What Christmas Means to Me
Written By Annika McClintock
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Once December rolls around, the snow starts to fall from the sky, and the lights are on several houses and streets there is just a joyful feeling in the air. This is the start of the Christmas feeling for me. Winter can be such a cold, dark, and hard time for people including myself, and the joy and celebration of Christmas helps bring light to my days. As a Christian, several different traditions of Christmas are meaningful to me, the religious aspects and the commercialized aspects of the holiday. What these traditions all have in common is the quality time I spend with my family.
It is one of my favorite things to shop for personalized gifts for my close family and friends, I get so much joy thinking of things that really remind me of my loved ones and I always anticipate Christmas morning not to open my gifts but to see the reactions of my loved ones as they open the gifts I put so much thought into.
Another aspect of Christmas that I look forward to each year is decorating the Christmas tree. My family and I put on Christmas music and unpack all of the ornaments we have gifted each other over the years. It is such a fun and joyful activity to reminisce and share stories of past Christmases, especially as my siblings and I age.
Pictured here are the two Christmas Trees that my family has. The one on the left is our more festive tree, with lots of fun and random ornaments. The tree on the right we call our "Jesus Tree" which has ornaments of nativity scenes and angels.
As a family, we also love spending hours baking Christmas cookies, often for our cookie fest at our local Church. We have six or seven different cookies that we make every year. We play Christmas music, and we each have our designated roles in the kitchen. It is probably one of my favorite Christmas traditions in my family, especially when we get to eat the cookies.
Pictured here are all the cookies we made for our churches Cookie Fest one year.
My family and I on Christmas Eve in 2019
One of the best traditions of the Christmas season happens on Christmas Eve. My family and I have an early dinner of pigs in a blanket, mac and cheese, and apple sauce (it was all we would eat as kids and now it has become a tradition) and then we head to the Christmas Eve church service that my Dad leads. This is my absolute favorite church service of the year. We read scripture telling the story of Christmas, we sing Christmas hymns, and every year I sing a solo of the hymn #431, Let There Be Peace on Earth. This is one of my most meaningful traditions, it started when I was around 10 years old and every year I sing it I find a deeper meaning within the text. We beautifully close the service by singing Silent Night with candles. My family and I then go home, get into our Christmas PJs, and enjoy hot chocolate and popcorn while watching a Christmas movie.
"Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
Let There Be Peace on Earth. The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father, children all are we.
Let us walk with each other, in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."
As a Christian Christmas is important to me on various levels. It is a time for celebration and reflection on Jesus’s birth but it is also a time of gathering for family. I love all of the silly and meaningful traditions that my family has accumulated over the many years. All in all, Christmas reminds me of how grateful I am for the people I love and the life that I have been blessed with.
My sisters and I on Christmas Eve in 2019.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. May God be with you!
This Article Was Written By Annika McClintock (Senior)
Student Leader of Christian Campus Ministry (CCM) & Director of Communications
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