At age 21, I had a Christmas tree for the first time. I had helped decorate trees before, mostly for family friends, but last year was the first time I got to participate in the holiday’s full celebrations.

As a study abroad student in Madrid, Spain, my very welcoming – but very Catholic – host family could not seem to grasp that not everyone celebrates Christmas.

I think my explanation of Hanukkah over lunch one day was more confusing than illuminating, and when I said that I had never had a Christmas tree before, I am pretty sure I lost them entirely.

They were good sports. My host family let me help decorate, they made me Christmas cookies, they even tried to teach me Christmas songs. (They were all in Spanish, though, so they weren’t even ones I could recognize from the radio.) I enjoyed everything, except for the eggnog.

I even got to help build the nativity village, complete with tinfoil river and figurines of Bethlehemites kneeling around the manger, all while listening to the story of Papá Noel, Spain’s version of Santa.

Madrid also had these amazing Christmas markets right in the middle of the city, with all kinds of ornaments, wreaths, stockings and fake blood.

That’s right, in Europe, apparently it is a tradition to dress in costumes for Christmas instead of Halloween.

My host sisters went to the market and came back with some extra tinsel, and a couple of vampire costumes they planned to wear to a friend’s Christmas party. And even though I didn’t personally dress up, I came to appreciate the custom as part of my Spanish experience.

The whole holiday season was a real thrill for me, and it’s not just that I’ve never had a Christmas tree; it was my first true Christmas experience. I spent my entire life at Jewish day school, so I never had classmates who celebrated anything but Hanukkah.

This was not a family who would be eating Chinese food for dinner and then going to the movies on Dec. 24, and I kind of liked that.

But even though I’d never been a part of the Christmas spirit, per se, I have always loved the season.

It’s festive and fun, and it’s something to look forward to as the weather starts to get cold and depressing.

So why do I have to celebrate only one holiday this season?

I still intend to light Hanukkah candles, but maybe afterward I’ll listen to “Jingle Bell Rock.” It’s not like I feel left out, but I always kind of sensed I was missing out on something. And now that I’ve had my first Christmas, I am pretty excited to do it again.

And that’s why I am glad to say that this year, I have decided to continue embracing other traditions.

My roommates and I have a little tree. It is about two feet tall, and it has little lights and little ornaments. It is absolutely adorable. Looking at it makes me want to buy and wrap tiny little presents to put underneath.

But it doesn’t make me like eggnog.

Holiday Guide Editor Aliza Appelbaum is a Medill senior. Reach her at [email protected].