Hey there! I'm doing an article for creative writing that'll be in the school newspaper! Anyways, it's gonna have a Christmas theme... ahem, Winter Holidays theme.... & my idea was how people in different places in the US (or world) celebrate different than in TX... like if u play in the snow on Christmas or something.... anyway, if anyone could, could you tell me which state (or coast, if u don't trust me w/ the state NO, i'm not a stalker!!! hehe) and what you do for Christams that is different than here in TX, and for those who do live in TX, something you do anyway, even tho I live in TX, if that makes sense.... yeah.....

So... what I need is:

Your state:
What you do at Christmas/Haunakah/Winter Solstice
thanks

I live in Ohio (probably the least exciting state in the union), where we can get snow anytime between the end of October and the middle of March. Right now the weather is a little too warm for it to snow so the ground isn't white.

When it does snow on Christmas, my brother and sister (and cousins, etc) go outside and build a snowman (if there's enough snow on the ground to do that) and make snow angels. Then we come back inside and warm up with hot chocolate or tea. We do all this after we've opened our gifts and eaten breakfast.

Christmas Eve is usually spent at a party with family and friends. We have lots of food (too much if you ask me!) and music and games. We tried singing Christmas Carols years ago but found out that most of the men couldn't sing to save their lives so we decided not to do that anymore.

Most of the people we spend Christmas with are of the same religion we are so we sometimes go to church together too. Some of us go to church before the party but some will go to the mass offered at Midnight. Even though it's late, I like going to Midnight Mass because the way the church is decorated and lit up, it's really beautiful!

I don't think everyone in Ohio celebrates this way but that's what my family does.

Hope this helps you!

Neila
The Academy Alien
Fan Fic Fanatic

Even though I am a canuck I will answer your question for ya!

Your state ahem province: Alberta
What you do at Christmas/Haunakah/Winter Solstice:

My family opens our presents as soon as everyone is up, then we pile in the car and drive to my grandma's house (we've done this since I can remember). The rest of my family is usually there when we get there, and we open the rest of our presents. Then we eat breakfast (It's been the same breakfast, again, since I can remember). We spend the day doing mostly nothing, then we eat dinner. Dinner is always Ukrainian food, since we don't always get to celebrate Orthadox Christmas (Because my Giddo [grampa] is always out of the country on business). After dinner everyone in my family gets a chocolate letter! ("N" For Natasha!) Then we just go home. It might not be that exciting but everyone else I know doesn't do anything like this.

Well that's about it,
Selene

These things we do at Christmas have not changed at all since I was like 3. hehe How sad.

State: Louisiana
What we do: Everyone goes over to my great-grandmother's house (whose now deceased) and we open up small little presents with my aunts, uncles, everyone for 4 generations. For Christmas night, we all get in our van and drive around looking at lights. Once we get home, we put in 'National Lampoon's Christmas' and watch it. It never gets old.

Then for Christmas day, everyone comes over to our house and brings a small $5 gift which is placed in a circle and used for a white elephant X-mas which is when you draw a number out of a hat and everyone has to go in order to get a present. You can either chose to open a wrapped present or steal a present from someone else. It goes on until the game finished. A lot of times we end up trading after the game is done anyway. Then we all go eat Christmas dinner in shifts which let's the little kids eat before the adults. It's a potluck dinner which means everyone brings something so no one does all the work.

I know everyone else probably does it but that's what we do for Christmas.

Celest

I think I have enough for an article, but if anyone else wants to add, it is due on Friday... But if not, thanks to Neila, Selene, & Celest! I should be able to get it typed up tommorrow, provided Mrs. Staley doesn't want me to help her do something else like she has for the past two days

THANKS!!!!! hehe
A VERY grateful
~Casche

.........We hope for a white Christmas though thats not always the case! But usually there is already snow on the ground. Theres nothing special here really lots of people go to Boston for the lighting of the trees ceremony in the common but thats at the beginning of the month. We get big trees, most of them are real not fake! My tree is big eight and a half feet tall. On Xmas eve we open up stalking gifts from my parents then go to my aunt and uncles house for my moms side then go home and the next morning open santas presents then those from my parents. Then my dads family comes to my house. Nothing really special that has to do with the region I guess. If you ahve anymore questions you can email me at gingersnapper10@cs.com Hope I could help!

