Christmas Memories
Courtesy of Katie Nail ’16
Whether under the mistletoe or stranded in a foot of snow, Christmas experiences extend joy beyond the holiday season. Convent of the Sacred Heart students and staff reminisce about unforgettable Christmas memories, including discovering an allergy to fiberglass angel hair and catching a glimpse of Santa Claus.
Convent of the Sacred Heart sophomore Julenne Jaramillo recalls a slippery Christmas dinner involving a motorized scooter accident and food everywhere. After spending eight hours baking, Julenne’s mother was ready to present her meal. She quickly learned that scooters and cakes do not mix.
“My little brother Allen, who had just been given a motorized scooter for Christmas, was scootering around the house,” Julenne said. “He then ran right into my mom when she was carrying all the food into the dining room.”
The collision resulted in treacherous conditions.
“My mom spilled all the food everywhere and then slipped on the cake she just made and fell backwards,” Julenne said.
Ms. Maura O’Grady, Assistant Dean of Students, remembers the tragic fate of one of her Christmas trees.
“When I was in middle school, my parents were away for Christmas so they left all five of us with a babysitter. Our cat, Rebecca, ran up the entire tree and knocked it down,” Ms. O’Grady said.
While decorating the tree with her family, Mrs. Ridgely Biddle, Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director, learned the health-related consequences of a beloved tradition.
“When I was younger, my mom would always put this fiber glass angel hair on the top of our tree. My sister was allergic to the angel hair and every Christmas Eve and Christmas morning she would be covered in hives and nobody knew why,” Mrs. Biddle said. “We found out that it was because of the angel hair. Much to my sisters’ dismay, my mom kept putting it on our tree every year because she thought it looked like snow and made the tree look beautiful and other worldly.”
Mrs. Angiolillo, Assistant to the Head of the Upper School, remembers her childhood Christmas experience as marked by a firm belief in Santa Claus and magical jingle bells.
“I was in bed and I was probably about six years old. My sister, who was four years older than I, was on the bunk bed above me,” Mrs. Angiolillo said.
Her sister had bells that she would ring every Christmas Eve, making Mrs. Angiolillo think they were the bells on Santa’s sleigh.
“However, one Christmas I was convinced I saw a light outside and a man walking on my roof,” Mrs. Angiolillo said. “And to this day I am convinced that I saw Santa Claus.”
Despite the fact that the weather can make Christmas a freezing cold holiday, freshman Lizzie Kupersmith found a peculiar way to keep Christmas not only warm and memorable, but also very bright.
“All my cousins were at my house and there were candles lit around the house,” Lizzie said.
She explained that although her hair was done nicely, it only remained that way for a short time.
She was called into the kitchen and as she swung her head around, her hair went through a candle. The next thing she knew, her mother was screaming and trying to clap the fire out with her hands.
“My hair smelt like I burned it by straightening it, times three,” she said.
– Maddie Caponiti, Staff Writer
