Christmas Essay Contest 2020

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In this issue you will ďŹ nd all 5 of the prize-winning essays plus many more entries from area students!

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2 - December 2, 2020 - Christmas

Essay Contest

- Family Traditions

Welcome, Readers!

We received many great essays this year from local students aged 8 – 11 on our topic of ‘Family Traditions’ and would like to thank them and their supporting families for participating and sharing their traditions with us.

This section features the winning essays along with all of the essays that we received this year. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have.

Merry Christmas!

ABOUT OUR JUDGES Dina Stoltzfus and her family operate Greg March is one of the Sales Yoder’s Country Market and Restaurant. Managers at Engle Publishing. He is Dina is married to Kevin and have 3 father of two grown children and has children. They live on a dairy farm in East been in print media for well over 30 years.

Earl.

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Dan Zimmerman serves as Marketing Manager for Good’s Store, Inc. He lives with his wife and four grade-school children in the community of Goodville.

Family Traditions - Christmas

Essay Contest - December 2, 2020 - 3

$250 Grand Prize Winner Janessa Robbins

Merry Christmas

I

Age 11, Morgantown

n my family we have a lot of Christmas traditions. My favorite tradition is going out to dinner and then to Church with my entire family. This happens every year on Christmas Eve. We go to a different place for dinner every year. It is always a surprise for us kids on where we will go every year. We meet up with our Aunts and Uncles and all our cousins. We tell stories from the past year and laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Last year, my pop-pop brought fake, funny Christmas gag glasses for everyone to wear. We all looked pretty silly at dinner. It is always a really great time. After dinner, we all go to Church together. Once Church is over, we go back to one of our houses and all the kids get into our Christmas pajamas. While the adults talk, all the kids gather together and we drink hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie! We have so much fun together and get so excited for Christmas Day. This is one of the many ways our family is so close. We all look forward to this every year. To me, this tradition is what the spirit of Christmas is really about...being with those you love, being at Mass together and enjoying the Holiday together. I hope we do this for a long time and I am able to bring my kids one day.

I know this year is different because of COVID and things may not all be the same but one thing I know is that my family will be together, we will eat a great dinner, go to Church and pray together and definitely laugh with each other! Merry Christmas!

$150 second Prize Winner ne Jeana Morrison

Age 11, Honey Brook

T

he Christmas Season is one of my favorite parts of the whole year. Every family celebrates Christmas in their own way. To many family’s traditions are very special and important.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is doing a gift exchange. My whole family writes their name on a piece of paper (and sometimes a few things they would like for Christmas) and then puts them in a hat. Everyone draws a name from the hat and that is the person they will buy a gift for. It is very exciting because you never know who you will draw.

Here is another one of my special traditions. My family and I live in a cul-de-sac. We moved here about three years ago. Because we do not know our neighbors very well, every year we walk around our neighborhood and give out little Christmas gifts. One Year we gave out little boxes of tea but my favorite gift we gave was a small loaf of lemon poppy seed bread. It is a good way to get to know your neighbors.

My next favorite family tradition is our Christmas meal. For our traditional food we have chicken instead of turkey, only because my family is not a big fan of turkey. We also have Cranberry salad, party mashed potatoes and stuffing.

The traditions I have written about above are the Tradition I enjoy the most. Without these traditions it just does not feel like Christmas. I like Christmas traditions and I think you should to.

The Sweet Taste of Tradition

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4 - December 2, 2020 - Christmas

Essay Contest

- Family Traditions

$50 third Prize Winner Joshua Martin Age 9, Mohnton

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Family Traditions

very year I just can’t wait for Christmas. As I watch the days go by, I long for Christmas to come. Finally Christmas evening arrives!

Then we sleep downstairs at the fireplace. Finally I fall asleep. When I wake up I’m very excited. Today is Christmas I think excitedly!

We sing some songs such as, ‘O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem’, ‘Angels We have heard On High’, and many more. Finally it was time to open our gifts.

