Some take nontraditional track for holiday rituals

By Lillian Schmid

The holidays are fast approaching, and many at CF have traditions that they follow every year, whether it be normal or something out of the ordinary. Here are a few traditions that people have, and share with others.

Chinese Food on Christmas Eve

Inspired by the classic movie, “A Christmas Story,” freshman Emma DeWitt said that her family has been going out to Chinese food at Hong Kong every Christmas Eve for four or five years.

The whole story behind the Chinese food is that in the movie the neighbors’ dogs eat their turkey, so they have to go out for Chinese food because it’s the only place open.

It seems like a random tradition, but DeWitt said that “I think it’s become a popular tradition because it’s always really busy when we go.”

Pickle in the Christmas tree 

Freshman Sabrina Leistikow’s family has been hiding a pickle in their tree for years. “My grandparents make us leave the room. Then they hide the pickle in the tree, and we all try to find it. Which is pretty hard considering both the tree and the pickle are dark green,” Leistikow said.

The pickle in the Christmas tree is an old tradition that stems from Germany. The pickle was the last thing hidden in the Christmas tree, and the smartest child that found it would get another gift. Now it’s changed, and, as Leistikow said, “(Whoever finds) the pickle gets $5 and the honor of being ‘Pickle King/Queen’ until next Christmas.”That’s an honor nobody would want to pass up.

Christmas Throwdowns 

Freshman Mia Dexter said that all of her family has a “Five person throw-down in the living room” every Christmas. The fights start by one person getting angry, and then they “body slam” each other in the house. “It always ends up in tears and slamming doors,” Dexter said.

Apparently Christmas is a field of mines that just is destined to go off.

New Years, not Christmas

Andy Mustedanagic, a freshman, said that his family doesn’t celebrate Christmas. “I celebrate New Years. We get presents, and we still put up a tree and decorate the house.”

A Pew Research survey says that 81 percent of non-Christians in the United States celebrate Christmas. Christmas in itself has become a tradition that families celebrate, even if they don’t believe in it. It’s the season of giving, and nobody wants to miss out of that.