Christmas Traditions Around Carmel

The senior group poses amid their “deck the halls” set up. Meredith Menti captured the photo to the remember 2023 crew.

The archway on the first floor is a staple for this year’s decorations. Each grade puts various elements into their section of the hallway to try to win the spirit points.

The junior girls, wearing their Christmas pajamas, smile before their hallway is completed “decked.”

Deck the Halls❄️Every year around Christmas time, Carmel students decorate the hallways with Christmas lights, fake snow and blow-ups. Many Christmas trees are put up around the whole school to add to the Christmas spirit. Deck the Halls has been a very special tradition that makes Christmas time at Carmel unique.

Lip Sync🎤
Another annual holiday tradition is Lip Sync. Lip Sync is a competition where each grade puts together their own performance of lip syncing various songs. This has been a heavily anticipated event and students have been preparing and practicing for weeks. Last year’s juniors (class of 2024) won the competition, so this year we’ll see if they can make it an impressive two year streak of winning.

Henry Blog strikes a pose as the junior class finishes their winning performance. The pressure is on for the now senior class to maintain the reigning champions of the lip-sync competition.

Outside of school events, many people within the Carmel body are doing their own things at home to continue the holiday festivities.

Favorite Christmas Recipes🍴
Some of the most popular recipes include:
Homemade pecan pie
Reindeer and other Christmas themes cookies
Cheese-braid bread
Cranberry Christmas cake
Reindeer cookies
Oreo truffles
Chocolate fudge cookie
Cinnamon rolls

Alli Sanderson poses in the front row with her crew surrounding her. The whole bunch coordinated matching t-shirts for this festive family tradition.

The Blue and Gold staff’s 2023 Christmas card. The class wore their most festive outfits for the special occasion as they ventured outside to capture the photo.

Christmas Cards🌃
Another popular tradition among many families is taking photos for Christmas cards. There are many within the Carmel body who uphold this tradition and send their greetings to others.

Christmas Lights💡
Seeing Christmas lights is a must do activity for the holiday season. There are many spots in the Charlotte area with beautiful displays. Some recommended areas include McAdenville, the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Hillside Drive close to Myers Park.

Christmas Eve Services⛪️
Every year, friends and family gather together to recognize the true meaning of Christmas at a Christmas Eve Service. Carmel students visit various churches for Christmas Eve Services. These churches include Five Stones Church, Carmel Baptist, New City Church and Calvary.

Family Based Traditions 👪
Carmel students and their families celebrate Christmas in different ways with different Christmas traditions. Christmas traditions are specific actions taken by a family each year. Some popular traditions among students include karaoke, dinner, photos and putting the star on the tree.

The Christmas traditions and festivities around Carmel stretch far and wide. Whatever it may be, there is joy to be found in such a beautiful season of celebration!👼🎁

About the Contributors

Justin Franklin, External Relations

Justin Franklin is the Blue and Gold's only sophomore staff member this year. He has been attending Carmel Christian School since the sixth grade, marking this as his fifth year as a Carmel student. Justin was born here in Charlotte, making him the only member of his immediate family to have been born in the Queen City. Outside of school, Justin has a passion for playing soccer and playing drums, both of which he began playing when he was five years old. He is on Carmel's varsity soccer team and plays for the Charlotte Eagles outside of school as right back and center back. He wishes to continue to make every effort in his academic career and extracurricular activities along with other aspects of his life. His passion for sports has caused him to aspire to practice a career in sports medicine or engineering after attending college. Justin's role in the Blue and Gold originates from taking Media and Journalism I last year with Ms. Muir-Taylor. The class last year inspired an excitement for writing and his prior experience is a perfect transition into The Blue and Gold. Justin hopes to accomplish many things with this year’s staff, one of which is to make The Blue and Gold even more accessible to the school with stories that educate and connect the Carmel student body.

Luke Thompson, Assistant Editor

Luke Thompson, a senior this year at Carmel, is looking forward to sharing new news stories in his senior year. Luke is actively preparing and applying to college and planning for his next four years after Carmel. Luke hopes to study Anthropology and Business at NC state where he is still undecided of his career choice. Luke has been at Carmel all his life and is proud to have made it to his senior year. Luke has always had a passion for the environment and is in the Conservation club here at Carmel. For his second year of journalism, Luke is excited to continue on writing for his peers and enjoys focusing on all story types, diversifying his portfolio.

Chace Patton

Chace Patton, a first-year member of the Blue and Gold is ready to make an impact. Along with being an editor for the Blue and Gold, he is a Student Ambassador and a member of the Timothy Project. Chace has been attending Carmel Christian since 7th grade marking his 4th year at the school. He joins his classmate Justin Franklin as the only other sophomore in the class. Chace, a sophomore, is still undecided about what he wants to pursue later in life. Outside of school, Chace has a passion for running and basketball which he has been pursuing since an early age. He is a runner for Carmel’s Varsity Cross Country team. He also plays in a rec basketball team along with some of his friends during the winter and spring. Chace took Media and Journalism I with Ms. Muir-Taylor last year which has inspired him to be in the Blue and Gold. He is eager to put what he learned last year into use to create interesting stories for the Carmel students to read. Chace can often be found running at McAlpine Greenway Park along with his fellow teammates.

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Christmas Traditions Around Carmel

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