Features

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Molly Spence, Assistant Editor

December 21, 2023

Jukov studio – stock.adobe.com

ChannelX

Christmas is a time of giving. Giving to the people you love and care about can help strengthen those relationships and gifts show how much you love and care about them. Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to Bittanica, the Christmas tradition started in Rome around the year 336, however, it was not a major holiday until the 9th century (January 1st 801 A.D.).

Many people put Christmas trees up, as it is a tradition for some. According to Gertens.com, the first decorated Christmas Tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510. Franklin Pierce, the 14th United States president was the first to bring a Christmas tree into the White House.

Many families participate in caroling or listening to the carolers. Some popular songs these carolers sing include Deck The Halls, Silent Night and Here We Come A-Wassailing. According to SaPa India, Jingle Bells was not actually meant to be a Christmas Carol, James Lord Pierpont (the songwriter) wrote it for Thanksgiving celebrations, Jingle Bells then went on to be the first song to be played in space. Silent Night is the most recorded song, as it has over 733 different versions.

Some families participate in the Christmas Pickle tradition. The Christmas Pickle tradition is a German-American tradition. There is a pickle ornament hidden on the tree and whoever finds it gets a present. This tradition is most common in the Midwest, mostly Michigan.

Some families, but many couples participate in wearing matching pajamas. Whether they’re silly pajamas or plain and plaid, it’s still a Christmas tradition for all loved ones to join in on. Some even get their pets matching pajamas because they’re part of their family. It’s believed when you have a family and kids and wearing matching pajamas, the kids will be more excited to go to bed.

And a winter classic making cookies and hot chocolate. Many love to celebrate winter and Christmas with cookies and hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is perfect for cold weather, and cookies pair perfectly with hot chocolate. A family tradition is making cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, and of course, you can’t forget the milk!

However you celebrate this Christmas and the upcoming New Year, we here at The Stinger wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Have a wonderful winter break to all the students out there! We will see you back here on January 2nd!

Holidays

Donate to The Stinger

Your donation will support the student journalists of Marion Center Area High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributor

Molly Spence, Co-Editor-In-Chief

"Remember there is good in this world, and bad, and ugly." -Unknown Hello, welcome to The Stinger! My name is Molly Spence, I am a class of 2026 Junior and the Co-Editor-In-Chief for The Stinger Newspaper. I am involved in the Newspaper, Marion Center Mean Green Marching Machine as one of the Section Leaders for the Color Guard, a representative of Marion Center High School for both United Way and SULT (Students United Leadership Team), Athena Club as the head of public relations, Art Club, Mock Trial, Freaky Friday The Musical cast, and library assistant. This is my third year in Newspaper. I've been assistant editor for two years, and this is my first year as Co-Editor-In-Chief. My future goals include attending Lycoming College to major in Psychology to accomplish my career goal of being a clinical psychologist and continuing my education (master’s and doctoral degrees) at another college. Apart from my aspiring career and education dreams, something people may not know about me is I twirl batons (1, 2, and 3 batons). I was a competitive twirler, as for right now I'm doing my own training, improving my skills, and learning new tricks. I also love ducks. I have two ducks who hate my batons when I’m twirling but love to go up to them and peck them when I’m not twirling. I don’t allow them anywhere near the fire batons, of course. My ducks and twirling are giant parts of my life, as well as psychology class here in the high school and my own research and education. By being a part of The Stinger, I want to make everyone's voice heard and leave no one behind, because after all, we, Marion Center High School students, are all in this together.