Last Christmas I got a tape player and brother, Seth got some tapes. I also got an activity book about Joseph, a book of standup players (Mary In Bethlehem) and some wool socks. By the time we had breakfast it was already the middle of the morning, so it was more like brunch.

We had delicious pancakes with sizzling syrup on top, fruit, sausages, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and finally sticky buns with nuts on top.

After brunch, with our stomachs full we leave the table.

Last year we made what we called a ski sled. First of all, before Christmas we bought skis Now it was Christmas and time to really make the sled. The ski sled was like a sled, except it has skis on the bottom. We had to start by taking the boot atachments off, which was hard work. We then built the the skis to a piece of wood. We put a back, a string on the front, and brakes on the side. Yea! We are finally finished.

We put it in the barn and walked to the house.

We listened to a tape in our new tape player, but not for to long. Mom said that my cousin was being born. And the best part was that my cousins were coming to play! We played and played until it was time to eat watermelon and read a story. Finally Christmas came to an end as we cralled into bed. What a very, very, fun Christmas. The best Christmas any boy could ever have.

$25 HONORABLE MENTIONS Aisha Stoltzfus

Elsie Basehore

Age 10, New Holland

I

Family Traditions

love Christmas! One of my favorite things about it is our family’s traditions. One tradition I love is when our parents take us to see Christmas lights. Let me tell you how we do it. About a week before Christmas our parents put us to bed a bit earlier than usual, so we know they are up to something, then they pretend to be getting ready for bed, but we always know when they are taking us out to see Christmas lights. After that, when we are almost asleep, they burst into our room and exclaim “get out of bed and come into the car! We are going out to see Christmas lights!”. So, we jump out of bed and race into the car, but not before getting our jackets and hats on. After that we visit beautiful manger sights and places with hot cider and marshmallows. I love looking at Christmas lights.

The next Christmas tradition I am going to talk about is our seafood dinner. Every year the day my family opens presents we have a delicious seafood meal, then after our dinner we open presents. Me and my siblings beg to open presents before dinner, but our parents only let us open our stockings. So right before dinner our mom takes our stockings down from their hooks, and we are finally allowed to open our stockings!

Until dinner we play with our toys and mom calls us over for dinner. We have lobster, crab, and other good seafood. After dinner Dad reads the Christmas story out of the Bible, and after that we open presents! We spend the rest of the night enjoying them. Christmas is very fun!

Age 11, East Earl

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Christmas Traditions

very Christmas (since 2016) my family has gone to our cabin, in Williamsport PA, to celebrate Christmas. We will all go up to the cabin a few days before Christmas so that we can prepare. When we get there we decorate the tree and then go get ready for bed (we usually get there pretty late).

There are all sorts of foods! There’s ham, potatoes, bread, cheese crackers, cookies, candies, brownies and other festive foods. On Christmas Eve everyone will grab a plate and fill it up with food. Once everyone has eaten their fill around the fireplace, we all gather up together and take the Christmas picture. Afterwards, everyone will get ready for bed and someone will read a Christmas story.

On Christmas morning I will wake up and check if my sisters are awake, if not I wake them up. We will all whisper excitedly to each other until an adult comes and opens our door. Then we rush downstairs. We all want to go straight towards the tree but we must eat breakfast first.

We are all anxious to open presents so at long last, everyone runs into the living room. Everyone chooses one present from under the tree to open. Then come the stockings, and the rest wait till the rest of the family comes. While we wait we cook in anticipation for dinner.

Once most of the cooking is done, most of us go and watch a Christmas movie. As soon as all of our relatives have arrived, we have a gift exchange. Then we have dinner, say goodnight and go to sleep.

Family Traditions - Christmas

Layton Cole Weaver, Age 9, Leola Family Traditions

Over Christmas time we have a Christmas Supper. We have Deep fried capon, Deep fried shrimp, and Deep fried fries. Christmas is my best Holiday. Our cousins live right up the road. They have turkey that we butcher at their place. They sale Them at store. Their store is called Weavers Turkey Farm. We help them when they burtcher. And I help them catch turkeys. They catch them in the, evening when its dark. My brother is the person who tells them what to do. Each night we catch fourteen hundred or fifteen hundred. On Christmas Eve we go to our grandpas place for supper and overnight all the nex day.

