Students around Morgan have different holiday traditions unique to them and their families. The various traditions make Morgan all the more unique. While there is no one definition for what classifies a unique tradition, some traditions add a little more fun to the holidays. Some traditions are based on students’ culture or religion, which allows students to relate to each other’s traditions.

Freshman Paige Harkins celebrates a tradition that is popular online. On Christmas, her mom wraps a ball made up of Saran Wrap and wrapping paper full of presents and snacks. Everyone who participates in the game sits in a circle. One person starts to unwrap the ball until the person next to them rolls a die until they get doubles, and until the ball is done. You keep going around the circle until the ball becomes fully unwrapped. In some cases, the people who are unwrapping the ball wear oven mitts, and some creators of the ball make the pieces of Saran Wrap they use super short, so it is harder to find the end of the ball. While there is no exact creator of this tradition, it is widely known on TikTok and other social media platforms. Some people who have shared how to create this ball have put other things inside, for example, socks, lottery tickets, card games, Lego sets, etc. This tradition is different and unique for each family.

Sophomore Colbie Leclaire and senior Zoe Ruggiero participate in the same unique tradition with their families on Christmas. They both put a plastic pickle ornament inside their Christmas tree, and try to find the pickle in the tree. This tradition originated from Germany; the tradition is mostly myth, but people say that if you find the pickle, you’ll gain luck for the following year. Even though this tradition is originally German, a poll shows that 91% of Germans say that they did not know this tradition existed. The tradition varies depending on how it has been passed down throughout your family or if you’re just starting it. For Leclaire’s family, if you find the pickle in the tree, you could get up to $100, and for Ruggiero’s family, you get $10, but for other families, if you find the pickle, you get to open your present first. “ Doing this odd tradition really makes Christmas better in my opinion because it brings my family together, and it makes the holiday tradition all the more fun when we keep doing it every year,” Ruggiero said. 

Sophomore Julianna Clados participates in a tradition on New Year’s. In a Greek tradition, the New Year’s cake, Vasilopita, is baked for each new year, and a coin is placed into the bottom of the cake. Whoever gets the coin in the slice of the cake gets good luck until the following year, until you cut the cake again. This tradition originated from Greece; the cake is baked on New Year’s Eve, and it is cut open after midnight. This tradition originated from a version of an ancient Greek tradition honoring Saint Basil the Great, a 4th-century bishop known for generosity. By order, from eldest to youngest, you take a bite of your slice to see if you got the trinket or coin.