For the Christmas Junior Saints in December 2022, students were invited to draw a picture of the first Christmas, and write about what Christmas means to them.
St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“To me, Christmas is not a time of presents or gifts. It is a time for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, and time with family.” – Artwork and writing by James Wills, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“Christmas to me is the time of joy, people smiling, children playing, carolers caroling, but most of all, just spending time with family. It is also Jesus’ birthday. I love Christmas so much. I get to bake cookies for Santa, and I bake some for my family members. Even little deeds mean so much to me. Christmas is the time where we can spend time with our families and thank God for giving us Jesus!” – Hayleigh Estrella, sixth grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“Getting to see my family is the meaning of Christmas for me. I only get to see my whole family a few times a year. We get to celebrate the birth of our Lord together, and that makes this day really special for me.” – Artwork and writing by Katherine Contreras, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
Artwork by Sonali Jenkins, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“Christmas means family. For me, Christmas has always been about family and how important it is to spend time with them and gift each other love and joy.” – Audrey Liao, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“Christmas to me means spending time with family and taking time to pray and appreciate Jesus.” – Georgiana Papouras, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
“Christmas means many things to me. It’s a time to see my family, especially after Covid and pandemic, it’s a time of reconnecting. But (it’s also) at time of giving (to those in need)… This year isn’t just about gifts to me. It’s also about Jesus’s birth, celebrating his birth and honoring him, and the coming together of family.” – Artwork and writing by Madison Pleta, seventh grade, St. Columba School, Oxon Hill
Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
Artwork by Lulia Gusa, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington, D.C.
“Christmas to me is being with my family. It is the smell of pine and cold. It is the decorations and the colors. It is praising Jesus Christ. It is all of the traditions. It is being kind and cheerful. Christmas to me is wonderful. I love preparing for Jesus’ birth. Everyone is excited and filled with joy. Christmas to me is being happy.” – Addie Angelo, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“To me, Christmas is the day that Christ was born, and it is when Jesus started spreading wonderful and magical things. It’s so special to us that we made it a holiday. It is a time where you give presents and receive presents. When I hear the word Christmas, I think of joy, happiness, Jesus, family, celebration, faith, Mass, giving, friends, winter, Nativity, excitement, parties, love, jolly, bright, holy and togetherness.” – Artwork and writing by Jack Schlegel, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“What Christmas means to me is spending time with family, because I love spending time with my family. I love it because we always talk about how life is going and share so many memories from past Christmases. My family and cousins celebrate Christmas a couple of days earlier on the eve of Christmas Eve. We have a dinner and exchange gifts for Secret Santa. We also catch up on life.
“On Christmas Eve my family and I go to church and then we go out with our friends. We have been doing this dinner for eight years. On Christmas morning, my Grandma always makes the best cinnamon buns for breakfast. Christmas is so special to me because I get to spend so much time with my family and friends.” – Bo Andrews, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
Artwork by Lochlan Barry, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“Christmas is my favorite time of year. I like Christmas because I get to see my whole family. I also like seeing my presents under the tree. I love giving presents and making people happy. It makes me happy when I see all the people’s faces light up with joy. But the main part I like is going to Christmas Eve Mass and celebrating Jesus’ birth. This is why I like Christmas.” – Hals Benhard, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
Artwork by Jane Crisci, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“I believe Christmas is about loving, family, and spending time with each other. It doesn’t matter about the presents we get. It’s a special day for everyone, because we are close to Jesus, we get together with all our family and friends, and we are grateful for everything in 2022 and for the start of 2023. We celebrate the day that Jesus Christ was born. Jesus means a lot to me. My family and I go to church every Christmas or Christmas Eve. On this special day, I always used to think of waking up and going downstairs to see the presents, and that it was the only good thing about Christmas. Now I just want to be with my family having a good time together, being happy, caring for each other and going to church together.” – Lucia Sonza, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“Christmas is a time for family, happiness, jolliness, calmness, vacation and no sadness. Some other stuff that is important to me and I pray for at Christmas is the health of everyone in my family so that we can come together and celebrate. Food is another thing that I love about Christmas, especially foods like gingerbread