We each have a little candle by our plate. We have eggnog, cookies, and soup. After supper the older ones do the dishes while my Aunt plays the piano. My cousins live in Michigan. But they come for Christmas. We all pull names in a bowl before Christmas. We buy a gift for the name that we pull from the bowl. But we don’t tell anybody what name we picked. And then at Christmas we have one person give the gift to the name that they pulled before. Then the person who has his name gives the gift that he bought for him and so on.

I like christmas a lot!

Bryce Gascho, Age 11, East Earl God’s Love at Christmas

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15) This is my goal. One of the ways that I do that is through participating in Operation Christmas Child (OCC). OCC is operated by Samaritan’s Purse, which is an organization that assists people who are poor, who face natural disasters, and who need urgent medical help. OCC is one of my favorite Christmas traditions because I am making an impact on people who do not have enough money for gifts for their children. OCC sends the gifts in shoeboxes, full of toys, tooth brushes, school supplies, and books. I like to pack my shoeboxes with the best items that I can buy. Later, during the third week of November, I bring my filled shoeboxes to a drop-off center, like my church. Volunteers help pack these shoeboxes into large boxes with twenty shoeboxes inside each of them. This is the part that I love to help with. Every time that a new load of boxes arrives, we pray for them and for the children who will receive them. My favorite part is loading the boxes in a truck that will transport the boxes to a warehouse in South Carolina. At the warehouse, volunteers inspect the shoeboxes for anything that would spoil on the way to their destination country, and prepare the shoeboxes for shipping. Then, the shoeboxes are shipped to their target country. Lastly, OCC workers give the shoeboxes to the beaming children, showing them God’s love. A class and book tells them more about receiving God’s love and becoming a Christian. Operation Christmas Child is one of the ways that I share God’s love, and it is also one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

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FINALISTS

Essay Contest - December 2, 2020 - 5

6 - December 2, 2020 - Christmas

Essay Contest

- Family Traditions

Kelly Fox, Age 11, East Earl Family Traditions

Hi, my name is Kelly. I am 11 years old. I would like to tell you some of my family traditions, so sit back and enjoy.

Every year on Christmas Eve we go to my Aunt and Uncle’s house and spend the evening there. We eat supper and spend time together, finally me and my siblings run out of patience and start begging my mom and our aunt till they let us open our presents, finally they give in, then we open our presents. During the time that we open our presents we make a lot of noise, I think the parents get a little bit annoyed. Soon it is time to go home, it is always lots of fun.

The next morning me and my siblings bound out of bed and race downstairs, when our parents finally come down we ask them if dad can read the Bible story of Christ’s birth, then we open the presents.

After the presents are opened we watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, then we get ready to go to my Grandpa and Grandma’s house.

We arrive at Grandpa and Grandma’s house and start playing with our cousins, soon afterwards we are called to lunch. After lunch my siblings and I play with our cousins. The day whizzes by and soon it is time to go home. Before we leave, Grandma gives us a present.

We get home and go to bed. Christmas is over.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is that it is about Jesus and not only the presents.

Some of the thing’s I look forward to on Christmas is eating my aunt’s red beet eggs, reading the story of Christ’s birth, opening presents and spending time with my cousins.

Joshua Burke, Age 11, Co ville My Family Traditions

Our family traditions begin the day after Thanksgiving. We begin by decorating inside and outside of the house. Each child has their own little tree to decorate with ornaments from our grandparents. Then we take pictures of us to use for a Christmas card that we send out.

The following week we begin baking cookies. We make many different types like ginger bread (These are my favorite), sugar cookies, candy cane, and peanut butter balls. We do about 1000 cookies each year to hand out to neighbors and people from church. During the month of December we watch different Christmas dvd’s as a family.

