Christmas at the Nav.
By Onyinyechi U.
christmas home decoration from Getty Images Created in Canva
Christmas is nearly upon us. This year, let us take a look at what the members of the Navigator team are planning to do to celebrate the holiday!
Some writers have long-established traditions that they hope to continue. Our editor-in-chief, Lydia, always has a traditional Polish Christmas. For her, the celebration begins on Christmas Eve, when the family opens their presents. One favorite meal they share during the season is pierogi, similar to American dumplings.
For Aaron’s family, Christmas traditions have a special coastal flavor. They love to view the Christmas light displays in their area and get to see special Christmas trees made out of buoys and lobster traps. Christmas Eve dinner is generally a seafood dish, which he enjoys with his extended family.
In John’s home, the celebration begins with Advent. “Every year we hang up an advent calendar that is made out of some cloth,” he says. “Each day leading up to Christmas, we open one pocket in the cloth and pin the ‘ornament’ onto the tree that is sewn into the cloth calendar.” Christmas day is a day of sweets for him, as he gets cinnamon rolls for breakfast and assorted candies as presents.
Chesed has warm memories of her family’s Christmas traditions. They have always gone to a special little town, where they skate across a frozen lake. Afterwards they go to a cafe for hot chocolate and whipped cream.
Two of our writers, Avery and Jonah, have a tradition of watching holiday movies around Christmas. Among Jonah’s favorite films are Home Alone and Elf.
Alex always went to Tennessee and Alabama to visit relatives during the holidays. “However,” he says, “this year we will probably not go to Alabama, since we primarily went there to see my great grandfather, but he passed away a few years ago.”
Others intend to go somewhere new this season. For example, Jared and his family plan to vacation in a cozy cabin in North Carolina. Both Graham and Michael are preparing to visit their relatives in Kenya and America, respectively.
Mrs. Meyer, who moved recently, hopes to make “new Christmas traditions in a new state.” She will spend much time with her relatives and will go to the zoo with her nephews.
As for me, our family has its own customs. After opening our gifts one by one, we typically watch a movie before cooking a Nigerian dinner. After the meal, we have a devotional to thank God for sending His Son to earth to save us.
Well, that is it for “Christmas at the Nav!” Merry Christmas, and I hope you liked hearing about the writers’ plans for this holiday!
Columns: 🗞️Staff Stories 🗓️Seasonal
Onyinyechi U. lives in Pennsylvania with her parents and two siblings. She is a tenth grader, and this is her third year at NSA. She recently started writing for the Navigator. In her free time, she enjoys writing novels, plays, and poetry.