Cookies, Carols, and Candlelight

BY AMY DANFORTH

Sometimes the anticipation of a good thing is just as fun as the thing itself. This certainly holds true for me regarding the biggest holiday of the year, Christmas. The weeks leading up to December 25th are filled with fun and exciting traditions that are often just as enjoyable as Christmas day itself.

The traditions start the day after Christmas with the baking of gingerbread cookies. I love cutting stars, Christmas trees, and angels out of the dough as the rich smell of spices fills the air. Another tradition is our church's Christmas Cantata, which usually takes place around the middle of December. This concert always puts me in the Christmas spirit with its repertoire of Christmas carols, both old and new. Decorating the tree while listening to Christmas songs is another fun tradition. On the same night, we put up our icicle lights and our big lighted star.

In the days right beforethe big day, we cook up a storm. More gingerbread, pies, rolls, and whatever else we can think of. At some point, we also go light-looking, and drive to the Capitol and elsewhere to see the light displays.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, we attend our church's Candlelight Service, where we sing carols by candlelight to prepare us for the wonderful day to come.