We also go out caroling with our church. We sing to different elderly people in our church or community. On Christmas day we spend it with our grandparents. One year we go to their house and the next they come to our house. We usually open our stockings first thing in the morning. Followed by reading the Christmas story either from Luke 2 or Matthew 1. Once we read and had pray it is gift time. Every year we get gifts from our parents but also my brothers and I buy gifts for each other and our mom and dad. Once the gifts are done my dad cooks a big delicious meal. We will have ham, potatoes, jello salad, green beans, rolls, and many other things. After dinner is finished we spend time playing board games with our pop-pop. At the end of the day we thank God for the day and go to bed.

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Every year, for the most celebrated holiday in the United States, my family has fun in our own way. We eat a lot of food and have fun with family that we don’t get to see much. When they do visit, we try to make the most of it. I love going to my grandparents’ house because, well most of my relatives are pretty awesome. Wondering what I do for Christmas? Find out in the passage below.

On Christmas eve, we all go to my grandparents’ house (on my mom’s side). We eat a lot of stuff on Christmas eve like peanut brittle, party mix, and homemade cookies. I love helping to cook if we go to my grandparents’ house a day or two early. They really need it since we invite lots of people to the Christmas eve party, as we call it.

There are games, like I said, lots of food, and best of all, we get to see the family that lives four hours away from us. I really love those family reunions because we only do them about three times a year.

We all get ready for bed and await Santa until the next morning. In the morning, we have to wait for our cousins (who live five minutes away from that house) to arrive so that we can all open presents together. We have the usual joys of new toys and then we usually wait another few days and then leave. It is always sad to say good-bye, but we do and we have fun on the long car ride home.

I do a lot for Christmas with my family, but it is all fun. I love visiting my grandparents’ houses because they are great.

Family Traditions - Christmas

Keturah R. G., Age 10, Narvon Christmas

On Christmas eve we get all the present’s together we count them look at them or shake them then after we try to figure out what’s in them we all go to our Bedrooms and get under our sheets and dream until Christmas Day. Then after we got a goodnight’s rest we wake up feeling fine. And after we get up and stretch we all go downstair’s all trying to get the best spot on the best couch then after we get all ready and we all have our spots we finally get to open the present’s but Before we get to do that we sing one song and then after we sang one song my mom and my oldest sister go and get the present’s then when all the presents are in the living room we all go and get our present’s and when everybody has all their present’s we wait until someone say’s go and we all open our present’s at once. Then when all present’s are open we clean up the gift paper mess and then if it’s lunch time we eat lunch and it it’s not we get all the food ready for lunch sometimes we have ice cream, pizza, and soda or then we have meat, mashedpotatoes, and green been’s. Then after everybody ate and all the dishes are washed and dried off we turn on the DVD player and start watching movies until super for super we have hot chocolate, candy cane and some more icecream. Then after everydody ate and cleand up there mess we all go pilling back into the living room and we stay there watching movie after movie. Until 12:00 PM then we all got into bed dreaming of things unknown.

Essay Contest - December 2, 2020 - 7

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Carsen Toothman, Age 11, Birdsboro

Every Christmas, my family has a scavenger hunt. Most kids wake up Christmas day and stare wide-eyed at their gifts under the tree, but me and my brother and sister find a brightly shining Christmas tree without gifts beneath it. We open our Christmas stockings - mine usually has a matchbox car and candy inside. After a big breakfast (thanks Dad!), my mom gives us our first clue. Every time we find a gift we find the clue to find the next one. My siblings and I work together to solve the clues so we can find our gifts. Sometimes, my mom hides the gifts in places like taped under the kitchen table, in the freezer, or even outside. I find so much more joy in a good challenge. Thank you, Mom, for putting in all the time and effort to make my Christmas extra special. Remember the true meaning of Christmas isn’t the gifts or the food or even family, it’s the birth of Jesus Christ.

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I love Christmas. Christmas is such a cozy time. I think Christmas is my favorite holiday.

On Christmas Eve, my family is goes to my grandma and grandpa’s house. We act out the Christmas story and open gifts. On Christmas Day, my sister Mia and I sometimes wake Mommy and Daddy up. We go downstairs and open our stockings and presents. Mia and I sometimes play with eachother with our new presents. We love hearing Christmas music when we open our presents.

