Teen Corner

by Natalie Sutton and Kateri Foos

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is beloved by many people around the world of all different ages. From family, to presents, to a wonderful Christmas dinner, it is pretty difficult for the Christmas season to be disliked. There is, however, a downside to all the presents and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season: people forget the true meaning of Christmas. One may ask what the true meaning of Christmas is and the answer is simple: Jesus. Jesus’ birth is the reason we come together with family and friends during the Christmas season. Without his birth, there is no Christmas and even worse, no redemption. But the next question that arises is, “What can I do to properly celebrate the true meaning of Christmas?” Keep on reading, and we will lay it all out for you!

To begin, there are many different family traditions that people can participate in that keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas. I, Kateri, and my family have a fun Christmas tradition. Each Christmas, our mother makes us special Christmas pajamas that we have to sleep in the night before Christmas. In the morning, our mother takes a picture of the whole family. Then, we all go and pray in front of Jesus at the foot of the Christmas tree before we open presents. Praying before opening presents allows us to embrace Jesus as the true meaning of Christmas. It prevents us from going right to the presents and totally forgetting that Jesus is the reason for the season. Another exciting thing we do is go to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in DC and help decorate it a few days before Christmas. I, Natalie, have a Christmas tradition of going to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception each Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass. It is a tradition that my family and I have been observing since I was very little. My favorite part about going to the Basilica each year is the music. The Basilica’s choir and orchestra tie the whole Mass together. Going to the Basilica each year always helps me to remember the true meaning of Christmas. At the beginning of the Mass, the celebrant goes to the nativity scene and prays. The choir sings a song reflecting on what happened the night of Christmas in Bethlehem. It is a touching moment and I think it sets the tone for the rest of the Mass.

Most people forget about Christmas the day afterwards. As soon as the 26th of December rolls around, the trees and lights come down. Christmas does not, in fact, end the day after it is celebrated. In the Catholic Church, Christmas lasts until the epiphany--the day the three wise men came and presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We can’t truly understand the full meaning of Christmas if we forget about it the day after. There are feast days that we celebrate during the Christmas season that continue to keep the meaning of Christmas in our hearts. One of them is the feast of the Holy Innocents. This is when we remember the innocent young boys that were killed by Herod. These young children are considered martyrs because they died for Christ. This Christmas, we pray each of us remembers the true meaning of Christmas and that Jesus’ birth set in motion our redemption. We pray for strength and guidance to help us avoid being caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and that we will not be blinded by all the presents, shopping, sales and other distractions. We hope all of us will remember to keep Jesus in our hearts and to remember that...He is the reason for the season!