It’s that time of year again! Students at Lakeview High School are studying hard for their finals and midterms right before their long awaited winter break. As Christmas colors fill the hallway and winter posters decorate the halls, it is difficult to concentrate on the topic at hand which is finishing the first half of the year strong. Both underclassmen and upperclassmen alike are showing a vast amount of holiday cheer, regardless of whether or not they are stressed beyond belief. The stress, though, is just a tiny con, for the atmosphere is heartwarming and exciting. One could even say that this type of atmosphere is a tradition at Lakeview High School. In fact, the traditions keep continuing once school is out.

Staff and students alike have shared their favorite Christmas traditions with the Bulldog Bulletin, and we are here to share them with you!

Christmas is such a special holiday because many consider it to be two days long. Celebrating on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day equals double the fun! Senior Gavin Mauger definitely takes advantage of this ideology, for he celebrates with his girlfriend’s family on Christmas Eve. He exclaimed that his favorite Christmas tradition is the twelve apostle dinner his girlfriend’s family makes every year. The dinner consists of twelve meatless dishes to represent the twelve apostles, and after the dinner they blow out special candles to decipher what type of new year they are going to have. 

Senior Gavin Mauger describes that this tradition “is so special to me. This is such a unique tradition that I’ve had the honor to enjoy for the past two years. It’s awesome to see how excited her entire family gets for such a joyous occasion.”

Even a staff member’s favorite Christmas tradition takes place on Christmas Eve! Speech teacher Angela Sarko said that “my favorite Christmas tradition is when Santa’s elves make a special stop on Christmas Eve night. They always drop off the cutest matching pajamas for my children to wear the night before Santa comes to town.” 

During Christmas, it is always Santa that gets the special recognition, but what about the elves that help him all year round? It is awesome to see how grateful Mrs. Sarko’s family is for the elves’ hard work and dedication to making Christmas as awesome as it can be for families around the world. 

After all of these incredible Christmas Eve traditions, It’s time to fast forward to the season’s most exciting moment, Christmas morning! Santa finally came to town, and this is when math teacher Dean Shanower’s favorite Christmas tradition comes into play. He said that even though it is cheesy, his favorite Christmas tradition is opening presents with his family on Christmas morning. 

Mr. Shanower said that “when I’m opening presents with my family, time stops, all of my stresses disappear, and my excitement grows for the amazing day ahead of me. Seeing my children’s faces light up as they open their wished-for presents and thank Santa shows me that life really can’t get any better than this.”

Last but most certainly not least, Senior Gracey Stockton’s favorite Christmas tradition is when the holiday is almost over. Once Gracey’s entire family has eaten their traditional dinner and most are ready to take a good snooze, they elongate the night by playing games! Everyone in the family gets their second wind simultaneously while they smile and laugh over Monopoly and cards. 

Gracey says that she enjoys this Christmas tradition because “we don’t do it very often, and it’s nice to spend time together.”

As the semester is coming to an end, let us leave you with this simple question while on break: What is your favorite Christmas tradition?