I like making Christmas cookies and ginger bread houses. We like decorating our cookies with icing and sprinkles. We shape them to look like trees, bells. Lights, and santas. We put peppermint, icing, tiny balls, and gumballs on our ginger bread houses.

Christmas is the best time of the year.

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Alivia Meck, Age 8, New Holland My Family Christmas Tradition

8 - December 2, 2020 - Christmas

Essay Contest

- Family Traditions

OTHER EXCEPTIONAL ESSAYS Noah Robbins, Age 10, Morgantown Have you ever gone on a family dinner for Christmas? Well that is my family’s tradition is and the story I am going to tell you about is the time my family went out to dinner and I was a smushed like a sausage in the suit I had to wear.

It all started on Christmas eve, my mom-mom said “it is time to get ready to go to dinner”. Ok I replied “what am I wearing to dinner”?

I got you a suit she said. “A suit, but I hate suits” I said. I slipped on the suit and all of the sudden my stomach got stuck. “It is too small” I said. “Well, you are going to have to find a way to get it on.

It is too late to get another suit now” she said.

“I will even help you get on” she said. I got on my bed and she helped me get on the suit. We struggled and struggled. “Just suck it in” she said, but it wouldn’t budge. After a few minutes it finally was on. “Phew, I am sweating” we both said.

We got to the restaurant and got our table with my cousins and uncle and aunt. A few minutes later we ordered. There was nothing I liked on the menu so I asked the waitress if I could have a personal pizza (we went to Bucca di Peppa). After a while our food came and the waitress forgot my order. After another while she came back but my pizza was cold and mushy. It was yucky and I didn’t eat it. When we were all done, we left to go to church.

After church I could finally get out of the dumb sausage suit!

Spruce

At Christmas I look forward to many of my family’s holiday traditions but one I look forward to the most is making gingerbread houses. It’s our tradition to make them on Thanksgiving while the turkey is cooking. Our Grandma comes over and our Uncle John. We sit and talk for a while listening to Christmas carols and then just when we’re starting to get bored out comes the gingerbread house kit. We get all the pieces and try to match them to the picture on the box, but it doesn’t always look the same. While Mom and Dad put the house together, my brother, Ben, and I enjoy sorting the candy and coming up with decorating ideas. Now the fun begins! We pipe on icicles and snow drifts on the roof, all taking turns using the frosting. Ben uses gum drops as Christmas lights and sticks every color gumdrop onto the roof line. I outline a little door onto the front of the house and put a small, round, yellow candy as a doorhandle. We use an up-sidedown ice cream cone as a tree by covering it in icing and rolling it in green sprinkles. By now you can just start to smell the turkey. We then add the finishing touch to the house, us! We use little gingerbread men and we each decorate one as ourselves, making frosting hair and chocolate chip eyes. Afterwards we line them up all in a row in front of our house. The way the cookies’ hands touch makes them look like they’re holding hands. During dinner we all say what we’re thankful for and I think that our gingerbread house needs a different, better name. It’s not a house, it’s our gingerbread home.

Isabella Barrera, Age 9 Barrera Christmas

This year’s Barrera Christmas will be full of joy and fun. This year we will have a few different things. There will be a real Christmas tree and a fun nativity set. We will also have a wonderful Christmas dinner with a great dessert including Christmas cookies that we will make with my mom. Instead of a fake Christmas tree we will have a real Christmas tree. Normally we have a fake Christmas tree because we are missionaries in Thailand but we decided to do a real one this year just to have fun. We had a real one once, but that was when I was a little baby. My parents let me and my brothers open a present on Christmas Eve and then we open more presents on Christmas day.

We will get to go to Lisle, New York for a few days after our family Christmas. There we will get to hang out with my grandparents and cousins. My moms family is big including twenty six cousins, seven uncles, seven aunts, two grandparents, and two great grandparents.

