The True Meaning of Christmas (Drop off)

Dear Mum and Dad,
I hope you are well. Guess what? I will be home for Christmas and celebrate the Christmas holiday with the family! It had been a few months since I separated from you when the summer holiday ended, and I miss you so much! Do not worry about me, life in school has been good, the workload was quite hard with the schoolwork, homework, and sports practice, but there are a variety of clubs, activities, and events for me to participate, which can help me reduce the pressure and enjoy the school life. However, there is no place like home, I really miss the movie nights, the family dinner feast, and the day out for travelling. I wonder what you will cook for Christmas, I believe you will cook my favorite dishes! It must be a big meal with meat, veggies, and soup!

Speaking of the true meaning of Christmas, for me, Christmas means the time when the whole family gather together and celebrate the festival with the relatives, it is a festival to warm up the cold and freezing winter with red colors, bright lights, and warm dishes on the feast, it is also a festival for the children to play around the Christmas tree and get gifts. Besides, there are Christmas carols and laughter. The spirit of Christmas also means giving gifts and spreading warmth to the poor people. Anyway, when the Christmas holiday comes, I promise I will help to decorate the Christmas tree in our house and decorate our warm little room with Christmas colors, bells, and other crafts. I have been behaving well, so can I get some gifts? I don`t wish for anything valuable, just some sweets and some crafts to put in my room for decoration. Oh, I wish the Christmas holiday would arrive now! I know I still have to wait for a few weeks, but I just cannot wait to go home and celebrate the Christmas with our little family in London! I miss you so much, and I believe you miss me a lot too! Anyway, this letter in getting too long, so I suppose it will end now, and see you in London when Christmas break begins a few weeks later on Dec 23rd! Plus, say hi to my lovely little brother Kevin and tell him his elder sister always love him!
Best wishes and merry Christmas,
your lovely daughter,
Rita
Dec 5th, 2022
PS: Don`t panic if an owl comes in your house, they are just used to send the letter from the school, and they will not hurt you!

Finally, she has finally finished her essay. It took longer than she expected, but at least the reward would be worth it. Sophie had fallen in love with chocolate frogs the second she stepped into Honeydukes, and used to be going there everyday. Eventually, she realised how much money she was spending on them, and decided to stop. It had been a while since she had eaten any chocolate, so she was desperate to get them. She was expecting an errand to pop up with a reward which included chocolate frogs, but more errands came out than she could do.

She decided to choose one errand to do, and this one seemed the best one.

Dear mom and dad,
It's been a while since I last wrote to you two but I just wanted to say merry Christmas. I'm sad I can't come back to London over the holidays, since it'll be very nice to be home. I know you'll say no this year but am I allowed to come home next year? I really miss you both, and I hope to be able to come back next year.

Okay so now you've got the message, let's move on to something else. First of all, why are those meetings so very important?? Isn't Christmas about spending time with your friends and family instead of going to like one hundred business meetings? I know you told me over the summer that you'd still get me gifts and all of that but there is just some stuff on my wish list you can't get me, and I'll put that at the end of this letter.

I made a copy of this parchment since one I would be sending in for an errand which requires me to write about the true meaning of Christmas. So that is what I'll do.

Christmas for me means celebrating with friends and family, sending each other gifts, and decorating Christmas trees. We can make very long wish lists if we like, but most of the time you only get 80% of what's on the list. If we make shorter lists then we would likely get more of what we wished for. We hang up red and green decorations, and wrap the presents in Christmas-like gift wrap. Not all of my family members are wizards, so we have to keep it muggle friendly and kindly remind the wizard members to keep magic a secret to the ones who'd likely spill the secret.

To me, Christmas is not about presents and getting what you wished for, but it's more about spending time with friends and family and having fun together. It also taught me to not make horrendously long wish lists and expect to get everything.

Speaking of wish lists, I should probably put one here like I said, so here it is!

MY WISH LIST

Some galleons
A new broom, maybe Silver Arrow, will help me race better.
For me to be able to come back to London next year
A lot of few chocolate frogs
Maybe some new friends to guide me through the rest of the year
To be able to participate in more school events
Something special from you

Have a nice rest of December!
Love,

~Sophie

Sophie dropped off the piece of parchment at Nurse Frogge's office like the directions said, and left the hospital wing. She headed up towards the Owlery with her copy to send it to her parents. She started to doubt if they'd actually let her go home next year, since it was the most important thing on the list. She sighed, even if they said yes she'll still have to wait until next year to actually have Christmas. All she could do now was wait.

