It’s the Holiday Season. But what does that mean? How do we celebrate? Different people celebrate the holidays in different ways. Some people may go out of town, and some may stay in. Some may have some special family holiday traditions. With just this week before Christmas Break, students at CHHS are getting ready for the holidays.

Tristan Krznarich, a Sophomore at CHHS is ready for the holidays. His favorite part of it is spending time with his family and hanging out with them. He says that presents are also a nice added bonus to Christmas, but seeing family is his favorite part in general.

JP Werth, a Sophomore at CHHS agrees with Tristan. Though Halloween is one of his favorite holidays in general, Christmas is another big one in his book. “My favorite holiday is either Christmas or Halloween, for various reasons. For Christmas, I’m going up to Kansas to see some family. We do that every year. We all meet up at my grandmother’s house,” he says.

Family seems to be a big part of everyone’s holiday experience. Laci Jackson, a Senior at CHHS, agrees with this and continues the trend of family time. Laci says that her favorite part of the holidays is “Spending all day with extended family on Christmas Eve” and family time in general. Ashley Rose, a Junior at CHHS also enjoys spending time with family and friends, but also enjoys celebrating her birthday. 

Just like Ashley and Laci, Ella Hutchens, a Senior at CHHS also enjoys spending time with family and friends. She enjoys spending time with both sides of her family, local or non-local. She says that “Extended family comes over for Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner.”

Alexis Wong, a Junior at Colleyville Heritage, says that her favorite part about Christmas and the holiday season in general is “Seeing people’s reactions to the gifts I give them.” Her family has a tradition where they spend Christmas Eve in their PJ’s and celebrate Christmas together. She says this year she is looking forward to celebrating Christmas at her mom’s and then at her Dad’s afterwards.

Giving gifts is a big part of the Holiday Season as well. On average, Americans spend around $1,500 every year for things related to Christmas. People tend to buy 1-4 Christmas gifts for those around them each and every year.

Kyra Shields, a Senior at CHHS also loves to give gifts around Christmas time. She says that she loves “giving my friends gifts because I love to see them smile.” She has a tradition with her father where they go to a glass blowing studio every year and make an ornament. This year, Kyra and Her family are “Staying home and chilling.”

Kyra’s not the only one staying home and chilling, though. Anna Grigsby, a Sophomore at CHHS, is staying at home and chilling with her family. Every Christmas, Anna’s family “Eat cookies for dinner on Christmas Eve.” Anna’s favorite part about Christmas is the music and decorations, according to herself.

Though Christmas is the major holiday around this time of year, that’s not to say that there aren’t others. William Chen, a Senior at Colleyville Heritage High School, enjoys celebrating both Lunar New Year and Christmas. Lunar New Year is often referred to as Chinese New Year, and is celebrated sometime between January 21st and February 20th. This year, William says that he is excited for “The vibe” and the food that comes with it. He says that “We eat good on Christmas Eve.” Afterwards though, he says that he plans to do “College applications and maybe some recreational activities afterwards,” which he says he is not looking forward to.

With food comes baking, and that’s what Senior Bee Brooks likes to do around the holidays. They said that they enjoy “Baking with my mom” around the holidays. Bee says that “Every year, despite everyone knowing, we set up for Santa. We bake cookies and do the whole nine yards and it’s a little funny but we all do it together.” Like many others this holiday season, Bee says that they are “going to visit some friends out of town and then doing my usual rounds of visiting extended family.”

Though most people celebrate Christmas, some don’t. Katelyn Fuggit, a Senior at CHHS, says that Katelyn and her family do not celebrate Christmas, but that they enjoy seeing the lights and decorations.

Some people, however, take Christmas into a whole different perspective. Hayden Dietrich, a Senior at CHHS, says that his favorite part about Christmas is “Boxing my brother.” He has a tradition every year where they box. This year is no different. He says that he plans to box his brother yet again around Christmas time.

Everyone does things a little differently around the world when celebrating Christmas. We all have our own little traditions with our families, or maybe our own personal traditions with ourselves. To everyone at CHHS and their families who do and don’t celebrate the Holiday, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas from all of us on the Newspaper team.

Happy Holidays Panthers! Enjoy your break.

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