Whether it’s watching familiar holiday movies, eating lots and lots of homecooked meals, or cozying up to a warm fire, lots of people look forward to the month of December and early January for familiar and fun traditions. These traditions are often passed down through families for years, but they can also be celebrated with friends, and be just as fun.
The students here at Frederick Community College are no exception, and many were asked about the many unique ways that they choose to spend this particularly festive time of year.
Some students choose to celebrate by watching movies together or reading classic holiday stories together with the whole family, such as what Malcolm Williams, 21, and his family do.
“We do a Christmas movie of some sort on Christmas Eve, usually in theaters,” Williams said. Williams is a communications major who lives in Frederick, and is graduating in the spring.
He said his dad also reads “Twas the Night Before Christmas” — regardless of anyone’s age.
“It really makes you feel like a kid again,” he said.
Elise Murphy’s family watches movies but also remembers the religious aspect.
“My family watches ‘Christmas Vacation,'” said Murphy, 18, a general studies student from Germantown. “If our whole extended family is visiting, we do a Nativity scene.”
However, not all traditions come from family ones, as Jason Garcia, 19, would like to share.
“All my friends and I meet the day after Christmas and swap gifts,” said Garcia, who’s taking general studies here at FCC. “It’s like a white elephant gift exchange but less structured. It’s a lot of fun. Then we hang out for a while and watch movies — not always holiday movies, though.”
Brandon Cruz, 18, who’s taking dual enrollment classes, said his family “usually opens gifts on Christmas Eve instead of the morning of as it’s easier to fit into our family’s schedule.”
As for Clementine Bates, 20, an education major who started taking classes this fall semester, said her mother buys her and her siblings matching pajamas.
“Advent calendars are also a big part of December for us,” she said. “It gives you a little bit of something to look forward to every day for the whole month- and makes me feel like it’s more of a holiday, too.”
