FOR 16-year-old Julius Bacchus, it’s hard to decide which is the better part of his Christmas morning; the “lovely, lovely” breakfast or tearing into his gifts- which hopefully are toys that he can play with!

You might be thinking that at his age, what is he doing with toys, right? Well, it just so happens that Christmas brings out your inner child like no other. It also brings out the best in people and brings families closer together- at least for Julius!

On the evening of December 25, you’d better believe that the entire family must sit down together to watch a Christmas classic- whether it’s `Home Alone’, `A Christmas Story’ or some other movie they’ve probably seen 20 times before.

But aside from the gifts, the food and traditions, Julius remarked: “Christmas is a time of peace; it is a time where you can get together with family and friends and have no stress or suffering.” Added to that, he said it’s a time to remember others- even if it means just spending some time with them.

And believe it or not, perhaps all of the youth believe that Christmas is a time for paying it forward. Take Delicia Seeram for example. At Christmas, she and her family always distribute gifts to those children who might not be as fortunate during the season. Why? Well according to her, “It’s just very fulfilling.”

Seeram shared, too, that her parents are divorced so she spends Christmas “kind of back-and-forth” with them. But that doesn’t dampen the merriment; instead, it just means that she would have two different Christmas celebrations.

And now that she’s spending Christmas with her mom, she says that the celebrations are very traditional. Of course, going to church on Christmas is a must.

Latisha Jack, also says that going to church is a must on Christmas Day. As they say, “Jesus is the reason for the season” and Jack and her family believe this entirely- but it

doesn’t hurt that there’s gift-giving at church too!

When church is finished, it’s back to the cake in the oven baking and time to dig right into all of the favourite Christmas foods and goodies.

For Naveena Rambharose, Christmas means a lot of things. She affirmed, “Christmas means a time of uniting and giving. It is a time where you expect to give whatever you can afford to those who are less fortunate than you. It is a period where families put aside their differences that occurred during the year and forgive each other and unite as one. It is a time where you forgive those who ever went against you or wronged you in any way and prepare for a new beginning.”

During the season, she has to visit the children at the orphanage at Cornelia Ida and spend some time with them.

And on Christmas Day, she goes to Leguan to spend the day with her grandfather and other relatives. What’s makes it even better is that they almost always have a barbecue cookout.

“I believe Christmas is a time for family and friends, so during this season my family and I try to spread love and joy to all we encounter,” Sarah Singh said. During this time, her family has certain traditions they hold dear to them- like decorating their home together, making Pepperpot or even driving around to look at the lights.

On Christmas morning, she also goes to church, and the rest of the day is left to open presents, enjoy all the good food and share out gifts to others.

Watching the Christmas classics goes without saying, but when it’s time for the Stretch Out Magazine and the other local satirical programmes, these classics take the backseat in the Singh’s family.

Twenty-five-year-old Jason Moe also has traditions he holds dear. “At Christmas time and as a usual practice, I try to spread cheer, both to the less fortunate and to the random individuals in which I come into contact,” he shared.

He does this because, for him, Christmas is a time for reflection on the birth of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is also a time for loved ones to get together, embrace each other and make the most out of the occasion.

But though the younger people hold their traditions dear now, perhaps there comes a time when these Christmas traditions might be replaced by new ones for some.

As a child, Christmas for Kevin Cornette was celebrated traditionally. You know- The usual routine where you got the house cleaned (spick and span, no exceptions!) weeks in advance, wrap the presents and put them under the tree, and get the Pepperpot and black cake made just right.

As a young adult with his own family now, Kevin says Christmas is not celebrated the same way.

“For my family, we’ve decided that we don’t want to celebrate Christmas the traditional way but rather we would want to go out more and be part of more outside activities- instead of the traditional way of staying home and just enjoying with the family,” he explained.

Despite his journey towards creating his own traditions, Cornette said: “In my heart, Christmas still has the same meaning- it is the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.”