During the holiday season, high school students experience the intense anticipation for winter break. That relaxing time to spend with loved ones, and recharge after a long first semester. It has been recognized that Bellarmine students when going on this extended break, exhibit one of two things. Either they stay at home, taking in the nostalgic “homey” Christmas. Or they go on a vacation getaway. Though both are experienced regularly by students, the underlying factor is the change in Christmas spirit. Is it due to the change in scenery, or just a lack of believers? The students of Bellarmine were asked to give their opinion, and the following responses may provide readers with further insight into the question at hand.
Sophomore Charlotte Lamb was posed with the question, “Do people prefer the homey nostalgia of Christmas or the vacation getaway and why?”
She responded, “Personally I like to go out and about for the holidays, I think that it’s kind of cool to get away.”
In addition to Lamb’s response, a variety of classrooms were asked the same question. Teacher Hailey Maher’s junior American Lit class was polled, resulting in a 7 v. 6 favoring the nostalgic Christmas. Similarly, teacher Bernie Salazar’s sophomore Spanish class and teacher Rick Barnhart’s mixed science class resulted in similar results both favoring homey Christmases.
This brought up the next question, “What makes your Christmas special?”
Sophomore Georgia Morrow said “In my family, what made Christmas special was our yearly traditions. One tradition being, watching Polar Express every Christmas Eve.”
Looking through a wider lens, it’s possible to now see that being with family is what makes the holidays meaningful. Morrow then said, “When the family is sitting together, around the Christmas tree. That’s what makes Christmas special, the joy and excitement on each and every person’s face when they are with the ones they love. You can find the Christmas spirit within that joy and excitement.”
Christmas joy may be easy to identify, but is the Christmas spirit as easy to find? Bellarmine student Ella Solan was then asked the question, “Do you think the spirit of Christmas has been lost? Can you give specific reasons as to why?”
Solan said, “I think it’s definitely been diminished. Once you get older, you don’t believe in Santa, you don’t believe in the elves, and everything else, so your Christmas spirit isn’t that high and it usually becomes more materialistic than magical as you get older.”
Many students including Solan believe that Christmas sometimes becomes a competition of materialistic things rather than true Christmas magic. Little do many students know, the idea of gifts and stocking stuffers have taken the place of true beauty of Christmas.
