Christmas nostalgia. Presents wrapped in glittering paper, candlelit Masses, warm family gatherings, decorating a tree with familiar ornaments–Christmas traditions abound, but decorating the tree remains one of the most central to families’ holiday celebrations. Seeing memorable or colorful tree decorations brings life into the home during the Christmas season.
People can decorate with many things: lights, sparkles, special ornaments, tinsel. Many people hold their ornaments very near and dear to their hearts.
Freshman Amelia Burke said she decorates with “the old ornaments that my family has been collected for at least 30 years,” while junior Audrey Peterson said she decorates her tree with “candy canes, a mix of bought and homemade ornaments, lights and tinsel.”
Almost any ornament can have a special meaning or story, some handmade from a child’s classroom to ones from vacation and these decorations can showcase a family’s experiences and memories throughout the years.
The happiest memories can come from decorating the tree.
Freshman Sloane Fende said her favorite part of decorating the tree is comes at the end. “Putting the star on top at the end is like a reward!” Fende said.
Whether that topper is a star or an angel, it’s always satisfying to see all the hard work come together. Sometimes these last decorations for the top of the tree are specially reserved for a particular family member, therefore making it more special.
Junior Nyla Tharp said her favorite part is of getting the tree ready is bonding.
“Decorating the tree with my whole family is my favorite part,” Tharp said.
Many people can relate to this because spending time with family while decorating can bring back childhood memories.
“Tree decorating is nostalgic for me and puts me in the holiday spirit,” senior Madeline Salle said,
Decorating the tree before or after Thanksgiving can be a topic of debate. In a survey taken by 88 STA students, 69 said they wait until after Thanksgiving, while 19 said they decorate before Thanksgiving. This can also apply to when people start listening to Christmas music, with the majority of students saying they wait until after Thanksgiving. Whether the genre is pop or country, Christmas music gets people in the mood for the holiday and in the mood to decorate!
Sophomore CeCe Fortin said, “My favorite part of decorating my tree is listening to Christmas music while we put ornaments on.”
Spending time with family and friends is also important, especially during the holiday. season. Many students at STA said they decorate their tree with family members or close friends and make it a tradition to spend one day in December to decorate and hang out with each other.
“I decorate my tree with my mom,” junior Katie Gajewski said. “I love looking at all the ornaments and thinking about the memories made from them.”
Another decorating question concerning the tree involves the general color scheme. Some people enjoy a colorful Christmas rather than a beige or monochrome holiday. Out of the 88 students surveyed, 80 said they opted for a more colorful Christmas rather than beige.
“I think having a colorful tree is very fun,” freshman Cece Santa said. “We still only do certain colors like green, silver and white, but a little color is fun and holds good memories.”
The nostalgia that can come from all these decorating traditions can be a reminder of how Christmas feels for little kids excited about Santa on his way and for the reindeer eating the carrots they laid out.
