Merry Christmas!

Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birthday. It’s a time for family, friends and loved ones. While the meaning and celebration of the Christmas holiday is vastly different from one family to the next, the people of Adrian and area towns agree that it’s about tradition, generosity, good tidings and Santa Claus.

Take the Adrian Bank for instance. Adrian Bank employees and customers join together to provide gifts and a Christmas meal for area families (pictured: Gifts for area families surround the Adrian Bank tree-Adrian location). Or what about the woman who anonymously paid for gasoline for someone else? Her generosity was a random act of kindness that brightened someone’s day.

Family gatherings are an important part of Christmas for many. Erin Newport said, “The holidays are all about being surrounded by the ones you love - family and friends!!!” Linda Cox added, “I can say it in one word: FAMILY.”

Webster’s defines tradition as an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom). Kelly Edmiston shares her family’s Christmas tradition: “Our tradition consists of opening pj’s that my parents have sent on Christmas Eve, then wearing them to Karen and Leroy’s (in-laws) for some AWESOME potato soup. We play charades, which is ALWAYS the highlight of the night when you have Mitch, Leroy and Eric acting things out! On Christmas morning we unwrap presents from Santa then go back to Karen and Leroy’s for breakfast and to unwrap our stockings. We hang out with family then go home to shower, then we go back to Karen and Leroy’s for dinner. After that, we go around the room and everyone opens one gift at a time until they are all open, which takes a while because we get VERY spoiled! Then my parents come either Christmas Eve day or a couple of days after and we do another Christmas with them! FAMILY is the joy!”

From all of us at The Adrian Journal, best wishes for a safe and Merry Christmas!