My cousins are fun to play with and kind to be friends with. We have big dinners with a lot of laughter. My favorite time with the big family on Christmas is when we play games. We love games like playing Apples to Apples, Battleship, and Mancala.

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Grace Campling, Age 11, Birdsboro A Gingerbread Home

So every year my family gathers together. And me and my mom and dad and sister goes to a farm. So we can find a Christmas tree.

And every year I give presents. And I get presents. And I like to go to our familys homes and I like to play with my new toys every year.

And I celebrate Jesus birthday. And I love to hang the ornaments. For the tree. And I love the toys I get every year. And I give santa cookies every year. And I like to see my family.

Family Traditions - Christmas

Bianca Rumer, Age 8, Narvon

Each Christmas I look forward spending time with my family and decorating the tree. We hang special ornaments and candy canes on the branches. Sometimes my mom let’s us eat one. I like when the tree is lit up in front of our bay window and you can see it twinkling when we come home at night. We also string up colorful lights and garland throughout the living room. I like going shopping for my family and wrapping presents in festive wrapping paper. I like to listen to Christmas songs on the radio. I love visiting with my cousins and grandparents. Both my parents have huge families so gatherings are LOUD and lots of fun! During Christmas break, my birth family comes to visit and they bring me gifts. I love when my birthmom comes with my sister and we can play. Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

Leah Sauder, Age 10, Denver My Tradition

Hi, my name is Leah and I will be telling you two of my family traditions. Can I tell you about my family traditions? Well, here it goes!

One thing I do is sleep by my Christmas tree. We put our Christmas tree in our living room and we sleep beside it. So on Christmas eve we get some of our sleeping stuff, make the floor comfy and get ready to sleep. I am the one who sleeps closest to the tree. Last year me and my brother just slept by the tree.

I always get so excited for Christmas it is hard to sleep. When it is the morning I am so happy and so excited to open the presents.

Everyone in my family gathers together in our living room. One person at a time opens there presents.

One of our other traditions is to get together with our cousins on Christmas Eve. We each get a gift from our grandma and grandpa and, we each give one present to a cousin.

Well hope you learned some of my family traditions.

Essay Contest - December 2, 2020 - 9

Jayna Horst, Age 11, Mohnton Family Traditions

Some traditions my family has are having seafood at my grandma’s house. We have all sorts of things like, scallops, crab cakes, shrimp, and fish. It is all very delicious, especially the scallops. We also stay overnight at my grandma’s house on Christmas Eve! Grandma and Grandpa also give us gifts and we give them some too. At my house, mom lets my siblings and I wrap gifts for each other. Sometime close to Christmas my other Grandma invites the whole family to her house. We enjoy an evening of having supper, and giving gifts. After all the gifts are opened, some of the older cousins go down to the basement and ride bikes and play with other toys she has down there.

All my family Christmas traditions are fun and full of many memories. They are times to fellowship and enjoy spending time with my family. Family is important, but Jesus is the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Age 9, Denver

Family Traditions

I can’t wait till Christmas comes It is because a man gives candy canes to us. On Christmas we have family gatherings and my grandpa and grandma give me gifts. My mom and dad also give me a gift.

One time I got a tractor, and a trailer to go with it. We go Christmas Caroling with poeple from our church. We aways decorate our house with winter decorations. Just this past year, 2019 my family got lots of gifts from poeple from our church.

Josiah Gascho, Age 8, East Earl Can you Imagine?

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Can you imagine how it would feel to be living in Bethlehem when Jesus was born? I could never imagine this until my family experienced Journey to Bethlehem. It is held at Woodcrest Retreat and is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. First, we had to pay taxes to enter. Then, we rode on a wagon to the first stop. The first sight was Gabriel talking to Mary and Joseph in a surprising vision. Next, we advanced to Bethlehem and stayed for about five minutes and then moved on. While we were there, we discovered that there was no room in any inns! Can you imagine how distressed they would have felt? By then it was getting dark outside, so we proceeded to the packed marketplace and bought crackers to eat and lanterns to carry. I felt so warm and comfy until something astounding happened! When I was running down to the shepherds with steaming hot chocolate in my hands, I felt something wet dripping down my hand! Oh no! It was my hot chocolate!

