JACLYNN STAUB | staff writer

PRO: Christmas is about God, love, and grandma's sweaters.

I’m now calling all kids from ages one to ninety-two to turn a hopeful eye to the joys of this wonderful holiday season. There are so many great things when talking about Christmas.

Let’s start with the first and most obvious Christmas thing we all love—Grandma’s Christmas sweaters.

If you are anything like me, then you already brought out the sweaters your grandma knits for you every year. And if you go into this thinking you are alone, you aren’t.

My personal favorite is the one my Grandma made with Rudolph’s head, the size of my whole upper torso, knit on the front with a giant red fluff ball as a nose. I still proudly sport that sweater to this day.

If you really want to be honest with yourself though, then you, like me, will openly admit that you have been secretly jamming to Mariah Carey’s Christmas album since the beginning of November.

In my book, there are no rules of having to wait until Black Friday to listen to Christmas music. In fact, if my ears serve me correctly, I’m pretty sure I heard Christmas music played earlier than Nov. 23 on the radios this year.

Nothing puts my roommates and I more in the Christmas mood than a sweet-sounding Christmas carol flowing throughout our apartment and putting our ears and minds into a winter wonderland.

What more is there to love about Christmas then the tunes blasting with lyrics full of meaning celebrating just that...the joys of Christmas!

Let’s not completely rule out tradition though. No matter who you are, we are all celebrating the birth of our king.

Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Savior, but he was a Savior that brought the best gift of all: love. This is a season where people love more. It’s a time when families come together after not seeing each other and where hearts are giving and more polite.

This is a time where, as families, we gather together in elementary school auditoriums to watch children sheepishly perform the birth of Jesus. It is something they look forward to every year. Plus, its something fun to watch as a family.

Another great thing about the holidays is all of our favorite Christmas movies, the ones that we gather around the TV to watch with our families and friends.

I’m talking about movies like Muppets Christmas Carol, The Grinch, The Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas – the list goes on.

The list of why the holiday season is so wonderful could go on forever. If you have a heart turned cold by Christmas then know there is still hope for you.

If Kermit the frog can still hold holiday cheer while married to Mrs. Piggy then there is hope for all of us.

So don’t be a Scrooge, loosen your scarf, lace your skates, sport Grandma’s sweater, and enjoy this upcoming season!


JILLIAN COLLETT | editor-in-chief

CON: Christmas should be about more than presents and jingles.

For a long time, I have thought holidays are pointless.

There. I said it.

I have been constantly rebuked by friends and family for the way I feel, but I can’t help it.

I haven’t ever had a horrible Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. I don’t have any bad memories of drunk, unruly, embarrassing family members that make holidays unbearable.

On the contrary, I have always loved my holiday experiences. I enjoy spending every moment that I can with my family. I enjoy giving thanks. I enjoy celebrating Christ’s birth, and remembering the day he sacrificed his life for the world while surrounded by the people I love most.

What I don’t enjoy, however, is the emphasis that is placed on food.

What I don’t enjoy is the fact that I asked my family to work at a soup kitchen on Christmas day and my sister replied, “No. I don’t want to do that. I want my presents,” and my mother said it wasn’t something she wanted us to do as a family.

What I don’t enjoy is the amount of money we spend on crap like iPods, clothes, movies and jewelry, when there are people in other countries, and even in our own country, who will be spending their holidays wondering if they will be able to even eat.

I realize that I am idealistic. I recognize the fact that people will always want more and will never be satisfied – it is in our nature. And I understand that we live in a world that is filled with broken families and latchkey kids.

On a lighter note, there are small things that make the Christmas season repulsive.

I have a younger sister who still gets excited about seeing what “Santa” left her. She knows who really puts out the gifts, but she still wakes me up at o-dark-thirty on Christmas morning so we can run down the stairs and check out what he left under the tree. Me? I choose sleep, thank you very much.

I also lack a desire to create holiday desserts. I can’t cook, and have never enjoyed the process. Building ginger bread houses that fell over or became rock solid after a few days as a child is probably to blame for that feeling.

Lastly, my least favorite part of Christmas is caroling. I cannot stand carolers. I am sorry, but the last thing I want is for people to show up at my door, unannounced, singing songs when I never asked them to. It is rude. There are probably a lot of people out there that enjoy a jingle or two, but if you ever show up at my door, it will be promptly shut in your face.

Back to my original argument, the emphasis on what the holidays are about needs to change.

I don’t want to knock anyone’s holiday experience. If Christmas is your favorite time of year, more power to you.

But it is important for us to remember that our family, Christ’s birth and sacrifice, and being thankful, are always important... not just on holidays.