Three wise men brought Jesus gifts. 

When people think of Christmas, some people do not often think of Jesus nor know about where the spirit of Christmas time derives from. There are a lot of things that people associate with Christmas: Santa, hot chocolate, presents under the tree, holiday lights.

When it comes to Christmas related activities or traditions, there is an array of options. Many people like to bake gingerbread cookies or make a gingerbread house, while others might decorate sugar cookies for Santa.

Christmas. A special time of the year. As December is approaching rapidly, the talk of Christmas has been spurring all around the AFS community. 

Smith said, “I love making hot chocolate. I feel like I could make hot chocolate every other day in December.”

Salas said, “Usually, I’d just be hanging out with my friends, and we go ice skating or roller skating.” 

She also said, “Me and my friends would like to gather and do some things, like gingerbread houses together at my house…[I] usually watch a lot of Christmas movies like Hallmark movies with my mom.”

Abange said, “On Christmas Eve, we will always decorate a gingerbread house…we’ve also gone to different light shows, like going to Peddler’s Village.”

Each individual person has their own tradition in December whether it is making gingerbread houses, seeing light shows, going roller skating, watching movies. There are many ways that one can celebrate Christmas time in a meaningful way to them. 

Additionally, my interviewees described the events that take place in their life on Christmas Day.

 Salas describes how her family does not normally celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day, but rather, they celebrate it on Christmas Eve. 

Salas said, “We are going to one of my family’s houses. We all go there to celebrate, eating food, watching whatever…[until] around twelve o’clock, that’s when we start opening all the presents in front of everybody. 

Considering that Salas’s family does not celebrate on Christmas Day, it serves to show how each individual can put their own spin on Christmas. 

Smith describes her family tradition, and she said, “They normally do white elephants or secret Santa.” 

Abange said, “We’ll be opening gifts as we eat Christmas breakfast…our tradition is normally we’ll have ham cutters….so we will have ham and salt breads for breakfast…we will always make this thing called orange cake, so if the orange cake is done, you will have cake and ham for breakfast.”

Abange moved from Barbados in her freshman year, so her Christmas day experience is derived from her tradition in Barbados. Her testimony serves to show that Christmas is uniquely celebrated, not just across states but across countries.

Washington said, “Usually if Christmas is on a Sunday, we’ll watch church service…in the evening on Christmas day, we like to go around this certain neighborhood in Chestnut Hill and look at all the Christmas lights.”

Considering that all of these people have different experiences revolving around Christmas, it is not a shock that Christmas means something slightly different for each one of them. 

Starting off, Smith said, “It reminds me of being together, going to church also, normally my church has this really fun church service that I love watching every year.”

Smith’s comment indicates that her religion intertwines with this holiday.

Additionally, Salas said, “I think of my childhood. I think a lot about when I was little and the excitement, I got well, every time it was Christmas time…usually, the first thought of Christmas is family. That’s all I see when I think about it.”

On the other hand, Abange defined Christmas, saying, “it represents rest and being together with your family…also giving, giving gifts to other people, you know, giving gifts to the poor.”

Washington said, “Usually when I think of Christmas, it reminds me of like my childhood, it reminds me of having little traditions of, doing the Elf on the Shelf, always setting Christmas cookies out for Santa and with the notes and milk, it just reminds me of having this warm fuzzy feeling.” 

Washington said, “I know I’m the youngest on both sides of my family so just knowing that, I reminisce about my childhood memories, I’m just getting older, and it’s a scary feeling. But at the same time, it’s very comforting to know that we’re always gonna have these traditions regardless of where I am.”

Washington’s response exemplifies the impact that Christmas can have on someone. Christmas can bring a sense of familiarity through the annual repeated traditions.