Date: Dec. 5th
Mentioning: @Hello
Word count: 629
Errand Status: Finished!

The True Meaning of Christmas. I’ve never really thought about it until today. I’ve been celebrating Christmas ever since I can remember. I guess the True Meaning of Christmas would be in our traditions. My family has many, many traditions. I don’t know if we’ll continue to do them though because my parents are divorced and my half-sister left with my father. On Christmas Eve we would bake candy cane cookies to leave out for Santa with carrots for his reindeer and some milk. Usually there would be failed attempts and we would eat those together. It’s been a tradition to decorate the Christmas tree only a few days before Christmas. My parents said they started it so that when the three of us headed to Hogwarts we could still be there to decorate the tree. Then we wouldn’t take it down until the end of January, despite my father’s asking us. Althea introduced to us to movies. We would watch 12 Christmas movies 12 days before Christmas. There’s a little shed near the property where Althea has to do her homework due to her using a kompyouta or something. I guess this year only mum and Althea will do that. But my favourite tradition is the Advent Calendars. Each year, everyone draws a name out of a hat. Whoever you get is who you make an advent calendar for. It’s kind of obvious who we all got this year, since there are only three of us. I received an owl telling me that I was making one for my sister on the first of November, and sent it off on the 20th.

Since I said before that Christmas is all about traditions, I guess I should mention broken ones. The biggest one being family. My dad cheated on my mother ten years ago. He then continued to cheat, up until she found out and asked for a divorce. That was quickly granted. And now this year, the tradition of family is broken. The family is broken. But it is Christmas which means we will still be celebrating regardless of who we are hanging out with and what traditions can no longer occur.

I started this off thinking that Christmas was about tradition. But I guess the true meaning of Christmas is that even when our traditions are taken away, our company changes or we celebrate differently, Christmas is still Christmas, and we are all celebrating as one.

Words: 604

Christmas is a time for family to get together, Margaret and Rosa, my mothers would always tell me. This always seemed odd to me, as we wouldn't usually spend the year with family at all! The family in America, with their stuck up noses and traditional ways would always send us letters and gifts, telling us about the parties with plenty of "the right people" at them. It's nice to hear from them, but the gifts were always a bit silly, and I don't think they ever asked about what I actually wanted. Which makes no sense, because what eight-year-old wants a training broom instead of new boots to run around in mud in! They're weird.

We also didn't usually spend Christmas day with the muggle side of the family, although they are around a bit more. We go visit, and I get to pet their horses and play with their dogs, and they actually give good presents! Like boots and gloves and a little stuffed wolf that barks when you squeeze it! I still have that wolf, even though it doesn't bark anymore. Muggle magic is weird. They can't fly or levitate things, but they make cars and tractors and buses and planes to do it for them! We don't stay on Christmas day there, since we have to get home to our animals and we don't want to get snowed in.

That usually leaves just the three of us as family on Christmas Day, but we certainly don't spend it alone! My mums both have friends a few towns over that live in a strange house all together, and some of them always seem to have holes in their shoes whenever they go visit. We always bring them over, and they all must be witches and wizards because they have wands and know our owl's job, but I've never seen them actually cast magic or interact with the wizarding world. My momma Margaret's much the same way, so it's not too weird though.

Anyway, all of those friends will come over on Christmas day! In the morning the three of us all open presents and sit around the fire place and drink hot coco. In the afternoon, Momma drives the car we have to get around town to bring some of them, and the rest come in this old car that almost looks like it belongs in the movies! The fun black and white ones with the silly voices, that is. Whenever they get here, it's usually almost dark by then and they'll all stay the night.

Momma and mum will always have the fun gifts for them, like shoes and coats and scarves, so they can go outside and stay warm when they play. They'll all bring gifts that I'm not usually allowed to play with, and are instead used for decoration, like antlers and little carved animals and handmade windpipes, all made out of wood and bone. I told someone that once, and they said that was weird, but the butcher down the road always has lots of bones whenever we get one for the dog, so they must just get them there!

One year I asked my mums why we have all of them over if Christmas is supposed to be for family only, and momma explained that every one of them doesn't have any other family. It's our job to be their family and get them presents, since we always have enough money to help them.