houses, eggnog, cookies and delicious dishes my mom makes. The last and most important reason I think Christmas is important is because it is Jesus’s birthday, and he is the Savior after all! This might sound a little selfish, but who could forget presents at Christmas. I like those too a little. Anyway, these are my reasons I love Christmas.” – Artwork and writing by Sebastian Navarro, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“To me, Christmas means family traditions. One of my favorite holiday traditions is the annual Christmas pageant at my church. The children get dressed up as angels, shepherds, the wise men, and Mary and Joseph. Some of the older children even have the chance to read Scripture. Beautiful music fills the church as the beautiful decorations just seem to glow. Another of my favorite Christmas traditions is our annual Christmas dinner with aunts, uncles and cousins. The adults exchange gifts using a ‘Secret Santa’ system, and the kids play games. It’s really fun, and I love spending time with my family. The last tradition I love is, of course, presents! It is always fun to receive the little gifts on Christmas morning. They remind us that God loves us and gave us the perfect gift of Jesus to save us from sin.” – Orla Hurley, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
Artwork by Lucy Peppo, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“To me, Christmas means spending time with my family. It also means having special traditions like going to church on Christmas Eve, and my cousins and grandparents coming over. We always make cookies and watch Christmas movies. All the kids open one gift on Christmas Eve, and we go in the snow. The most important part of Christmas is celebrating Jesus’s birth and remembering everything he did and sacrificed for us. That is what Christmas means to me.” – Pari Olsen, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
Artwork by Elyse Rodgers, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
“Christmas is a worldwide holiday that brings people together and makes happiness and joy for many people… I think Christmas means a time to celebrate Jesus and celebrate peace and happiness. I also think it’s a time to reflect for everyone and look back at the rights and wrongs you have made. It is also celebrated as a time of giving, sharing and loving… Christmas is an amazing and loving holiday.” – Philip Schmitz, fifth grade, Blessed Sacrament School, Washington
St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas means a joyful time is here.” – Artwork and writing by Alexandra Marson, first grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown, Maryland
“Christmas is special to me because we get to see my family, also to celebrate Jesus’s birth. St. Nicholas gives all of the poor money. We get to pray to Jesus every single day. Christmas is a day to remember Jesus’ birth and what he has done for us.” – Colton Calomeris, fourth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
Artwork by Annabelle Payne, fifth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas is a time to remember when Jesus was first born, when Mary accepted Jesus, when Joseph and Mary had to travel the journey to Bethlehem… Christmas is also a time to breathe and focus on God and your loved ones. You can use the time off from school to spend time with family, friends and God. Christmas also means to me in a non-religious way, as a turning point. It marks the end of the slow part of the school year and getting ready to start the faster part… when you’re settled in and really ready to learn, like you are in the zone.” – Daniel Stefko, eighth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“To me, Christmas is a time of giving and thanking God for his many gifts. It is the time that Jesus was born, meaning we should honor Mary, the mother of God, and Joseph, Jesus’ foster father. Instead of expecting gifts under our Christmas tree, I believe we should give and donate to the more unfortunate people. We should also spend time to worship God and thank him for everything, especially for Jesus Christ, his Son and our greatest gift.” – Destiny Dudley, eighth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
Artwork by Ashlyn Lagana, seventh grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas to me means to spend time with family and friends, but we should never lose sight of one thing, Jesus. Christmas can sometimes distract people from Jesus with all the lights, presents and even the food. It’s good to celebrate all of that, but you should never lose sight of Jesus. What keeps me focused are those little things that remind us of Jesus, like singing songs about Jesus’ birth. Another thing that keeps me focused is looking at a cross or the Nativity…” – Elise McDonald, seventh grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas to me is not just a day that we receive and give others presents, but a day celebrating the remarkable birth of Jesus Christ. Also Christmas is a day that we spend with our families and a day to get closer to Christ. Christmas is the day that my family gets together with all my relatives that we don’t see too often, and we celebrate our traditions that we have done for many years. Overall, Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus with your family and honor all of your past traditions.” – Kailey Musterer, eighth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
