Christmas Break

The two major holidays that I had celebrated this break were Christmas and New Years. My break hasn't been anything special but it was still enjoyablei guess. In the morning on Christmas Eve my family and I had driven up to my country house where we were going to be celebrating the holiday. I spent the day wrapping gifts and getting things ready for later on that night, basically helping my mother cook and clean. Later on that night the family came, so it was a full house. My parents had agreed that Christmas Eve was going to be celebrated with her side of the family and my fathers side on Christmas Day. It wasn't really a nice day, it rained everyone hoped that it wold snow to kind of bring the Christmas spirit. We spent the night eating and talking and laughing and unwrapping presents. On Christmas day we woke up ealry went to church for the Christmas mass and then went to Narrowsburg NY to meet with my fathers side. This year Christmas wasnt as exciting to me for some reason, I just wasnt feeling all the joy your supposed to feel. New years eve was VERY eventful. Went to a party with people my age, and I had run into friends from middle school so it was a good feeling. New years day I spent home with my sister since my parents went to they're own new years party. We figured they would be hung over and in a bad mood so we figured we would clean the house. Doing certain things on Christmas and for new years are every meaninful to many people. I guess you can call it the " cliche" things to do on Christmas. Everything i do for Christmas, is what every other Polish Catholics do. To us, Christmas Eve is more important then Christmas day in a way. That night is very meaningful because it's when Jesus was born. My family tends to celebrate Christmas in a mixed way between Polish and American. I would say the tradition of Christmas is getting a Christmas tree and decorating it with your family one day. Decorating the house, with lighting, holly, etc. Putting out milk and cookies for " Santa" one Christmas eve and waking up 6 in the morning and running to your parents to open gifts. Being a consumer and buying things is very meaningful to people, everything seems to revolve around the corporate messages. You need to have buy things if the holiday is Christmas or valentines day or a birthday us Americans have based holidays such as Christmas on buying things for each other, sort of taking away the real meaning of it. Little kids wake up on Christmas morning and instead of thinking about how we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, and the whole concept of Christmas they hurry to open presents. It just goes to show how meanings can be overlooked by material objects.