So, Christmas is about family! But that doesn't just mean your actual family. It also means your friends, or anyone that you can help! Don't tell, but I'm actually going to give these chocolate frogs to my bestest friends, and it'll be a big surprise! Especially for @Isadora Everridge! She's my best friend here, and she always seems so sad. Chocolate always makes me happy! And yes, chocolate is also a good present! Just like boots.

Every time I trust someone, they always show me why I shouldn't... ------Kim Sato

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THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
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sta 6 • eva 10 • str 2 • wis 5 • arc 4 • acc 9

─ ───── 12/05/22 ─────

It was morning time. The time when Kim would never be up and about, unless it was during a weekday for classes. But Bailey was at it again, coming to the Gryffindor tower as if she was a Lion. After Sophia... she'd been doing this nearly every day, despite his initial intention of rejecting her when she came for him. A sigh escaped his lips as he rubbed some sleep from his eyes and stumbled after her into the Great Hall, running his face into the wall beside the door in the process.

"Ow..." Kim exclaimed, reaching up to rub his forehead and nose. He heard a voice say something about the true meaning of Christmas. Was that what he'd heard? The green haired boy was still out of it and wasn't quite awake yet. As he was pulled over to the table by Bailey, Kim blinked weary eyes and his vision came back into focus again. Ah, instructions. "Ten inches? How - oh, right. For the event. Er, errand." He said and tried to focus on the task at hand before him right now.

What was it again?

Kim let his blue eyes flicker over the table and its contents. Ah, they had a choice as to what they needed to do. Write a story, a journal entry or a letter it seemed and he tilted his head to the side.

He needed to think for a few seconds, as his brain wasn't quite there.

This was another reason he didn't get up too early in the morning. It was way easier to make mistakes and to not think and say or do something he might regret later on. Even Puffie hadn't been awake when Bailey had come to grab him. The pink puffball tended to wake up 15-30 minutes after Bailey had gotten him up. A yawn escaped his lips. What was he doing right now? Right. Choosing. Making a choice or decision about what to do. Not a story, that took a lot of brain power.

A letter sounded easier to him.

So that was what he'd do. Kim picked up some parchment paper, a quill/inkwell and got to work.

Reducio

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

I really don't know. It's not as if we're religious. We only celebrate Yule. However, Christmas is a word that is known everywhere.

A lot of people refer to it by that name. Even if they don't happen to be religious by nature. Christmas is known to be a time where you give and receive gifts, although I don't much care for the latter. For me, Christmas is when my family always holds their annual Yule Ball. Various purebloods attend it regularly.

And although their guests can be of any blood type, only purebloods receive a personal invitation to the ball. I don't really like celebrations like this and would prefer to be left out but as it's a family event, I have no choice. Christmas is a hectic and annoying time, as it comes with many family responsibilities.

I probably would like it better if I could be on my own.

But that will never happen.

At least not as long as I bear the name Sato. Please don't let my parents see this letter. It would not be good for me.

I would get in trouble for speaking my mind in such a way. Back to the topic at hand, regarding Christmas. Other than the Yule Ball and my family responsibilities, I only associate Christmas as being during the winter time and the end of the year. It's not really a season I look forward to, although it is pretty outside.

Once he was done, he set the paper down again on the table. Conveniently enough, Kim ended up finishing his task at the same time Bailey did and the two were able to get up together and deposited their letters into the drop box. Since it was Monday, classes would be starting in an hour. But Kim usually didn't get up this early, so he was still a bit groggy. Therefore, instead of hanging out with Bailey after they'd deposited their letters, he went back to the dorms to grab a quick nap.

706/600 words | @Bailey Glade

What does Christmas mean to me? I think that's more of a loaded question than you think it is. Christmas to me, is sitting in my house, trying to avoid the inevitable. The inevitable that my Granny is no longer healthy enough to do anything out of the house and shortly, won't be healthy enough to do anything at all.

Yes that is quite morbid, I admit. But when I spent my childhood on my birthday (Christmas eve), walking around the village, meeting up with my Grannys friends and having them spoil me as if I was their own, a lot of these people are gone now, whether they moved out of the village, passed away, or suffered the poor fate of Mathilda, my Grannys best friend who has Parkinson's disease and can no longer remember her own son.

But that isn't the meaning of Christmas, that is just the morbidity of most of the people you know being over the age of 70.

This Christmas, I will be turning 17, I will officially be an adult in the eyes of the wizarding world, for me, the true meaning of Christmas is enjoying childhood, before it runs out.