Artwork by Gabriella Payne, fifth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas to me means spending time with my family and going to church on Christmas Eve. Also (it means) setting up our Advent calendar and setting up our Nativity. I also sing in the choir at church during the Christmas Eve Mass. On Christmas day, my family and friends come together in prayer, and then we eat…” – Grace Woodburn, seventh grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
Artwork by Finn Cusick, fourth grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
“Christmas is important because it is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth. Jesus is our Savior, and because of him, we are all forgiven and get to go to heaven.” – Maci Goldsmith, second grade, St. Mary’s School, Bryantown
St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“I think Christmas is a time for families to come together and celebrate Jesus’ birth together. I think we have presents to re-enact the three kings giving baby Jesus presents when he was born…” – Artwork and writing by Bellamy Williams, sixth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie Maryland
“To me, Christmas is a holiday to acknowledge and celebrate the birth of Christ. It is a time when my entire family comes together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, spend time with one another, exchange thoughtful gifts, eat a feast, and pray that the Lord grants us all peace and happiness for the coming year.” – Jonathan Fanelli, sixth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“I like Christmas because this was the day that Jesus was born. Christmas is about celebrations, family and friends. You can give gifts and make people happy. You can spend time with your family. You can also honor the birth of Jesus by going to Mass…” – Artwork and writing by Michael Bridges, sixth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“Throughout my life, Christmas has meant just one thing to me, presents. For many others around the globe, this also is what Christmas means to them. But in recent years my parents have moved presents out of the limelight and allowed Christ to move in. This has helped me realize that the birth of Christ is the primary focus of Christmas. For that I am thankful, because I hope to put Christ at the center of my life.” – Julian Righi, eighth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth, the starting of Jesus’ mission as our Savior. But Christmas is also a holiday where I get to celebrate gift giving with my family. I find Christmas to be one of the happiest, joyous and blissful times of the year. Even if some people aren’t exactly celebrating the coming of Christ, they are still coming together to celebrate each other in the form of gift-giving.” – Artwork and writing by Amara Iweanoge, seventh grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“December 25, Christmas to me is a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends. Our Savior Jesus Christ, the son of man, was born on this day and died (on Good Friday and rose on Easter) for us to have a chance at eternal life with him in heaven. Christmas is a day of giving, of joy and gifts like how the three kings gave gifts to Jesus when he was born. Jesus also gave us a gift, a gift of eternal life with him in heaven.” – Artwork and writing by Jayden Nash, eighth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“For me Christmas means union, I think that Christmas is to be with your loved ones, to be thankful for the people who are by your side and those who left, to celebrate union and the birth of our Lord Jesus, to be thankful for each new day we have and to be thankful for all the opportunities we have to thank Jesus for taking care of us. (It’s a time) to thank our family for supporting us and for guiding us on a good path, for teaching us different things such as the grace of Jesus and how he loves and protects us.” – Artwork and writing by Valeria Munoz, eighth grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“What Christmas means to me is family, friends and being thankful for everything I have. It also means to give to those that are less fortunate and to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time to reflect on the religious meaning and the significance of the day we celebrate. Although my family exchanges gifts and eats dinner and has fellowship, we always take time to make sure that those that are less fortunate enjoy the day as well.” – Andrew Brooks, seventh grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
“To me, Christmas means loving, caring and sharing the love of Jesus Christ with people. During Christmas, it’s not about getting gifts, it’s about enjoying your friends’ and family’s company and appreciating them and all that they do. I also love Christmas because Jesus and I share the same birthday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, the day Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.” – Artwork and writing by Hailey Reaves, seventh grade, St. Pius X Regional School, Bowie
January 2023 Junior Saints
In January, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. For the January Junior Saints, draw a picture and write about something that you like about your Catholic school, parish religious education class, or Catholic homeschooling. The drawings and writings should be emailed to ZimmermannM@adw.org by Wednesday Jan. 11, 2023 to Mark Zimmermann, the Catholic Standard's editor, and they should include the name, grade and school or parish of the student printed clearly.
Due to time constraints involved with reviewing the volume of submitted work, it is requested that schools or parish religious education programs limit their entries to 10 drawings and 10 writings from their students. The best formats to send are jpegs for artwork and word documents or pdfs for writing, if possible. Thank you!
