Blue Umbrella Official Thanksgiving_Christmas Issue-1 | Page 4

W HAT ARE YOUR TRADITIONS? by RJ D.
Students Respond to A OA Surv ey
I n November and
December, the Blue Umbrella
sent out two surveys to students
on the student center. Each
survey asked the same thing:
?W hat are your traditions??
Academy celebrate with their
families.
T he first survey concerned
T hanksgiving traditions, and the
second survey concerned
Christmas traditions. A total of
32 responses came in ? 19 from
the T hanksgiving survey and 13
from the Christmas survey.
Students also sent in pictures of
themselves decorating for the
holidays with their families and
cooking for T hanksgiving. Several students watch the
Macy?s Day parade on
T hanksgiving. Another
student has a large
T hanksgiving meal with
their community. One
student said that a week
before Christmas her family
goes caroling door- to- door
and also passes out
homemade cookies.
Another student is involved
in an annual, full- size
Bethlehem re- creation at
her church.
T here were 3 questions
per survey, asking students about
their favorite holiday
tradition:W hy was it their
favorite tradition and what did
they learn from it? I t was
fascinating to read all of the
diverse and interesting traditions
that students at Alpha Omega T he last, and most
important question, was:
?W hat do you learn from
the tradition?? T hough
there were many answers,
several common themes ran
through them all: family,
others, and drawing closer
to Jesus Christ.
Many of us are bombarded
by the warped, commercial view
of Christmas in the United
States. I t?s important that we
don?t forget that the reason for
the season isn?t the presents we
receive, the fantastic shopping
deals, or the lights on the houses.
T he reason for the season is
Jesus. As the famous verse John
3:16 says, ?For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.?
(KJV)
As we at AOA journey
together through the Christmas
season and the New Year, keep in
mind the equally important. but
lesser known I John 3:16 which
says, ?T his is how we know what
love is: Jesus Christ laid down his
life for us. And we ought to lay
down our lives for our brothers
and sisters.? (NI V)
A big thank you to all who
participated in our survey!