A quick search on The Odyssey Online and you'll find a wealth of articles about Christmas and Holiday traditions, and it'd be pretty easy for me to share a few of mine too. For instance, there's the customary watching of the favorite Christmas movies all in a giant movie marathon: "Home Alone," "The Santa Clause," "The Polar Express" and, of course, "Elf." There's the viewing of the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on Christmas morning while my family all sits in our pajamas and opens presents, my cat included. The family dinner that happens later in the day, filled with delicious food and hopefully, some pie. And my absolute favorite part of the Christmas season, when at the end of our church service on Christmas Eve we light candles, dim the lights and sing "Silent Night."
But this article isn't about my traditions, not truly. No matter how much I love and adore my Christmas traditions, as a senior in college, it's becoming brutally aware that my Christmas traditions won't be mine much longer.
As much as I might pretend that things aren't going to drastically change in the coming years, they're going to, and that means that this Christmas season is pretty bittersweet. Outside, snow is falling with an intensity we haven't had in a long while, but next December, with any luck, I'll be in Florida pursuing my dream of working for Disney, and that means no snow at all. As I sit down with my friends and family to watch movies this year, I'm constantly hit with the overwhelming realization that this won't happen the same way from here on out. And yes, this will probably be my last year celebrating Christmas Eve with my church congregation.
It's not all bad, though because there's also the fact that, as I head out on my own, I'll also be creating new Christmas traditions along the way, and they could be the ones that I have for the rest of my life with a family of my own. Plus, Christmas movies and the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade can be viewed from pretty much anywhere, so even if I'm on the opposite side of the country as my family, I think that a Skype session would be pretty easy to set up on Christmas morning.
So yes, this Christmas is pretty bittersweet, and my family and friends are doing everything they can to make sure this last holiday home includes all of the traditions we've celebrated throughout my childhood, but it's also an exciting one. Where I leave things behind, I'm also moving forward, and Christmas, no matter where I am or who I'm with, will always be special anyway.