Ash

.......for gifts. On my moms side its only her brother and us so we jsut get gifts for everyone. And my dads side thereis him and 5 others so we pick names out of a hat. Each family gets one couple and the number of people for the number of children they have. My uncle aunta nd baby cousin Hannah live in Seatlle but theys till do it and we just UPS the presents (my dad is a UPS man lol)

Ash

I think I have enough now, cuz I talked to my teacher today and she told me I could combine mine w/ someone elses so it'll be LONG!!!! hehe.....

Thanx again!
~Casche

Ain't no different than in Texas.Just another excuse to party and eat!Doesn't matter what those stories say about Cajun Christmas and all that.A party for family, a party for friends.We actually talk about things, we don't just be polite.Things get way too boring if that's all ya do.

Without the blessed snow that we only get maybe once every 6 years.It snowed on New Year's Eve just as it turned 2001!It was so awesome!Even though it lasted only 2 minutes.

Good luck,Casche!

HUGS!
Yvenna

those big trees (at least some of them, they come from here.) Every year, Halifax sends a really big tree (alone with the more common sized ones) to Boston as a thank you for the help we recieved in the halifax explosion. this has been going on for nearly a century now!

Léda

Froe x-mas here...well, my family doesn't really have any specific traditions, but i'll try and see what i can tell ya

for the last couple years i've spent christmas eve day trying to track down my friends to exchange presents with them, usually go to a church service and talk my parents into letting me open one present before i go to bed. IN the morning, i'm allowed to open my stocking but no presents until my mom gets up (and newly since lest year (my frist x-mas since my dad moved out) we had to wait for my dad to get here after we called to tell him we were up.) then the wrapping paper flies through the air. my mom mom has always made a big breakfast of bacon, and other breakfasty stuff i don't ussually get, and well as we alwasy a a bunch of little mini cerial boxes to choose from (the little personal size ones) after that i usually call a friend or two and if possiabl will get togeather with one or to of them before going home for x-mas dinner that evening. thats about it.

When i was a kid, we always had snow at christmas, but then we had a few years when the winter consisted of...slush. but last year was cool! right on x-mas day it snowed and it snowed all day! and then the snow didn't go away until some time in march! (for a couple monthes strait, we didn't have a full week of school cause either busses we cancelled, it was storming, or the power was out!)
we got our first snowstorm last sunday (it was melted away by monday afternoon though, we're back to dead grass) it was cool, cause nobody was ready for it snd the streets didn't get cleaned up...so i got my car (with all seasonal tires on it) and picked up some friends till my car was cool....then we went around looking at the x-mas lights on ppls houses, and teasting the ice covering the side streets. then i couldn't stop or turn on one street and managed to cause $200 damage to my car but crashing into the curb. and now, we have winter tires (btw, nobody was hurt, we wer'nt going THAT fast

Léda

P.S. I live in Halifax Nova Scotia, as most ppl hear already know and now with a week and a half to go till x-mas, the weather man says it's gonna snow again tomorrow...YEAH!!!!!!!!!...the ski slopes open on monday!

You can have my snow! More for you less for me, I like it! Oh man it's so cold here hehe. And dry! And it's been snowing so much in the last week. You can have it

Selene
Is sick and has a singing concert tonight

......I had no idea the tree came form Halifax! Thats great! Thank you It's a great part of our celebrating!

Ash

But, due to.... um.... circumstances..... yeah, that's it.... I could only use the first 3 replies (Neila's, Selene's, and Celest's), but thanks to everyone for replying! I appreciate it!

& to the first 3, you'll be published in the KMS Newspaper!!! hehe

Laterz~
~Casche

hehe I think my newspaper banned me for some reason. L It's a long story involving me and the true story of the easter bunny.

Thanks for using what I do at Christmas. It's cool to be published in the KMS paper! Woo! Go Wildcats! (uh yeah...I have no idea what you are hehe)

Celest

The Panthers are our rivals, we're the Commanches! WOO!!! GO COMMANCHES!!!! hehe, i was a cheerleader last year, this year, they're all airheads! I'm glad I'm not one!!!!

~Casche