By: Hannah Bonanducii
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again… Finals season!
Just kidding. It’s Christmas time! The hopes of snow rise in children, families prepare to bake cookies and gingerbread houses together, decorations fly up in living rooms and lawns and the overall joys of Christmas activities fill the air. Many may be recovering old traditions lost to COVID-19 or even starting new ones in their new college lives, and so I wanted to see what fills the Eastern community with that good ol’ Christmas spirit!
“When I’m with my family, I read Isaiah 52 & 53 aloud for them on Christmas Eve,” Sarah Westmoreland said.
“In my family, we do a secret Santa: each of the siblings picks a random name of another sibling and we’ll find gifts for that sibling,” Daniel Finegan said.
“My family likes to do gingerbread house wars against each other every year,” Kate Hall said.
“One of my favorite Christmas traditions is doing a secret Santa gift exchange,” Kai Irons said.
“I love decorating my family’s Christmas tree with everyday items like random house items,” Leah Laut said.
“In my family, everyone always gets one gift on Christmas Eve, which is provided by my mom. She always gets everyone matching pajamas with a fun theme, and then we all watch ‘White Christmas,’” Bryson Chollar said.
“One of my favorite Christmas traditions is reading “The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve!’” Lindsay Murphy said.
“My family makes homemade apple cider donuts on Christmas morning. We use my great grandma’s secret recipe,” Frankie Roland said.
“I go shopping with my brother for Christmas and we tell each other exactly what I want, and then I also play Catchphrase with my family on Christmas Eve,” Maeve Colligan said.
“Every year me and my family hide a little pickle ornament in our tree. Whoever finds the pickle first gets a prize, and then slowly everyone else finds it and gets little prizes as well,” Tina Marino said.
“One of my favorite Christmas traditions is having snowball fights with my friends and family,” Rainee Wright said.
“I love seeing all of the lights going up on everyone’s houses and trees. I just like looking at the lights, I’m like a moth,” Thea Dietze said.
“One of my favorite parts of Christmas is that we have a midnight service the night before and a feast afterward at 1 in the morning. I also like secret Santa,” Ambrose Bushelli said.
“I love watching ‘It’s A Wonderful Life around Christmas,’” Christian Lengkeek said.
“One of the things that I love about Christmas is baking cookies,” Gianna Loguidice said.
So whether you’re participating in a long-standing Christmas tradition, making a new one with friends and family, or some combination of both, we’re glad to be able to share in traditions with the Eastern community!
Grace Nealy 
Jason Karch 
Lenora Kirkland