Wacky Holiday Traditions
Read about my family’s Harry Potter holiday traditions as well as a few wacky ones from our own Woodford County students and staff!
A Harry Potter Kind of Christmas
While many families celebrate the holidays with candy canes, mistletoe, or Christmas trees, there are some families at Woodford County High School that celebrate in their own special and zany ways, my family included.
For as long as I can remember, my family has always celebrated the winter holidays a little differently than my peers because we follow many British Christmas traditions. While most of my family ancestry is German, I have a Great Uncle on my mother’s side related by marriage who is from England. Due to our close-knit family, most of my mother’s side of the family has slowly adopted British accents over the years, but the muddled British-American holiday traditions developed rather quickly.
My family playing Carrom, a game of Indian origin that has become very popular in Europe.
To this day, my family celebrates Christmas with British Christmas Poppers, and we wear paper crowns until we are ready to turn in for the night, but the part of our Christmas that has always struck me as odd is the fact that we associate “Harry Potter” so heavily with the holiday season.
It all started when I was just six, and my mother was still pregnant with my little sister. Right before Christmas, a few days before my sister was due, my Mom would stay up night after night reading J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” My sister’s birth and Christmas followed shortly after. This memory classically conditioned me to associate Harry Potter and Christmas whether I was aware of it at the time or not.
A few years later, I began reading the “Harry Potter” books myself, and my parents organized a trip to Harry Potter World right before their divorce. The fake snow on the buildings of Hogsmeade and the taste of Butterbeer on my lips created a joyous feeling of winter even in the middle of summer in Orlando, Florida.
Now, it is an unspoken tradition to watch all the “Harry Potter” movies as we decorate the house for Christmas or in the days leading up to the holiday. My greataunt knits everyone sweaters, scarves, and hats just like Mrs. Weasley. We listen to the audiobooks in the car as we drive up to meet family, and this year, we even bought a Harry Potter Count Down to Christmas with socks!
Zack Ball (12) and I rocking our Hogwarts House socks!
To add to the festivities, Kennedy Sayre (12) and I decided we would try out some fun “Harry Potter” holiday baking this year to prepare for the upcoming parties and family gatherings. Check out the attached video for the Butterbeer Cookie Recipe!
Year after year, J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” continues to spark magic in my family around the holidays, and I will be forever thankful to the author and series that has brought my family so much light and joy.
Check out some other wacky holiday traditions from WCHS!
Victoria Kupets (12) says, “Every year, before Christmas, my family gets together and bakes a bunch of different cookie recipes that we can snack on throughout the holiday.”
Ginny Gregory (12) says, “Ever since I was little, my dad has tried to convince us that Santa is real. A while back, I asked why Santa comes down the chimney and not simply through the door, so these letters started arriving each year with vintage keys that we hang on our door so that Santa can get in on Christmas!”
Preston Woods (12) says, “My family does this thing where we get to open one gift on Christmas Eve, and it can be any gift. If it’s your main gift, then so be it!”
Summer Amro says, “Every year, on Christmas day, my family goes to the movie theater in our pajamas to see a movie, and we never have a plan. We just go in and see whatever we feel like seeing that day.”
Nicole Feldner (12) says, “My family has this dreidel-off every year for the holidays, and whoever’s dreidel spins the longest, wins. I’ve won the past four years!”
Dorrah Martin (11) says, “Every Christmas Eve my entire family opens up Christmas pajamas for us to sleep in that night.”
Delaney Enlow (12) says, “After my parents’ divorce, my Dad decided he didn’t want to have the exact same celebration or food as my Mom, so we started what we call ‘Anti-Christmas.’ Usually, it has a different theme every year, and we just chill, cook, listen to music, and enjoy each others’ company.”
Mrs. Gabehart says, “My Grandpa’s birthday is right around Christmas, so every year my entire family celebrates his birthday, Christmas, and New Years on the same day. For some reason, when we all visit, my Grandma opens the door, and it’s become a tradition to see who can say ‘Christmas Present!’ first.
Zack Ball (12) says, “Every year, we put a jingle bell collar on my dog to give Rudy some Christmas spirit!”
Carter Hays is a senior at WCHS, and seeing as this is her first year of the Jacket Journal team, she is ecstatic to share her ideas and develop her abilities...