Now I had soggy crackers. When we got to the shepherds, I held an immense staff and petted the shaggy wool of a sheep. Next, we walked to see Mary, Joseph and Jesus with the shepherds. When I saw Baby Jesus, I felt overjoyed and peaceful. Then, we walked to a building where a pastor showed a video. He spoke about Jesus. Journey to Bethlehem isn’t just about Jesus’ birth, but it’s about why He came. He came so he could die on the cross, rise again, and save us, so that we can know him, be like him and live with him in heaven. Journey to Bethlehem made me imagine that it was really happening to me and that I was really there in Bethlehem.

10 - December 2, 2020 - Christmas

Essay Contest

- Family Traditions

Tessalyn Weaver, Age 9, East Earl Christmas Caroling at Fairmount

Each year on a cold, December night, my family meets inside the warm halls of Fairmount Homes to Christmas carol. Our tradition started six years ago when my grandma dressed me up as Mary and my cousin as Joseph. The next year we dressed up and Christmas caroled at Fairmount for my two great-grandmas and their friends.

My one great-grandma passed away this year but I’m glad I could sing for her five other years. Everyone loves it. They sometimes open their doors and sing along. Last year, my grandparents’ friends, Ezra and Elizabeth, were knitting hats for people in Africa and they let us each go home with one.

When we Christmas carol at Fairmount, all the children dress up. I’m going to tell you what we wear. First, for Mary, put on dad’s old white t-shirt, mom’s white scarf, and a baby doll for baby Jesus. Wrap the doll in a blanket and drape the scarf over your head and shoulders.

For Joseph and the shepherds, put on one of dad’s brown t-shirts and put a pillowcase on top of your head. Secure it with rope. If you are a shepherd, you can bring a stuffed animal sheep too! For the angel, get into a white dress, put a silver headband on, and drape a white blanket over your arms. Now you’re ready to Christmas carol!

I like being the angel. I used to be Mary, but when my little sister became old enough, she wanted to be Mary. So I turned into an angel. We always look forward to Christmas caroling every year. This might be a good idea to you and your family when you’re looking for something to do on a cold and dreary December night.

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Phoenix Zimmerman, Age 8, East Earl Christmas

Every Christmas we decorate our house and we sleep under the Christmas tree. We also go to our grandmas houses and I enjoy being with my cousins. It’s fun to also spend time at my great-grandmas houses too. On Christmas Eve we go to the service at church.

All of these traditions are fun ways to celebrate Jesus’ birthday!

Bethany Joy Martin, Age 11, New Holland Our Christmas Eve Tradition

Hurry, hurry! One Christmas eve, our regular barn chores fly. My brother fills the pails with silage for the hiefers and Mom prepares bottle of warm milk for the calves. Grandpa whistles softly and the tones of “Silent Night” drift through the frosty air. Everyone scurries to finish their duties and with teamwork it’s possible to finish ahead of schedule.

Finally everything’s done. We all scamper to the cozy house, wash up, and settle down around the kitchen table. Mom brings out our special Christmas candle and places its holly and spruce wreath around it. The candlelight flickers gently on the faces of each family member. Dad gets the Bible and his clear, calm voice unravels the story of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the manger, ready from the gospel of Luke.

Awed and inspired, every person listens intently. It is always delightful to once again hear the timeless story of the lowly birth of our King.

The wall clock chimes eight and Dad closes the Bible. Eager faces turn toward Mom and Dead, demandingly. “May we open our gifts?

May we open our gifts?” we chant.

“It’s bedtime soon, but you may each open one gift,” our parents smile. Hurriedly we tear open the wrapping paper. What will be inside?

After the thrill of opening that special first gift, we trudge upstairs to bed, sleepy but satisfied. We can’t wait till tomorrow, for tomorrow is Christmas! Bringing more gifts… and more celebrating…..