I grew up being somewhat religious, a little dash of Christianity due to my Grannys highlander upbringing, I never said grace or kept up with a lot of the less holiday-based traditions, but I did love the Christmas celebrations, between the nativity in school to the carols singing about the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ. Giving and receiving presents is a highlight of the holiday, for better or for worse with my birthday being the day before, my Granny always made sure to make it two separate important days for me growing up, but I definitely received a few birthday cards that had "and Happy Christmas" scribbled into them from people in school.

Waking up on Christmas morning, typically far earlier than normal, running through to the livingroom to see if Saint Nick had blessed you with actual gifts instead of lumps of coal, that magical moment when you see the coloured wrapped presents under the tree, your disgruntled family members walking in behind you, exhausted as you just woke them up with your childish stomping. The smile on your face as you look as them, ready to squeal "Santa came!" even though it was common knowledge he visited every child in the world.

Tearing open that wrapping paper, occasionally the awful feeling as your fingertips rub the plastic like paper and it squeaks instead of tearing, or like me, you could be the kind of kid that would meticulously pick at the sellotape until you were able to unwrap the present almost as neatly as it was before.

Christmas, to me, is the sum of all of the magic of childhood, I'm not sure what Christmas is like in magical households, but in mine, it was magical anyway. The CD of the Christmas Greatest hits on the player as you played cheesy games, I remember one in particular we played Christmas based charades, even though there was only two of us, it was a lot of fun!

When I was a child, Christmas was about spending time with my limited family and friends, and of course that is still very true, I understand that for me and many others, growing older makes Christmas less magical, especially when I've went from the standard, non-magical world, into this one, where actual magic is real. Tell small Delilah that the Christmas tree lighting up 'by itself' (the switch was in the kitchen and my granny flicked it without me seeing) would lead to me on the duelling platform, sending giant balls of light at other kids and dodging literal fireballs.

Christmas, to me, is about the magic of youth.

Delilah placed her quill down, pulling her wand out to measure her paper, since her wand was over 10 inches long, and her writings were even longer than that, she knew she was safe.

The Reason for the Season
by Marius Brown

December is the most wonderful time of the year for many people, myself included. The ringing bells, joyful songs, sweet smell of homemade biscuits, and decorations decked in both city centres and homes do their job greatly to announce to the world how merry the festival season is. Christmas, a holiday I personally celebrate, is a part of this festival and it is no less happily acclaimed than the other holidays that fall in December. Sadly, however, it is also one of the most commercialised holiday; so commercialised it is that it has lost its original meaning, the birth of Jesus Christ, in our society. This essay will present four reasons why Jesus is the true meaning behind Christmas.

First, Christmas is much more than merriment and traditions. It would be a lie to say that I do not enjoy attending Christmas parties, seeing the decorations associated with the aforementioned holiday, or having a Christmas dinner with my family and relatives. However, I also realise that this is merely a part of the holiday itself. Even the date and the traditions associated with it such as gift giving and the colours of red and green were supposed to be chosen by early Christians to blend the holy celebration with local customs. Thus, it will be incorrect to announce that Christmas is a celebration derived from Yule or Winter Solstice; the truth is, traditions and customs associated with Christmas were inspired by these festivals.

Second, most, if not all, non-party stuff related to Christmas are in accordance with Jesus' teachings. For instance, many people recognise Christmas as a time for giving, be it by donating money to charities or time and energy to do voluntary work. The spirit of giving and sharing is reminded to us many times in the Christian Bible (see for example 1John 3.17; 2Cor 9.6-8; James 2.14-17; Matt 25.31-46; Prov 14.31). In addition, a lot of us are fascinated by the idea of a "bad" person turns "good" around Christmastime, which we dub a Christmas miracle (although the term is also used for other lovely things that happen during this season). As with sharing what we have with the needy, the Holy Bible also mentions the importance of renewing ourselves with the help of the Lord (see for instance 2Cor 4.16; Ezek 36.26; Isa 57.10; Rom 12.2; Ti 3.5). But the greatest Christmas miracle of all, of course, is the love of God who willingly becomes a human for the sake of our salvation (John 3.16).

