Happy holidays: It's the most wonderful time of the year

It is the holiday season -- time to spend with friends and family, to sit in the living room and watch Rudolph, Frosty and Santa on the TV. It’s time for hot cocoa, lights, snow and gifts. It’s time for Marriah Carey to make her early appearance. Even with the warmth and comfort inside, there is still much to do outside.

The Well Worship Experience at College View Church held an Ugly Christmas Sweater competition on Saturday, December 4. The winner will receive an undetermined prize for who has the best ugly Christmas sweater. The competition took place in the young adult room of the church, with Pastor Guadalupe Montour heading the competition with her team. When asked about the competition, she stated, “the uglier, the merrier!”

Downtown Lincoln has been turned into the North Pole. The downtown district has been decorated with the most festive elements possible including lights, an inflatable Santa, places to write people's names on the Naughty or Nice List and a candy cane trail. The CEO of the downtown district, Todd Ogden, said in an interview that “We wanted to create one destination in Downtown to attract people to, that they can enjoy, giving them memories for many years to come and also highlight everything downtown has to offer while they’re here.”

Lincoln is bringing something back for the first time in nearly a decade with the drive-thru light show. In Haymarket Park, there is a stretch of road less than a mile long filled with lights synced up to music. You can drive down through the park until January 1 and enjoy the light show. Nikki Chipps, the general manager of the light show, said in an interview, “It is amazing having something like this at the very heart of Lincoln.”

The holidays are more than just getting to go and do something. As the semester ends, this time of year is a time to take a breath and relax. When finals are over and there are no projects, there are no tests to study for, it is a time to be with family.

By TJ Pittenger