Christmas is one of the most exciting and celebrated holidays in Winter, but it means different things to every person.

  Christmas became a federal holiday in the United States in 1870. Early Europeans celebrated Christmas as the arrival of Jesus and the light that He brought into the world. Christians celebrated and still celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus.

  To celebrate, many people exchange gifts, decorate Christmas, go to church, have meals with family and friends, and share holiday stories about Santa Claus.

   “I got a hat with a fluffy thing on it and I got to spend Christmas with my grandma.” said Sam Meyer, a sophomore at SWHS. To Sam, hanging out with her grandma is the best thing for Christmas. To many others is about coziness, presents, family, or the birth of Jesus.

  Many people  have a favorite Christmas tradition as a child. Linsey Kitchens, the Librarian at SWHS shared hers: “My mom used to give us, we call them Christmas jammies, so on Christmas Eve we got to open one present and it was always a pair of pajamas that we go to wear, especially on Christmas Eve, so now I do that with my own kids, it’s pretty fun to continue that tradition.”

  Kayla Polanco, a sophomore said, “My favorite tradition now is that my brother comes home every Christmas and hanging out with my cousins.”

  About 96 percent of the people in United States celebrate Christmas, according to Pew Research, 81 percent of non-Christians celebrate Christmas.

  Every person celebrates Christmas for different reasons. Sixty-five percent of Christians celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and non-Christians celebrate it as a cultural holiday.     According to the data on Pew Research, fewer people attend a gathering with family and friends, buy gifts, put up a Christmas tree, send Christmas cards, give homemade gifts, attend a religious services, and go caroling as adults, even if they did those activities as children.

  Most of the people who still celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and attend a religious service are people at the age of  65 or older. Most people who are age 30 and older believe in the virgin birth of Jesus.

  Today many people celebrate Christmas for different reasons. “It’s Jesus’s birthday,” said Meyer. Christmas has a different meaning to Kitchens, “ I was raised Catholic, so I know about it from the Catholic Jesus is born tradition, so the optician on the seven. I’m no longer religious and so I don’t celebrate it in that way anymore. I celebrate the commercial Americanized version of Christmas.”