It is December again and most of the world awaits the most wonderful time of the year – Christmas. Originally, it had been a pagan celebration of the winter solstice, now it is a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ for Christians. In Slovakia the celebration of the birth of Jesus is deeply rooted in our Christian history, but not everyone that celebrates the holiday is religious. Even though the season is certainly one of the happiest of all, it never is perfect.

If I were to manage the whole celebration of the 24th December, I would definitely spend it with my friends. I have always celebrated it with my family, and it is surely nice, however, I would like to switch things up a little bit. I personally think that friends are just a family that we choose. Nonetheless, I would still visit my actual family the next day. I love each and every one of my friends dearly. They make my life so much better and I suppose it could be really fun. It is really important for me to spend Christmas with someone whose company I enjoy.

And because all of my friends would meet up, we would all bring a little bit of home to our gathering. We would try to keep the traditions and probably would not dine fast food, but even though we all live pretty much in the same area, our traditional dinner meals differ. I would love for everyone to feel welcomed when we celebrate Christmas. No one would be forced to eat something they do not want to and we would finish the dinner with loads of baked goods.

After the Christmas feast, we would probably race to the Christmas tree and argue who got there first. Christmas is not only the people you love gathered together, it is also about making them happy by gifts, therefore we would all receive presents. I do not want anyone to feel left out, so I would probably like to give a present to everyone. I prefer personalised gifts instead of the general ones and I put a lot of thought into the things I endow my friends with. And for me, thinking of a present is not difficult at all – anything counts and will make me happy because even the thought of people trying to think of something I would like makes me very happy.

Moreover, the celebration of Christmas would not be completed without the traditional movies. Me and my family always try on the gifts we have received and watch the classics in the TV, while complaining about the never-ending ads. I would like to incorporate this into my ideal Christmas activities because it is one of my favourite things in the whole world. Me and my friends drinking hot chocolate, cuddled up in blankets while watching “S tebou mě baví svět” is the equivalent of perfect. We would stay up until late at night and enjoy every second of the special day.

Overall, the celebration of one of the most important holidays for Christians is always a beautiful experience, but if I could make it even better, I would spend the day with my friends – my chosen family. We would try to be as traditional as we could and everyone would bring a piece of their personal tradition to the dinner. Everyone would get a heartfelt gift to remind them how loved and important they are. And when the lights of the Christmas tree and sound of carols fill the air, we would spend the rest of the magical night watching the Christmas movies that certainly make Christmas much better.