Third, what most people want for Christmas can be found in Jesus. If we ask a child what they would like for Christmas, I am sure a lot of them will answer with toys. For teenagers and young people, a couple will say the latest gadget, a fashionable attire or accessory, or romance. On the other hand, once someone is mature enough, studies show they tend to desire happiness, mental strength, hope, and peace. Unfortunately, due to society and how comfortable everyday life can be these days, many begin to forget (or ironically, refuse) to acknowledge the source of these wonderful things, which is Jesus or the Lord (e.g. 1Pet 5.7; Gal 5.22-23; Jer 29.11; Psalm 29.11; Psalm 34.5).

Last but not least, the name should say it all. Shakespeare may infamously say, "What's in a name?" but many people do care. One does not give their child a name with a negative connotation, for instance. The same goes with Christmas, whose name came from the words "Christ" and "Mass". Thus, it ought to go without saying that Christmas is a festival dedicated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. That is to say, family reunion, gift giving, and other traditions do not harm the true meaning of Christmas but rather can be utilised to support spreading the good news. Even the figure of Santa Claus was inspired by Saint Nicholas, a real-life Christian hero and may be used to demonstrate God's giving nature. On the contrary, in my humble opinion, a celebration that falls on the 25th of December but with purely non-Christian reason should be given a new name instead to differentiate it from the real Christmas.

To conclude, the true meaning of Christmas is the commemoration of the Lord's birth as a human and the salvation it brings. It is the greatest grace the world has ever received, despite how sinful we humans are (and therefore actually not worthy of receiving such a beautiful Christmas gift). And even more wonderful, as explained by apologist Jimmy Akin as he refers to John 14.6-7, this gift of salvation is free for everyone who is willing to listen to the Lord's words and obey them.

I remember when was five years old, The day after I experienced my first incidental magic. The weather was just as I loved it—a stunning snowy climate. Like my personality, very cold. In this state, I could readily connect with nature. Despite the fact that I was wearing heavy clothing, the coldness had caused my skin to appear pallid.

I was bored so I began singing a Christmas hymn while I was told to protect the house and not leave, which was boring.

" Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bobtails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight, oh!"

Sadly, I was unable to complete the Christmas song. I sing really well, you can be sure of that. A witch who had descended from her flying broom while carrying a huge red bag resembling Santa's scared me. Phew! It was my grandmother, That is one heck of a Christmas bag, though, did she murder Santa Claus?, She laughed as she said, "Aye, boy, I'm not a criminal," and shrugged in response." Please don't give me that look "she uttered. After hearing that, I am positive I have never laughed so much. I jumped in to assist her, but she insisted that she would play Mother Claus and force the bag down the chimney.

After things had a chance to settle, my grandmother and I went inside. Everything appeared to be falling into place and renovating itself when she simply waved her wand. What was formerly thought of as a boring residence is now brimming with holiday cheer like every other household where they lived. She reportedly also brought five amusing elves who cooked, decorated the tree, and quickly wrapped open gifts for Christmas. Obviously, they did that while I wasn't looking so that everything would not get spoiled.

I sat with my grandmother for a few hours while she told me a good witch story about a Christmas spirit as I ate cookies and drank milk. I always like the Christmas horror stories she used to tell, even though they gave me nightmares, lol.
She instructed me to place my head on her lap while we were all having fun, and when I did, she said:

" The presence of a contented family wrapped up in one another is the best present of all to be found under any Christmas tree. Undoubtedly, the fundamental components of a truly happy Christmas are gifts of time and affection. Keep in mind that you won't find Christmas under a tree if it isn't in your heart. Christmas provides us with a chance to pause and consider the key issues in our lives. Christmas is more about opening our hearts than it is about opening our presents. Santa Claus is somebody who cares about others and works to make them happy; he or she gives of themselves in every gift they receive through thought, speech, or deed. Christmas is a time to give without expecting anything in return. We know it's happiness when we observe folks having fun. Forgetting about oneself allows one to devote more attention to others. It emphasizes authentic values while rejecting the meaningless. Christmas' wonderful glitter temporarily glistened on everyone's cheeks, serving as a gentle reminder of what is valuable and who we were meant to be. The Real Meaning of Christmas is that "LOVE WILL TAKE US THROUGH EVERYTHING AND WE ARE NEVER ALONE."

After saying all that, granny gave me a forehead kiss and added, "Have a Merry Christmas."
I wish my parents were here to share in the festivities, but I know they are always with me in spirit and are devoted to me in every way. Me, my grandmother, and the elves sung a Christmas carol as we were eating.
I discovered the genuine meaning of Christmas in this way. Happy Christmas!!!!