Christmas traditions told by Hudson Valley’s students
By: Jake Freehart
Staff Writer
Students across campus offered their insights and traditions for what they do during the holiday season and even though many are similar, many have their own special thing that they do.
Christmas, and many other holidays, are all rooted in long standing customs and pastimes that bring families together. These have changed over the years, but they are also different from person to person. Everyone has their own unique manner of celebrating.
Alex Gaudino, an individual studies major, and Ma’or Lev, civil engineering student, said they have huge parties on Christmas Eve with all of their extended family.
“There are usually 20 to 50 people, at least, at the Christmas Eve party,” Gaudino said. “Every year we have it at a different house.”
“We make so much food that it takes the entire day to cook it all and we have our extended family bring food as well, so it adds up to be a lot,” Lev said.
A common tradition that came up between students was cutting down a tree.
“In the first week of December my whole family goes out to cut down a tree,” Tyler Cuthbert, engineering science major, said. “My two younger brothers and I take turns chopping it down and then we bring it back home.”
Joe Luger, individual studies student, explained a similar tradition. “We all go out to cut down a tree and then as soon as we bring it home we set it up and decorate it,” he said.
Other people had laid-back Christmas season traditions.
“We wake up and have breakfast at my grandmother’s and then go back to my house to open presents and watch basketball for the rest of the day,” Aidan Jackson, science and mathematics major, said. “Then around dinner we go back to my grandmothers for a nice ham dinner.”
“My family and I have a small dinner party and we go to church the next morning, but after presents, we just have some Cinnabon’s and relax,” Ashley Novak, a fine arts student, said.
These few traditions are ones that most families participate in, but there were also ones given by these students that were quite exclusive to themselves.
Luger said that while opening presents that his family puts a fireplace on the TV to make it feel like they’re around a fire.
Cuthbert said that every Christmas his family always watches “Christmas Vacation” and in addition to this they also read “The Night Before Christmas” as a family.
These customs that each family celebrates is what makes Christmas so special and is why this time of year is filled with so much excitement and anticipation.