I know this is about to sound like one of those highly disliked writing prompts from elementary school, but I don't care.

From this title, you've probably gathered that I belong to a fraction of the world that celebrates Christmas. It is, by far, my favorite holiday of the year. It's a great time to show much you love and care for others, and (of course) celebrate Jesus' birthday.

However, I find that Christmas is more about bringing people together to celebrate life and one another, as Jesus did for Joseph and Mary (despite their struggle and desperation at the time). While it can hold some of its initial values, many modern families have strayed from religion in their observation of the holdiay. Thus, Christmas has since become gathering to exchange gifts to represent your love for those around you.

Every year, I feel stressed by trying to find the perfect gift for the most perfect people in my life, and it makes me wish I was still a kid and my parents could pay for the things that I wanted to get people. While gifts are not the sole star of the holiday, gift-giving is one of the best ways to show you care.

I know now that no matter how big or small, it's the thoughtfulness of the gift that counts. Despite this, I still overthink about every detail to someone's present. I want to make sure that everyone gets things that they like and deserve. It's only fair to them.

Christmas traditions are also very important, especially to my family. Personally, my family binges Christmas movies and messes with the tree in some way. My dad once put tampons on the tree instead of ornaments. You could probably guess how long that lasted before my mom noticed. Yep, you guessed it... about three days.

Speaking of my mom, she used to get my brother Christmas themed boxers every year. One particular year featured Ralphie from A Christmas Story with the words "you'll shoot your eye out!" I don't know how my mom missed the innuendo. Or, certain relatives hid a little Santa-themed trinket for years on end, but somehow the joke never got old.

Luckily, I was born into a very good-humored family.

We also always tend to meet at my grandfather's for dinner to pray, eat, catch-up, and exchange gifts. Sometimes we'd sing carols softly, but we haven't done that for years, probably since my grandmother passed when I was in middle school. Some traditions have seemed to fade with the years, but it's good to know that some things still remain.

You work to preserve the memories you've made, but also make new ones in the process.

Christmas is much more than celebrating Christ. Christ is very relevant, but he reminds us that this festive day commemorates hope, unconditional love, and your values. Christmas means dedication to your family. That's what it means to me.

May the years go by, but your traditions never fade.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!