What did you and your family do this year for Christmas?

“This year for Christmas, we went to my aunt and uncle’s house.  Each year, we rotate who hosts Christmas, and my mom’s family gathers together.  It’s always a lot of people—two grandparents, 18 aunts and uncles, and 41 cousins.  Having so many people really makes our party so festive and fun, and it’s not often that all of us are together, so I treasure it especially when we are.”

Do you have any special family Christmas traditions?

“One of my favorite family Christmas traditions is that on Christmas morning, before we run downstairs to open presents, all my siblings and I gather at the top of our stairs, and we sing happy birthday to Jesus.  Then later at my aunt and uncle’s house, my grandma and the older cousins organize a Christmas pageant which the younger cousins perform in, with the youngest as baby Jesus.  I love these traditions because they help to direct our focus to what we are celebrating, Christ’s birth, when it can be hard to remember at times.”

What was your favorite thing about Christmas this year?

“My favorite part of Christmas this year was seeing my older two brothers, Jerry and Pete, who returned home from college.  I absolutely love Christmas carols, and Jerry plays trumpet and piano, and Pete sings constantly, so it’s so nice now that they are back, both to spend time with them and to hear their music fill the house again.”

The King Street Chronicle thanks junior Mae Harkins for her contributions to “Humans of Sacred Heart.”
Photo by Christine Guido, News Editor
– Compiled by Christine Guido, News Editor