New Holland

Dylan Fox, Age 8, Narvon Family Traditions

Our family eats steak every Christmas eve. And we drink hot chocolate. On Christmas day, we go to my Grandma’s house. I am excited because I will be able to open my gift. Last year I got a CAT digger.

I like Christmas.

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Family Traditions - Christmas

Monika Hurst, Age 8, Denver Family Traditions

At Christmas time we have about a week off school. Mom usualy goes to grandma to bake cookies. We sometimes go to a family gathering and have a piniada. We usualy go to grandma for supper.

One time we has mom’s family for lunch and we packed kits for Christian Aid Ministries. We put a toothbrush, a comb, and other things in the kit for the poor people around the world.

My teacher gave me a pink notebook and a fuzzy, red blanket for a Christmas gift.

Christmas is fun.

Ryan, Age 9, Leola

On Christmas Day we invite our Martin Cousins to our place. We eat turkey. After Lunch we open gifts. That is the best part. Then we have the Weaver cousins to our place. That is so much fun. We eat yummy, sticky candy canes! We butcher lots of big sixty pound turkeys to small ten pound turkeys. Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, and New Years Day are the funnest Days of the year. Last year for a gift I got a humongous Fendt tractor and a nice watch that showed the tune bd date!!! The year before that I got a nice, big, and Red wagon. I also got a big, big Claas Haverster that chopped twelve rows at a time. Grandpa Martins gave big, shiny, and Red grain cart.

The year before that I got a big John Deere Tractor. It is so much fun playing with them. My Favorite is getting gift. The Second to best is turkey butchering. I am always sad when Christmas is over, But I am always excited for next year.

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Konrad, Age 9, Morgantown

I like to go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Christmas. And visit my friends. I like eating sweet potatoes and noodles. And of course opening gifts is fun!

Davin Nolt, Age 11, Stevens Family Traditions

For Christmas our family usually goes to our Grandpa’s and Grandma’s house from Sunday lunch to evening. We go to church, come home, chane into dress clothes, then go to grandpa’s play with our cousins, eat lunch, sing some songs, get gifts, and play some more, eat supper, and come home.

One year I got a dartboard and magnetic darts. Their fun!

For the Christmas meal we have hotdogs, oysters, corn, salad, and desert. Yum!!!

Then om New Year’s Day we go to our Great Grandpa and Grandma’s House. We go their for the whole day Saturday. We play with our cousins in the morning, eat lunch, sing some songs, recite the christmas story and visit. Then we play games eat supper and Go home.

Now Christmas is not just about Santa Clause, Christmas tress, gifts, or chimneys, it is When Jesus Christ was born.

Happy Christmas Everyone.

Cameron Hoover, Age 8, Morgantown Family Traditions

We have a special supper on Christmas eve. At Christmas time we go to grandpa Grandma’s house and open gift. We go out to eat and have snowballfights at home. My mom makes hot choclate and coffee with her espresso and coffe maker. At christmas last year, I got a remote control monster truck that went 30 m.p.h.. Another year I got a watch We also had a book exchange. I like Christmas!

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Gregory Hoover, Age 8 Family Traditions

Christmas-Friends, fun, love, family, happiness, gifts, hot choclate, and yummy food.

We go to Grandpa’s for Christmas. We play games and open lots of fun gifts. There is always goof stuff to eat and lots of it! There are toys and cousins to play with.

A few gifts I once got were a remote tractor, a wooden train, and a boxcar children book.

We have a really good time.

So many thoughtful gifts!

Your loved one will enjoy something practical, comfortable and fun. Here are a few choices, but we have lots more.

Age 9, Stevens

Family tradisons

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Every Christmas we open gifts and we go to our grandpa’s house.

We also have a pinata. And of course we have lots of fun.

At Christmas Christmas is always fun! Once I got a pencil box. The next time I got a sling shot with cups and little balls to shoot the cups over I always have fun at Christmas. Christmas is not Just about gifts It is when Jesus Christ was born.

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With joy in our hearts, we’d like to thank our friends and customers for the support and encouragement they’ve shared so generously with us this year.

We wish you all a merry and blessed Christmas season!

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