Just like a majority of areas in America, the residents have their yearly Christmas traditions. There is the yearly Christmas parade held downtown on Main St., there is the light up ceremony downtown, and some people have their own family traditions as well.

“We usually go down to my grandma’s house and we spend the whole day with our family,” Madison Consolidated High school freshman Alexia Dempler stated. “Oh, we watch Christmas movies, tell old stories, and we open all of our gifts together.”

Unfortunately, it is true that some people don’t give or receive gifts in their families. Instead they celebrate Christmas with Christmas dinner and by going to church. To some that may not seem like a fun Christmas, but to them that is the best Christmas they can have.

Some people don’t even get to celebrate the holidays or they do it in a much more modest fashion. Many people around Madison give gifts and donations to organizations who help those are unable to get gifts for Christmas. Schools, such as Madison Consolidated, and churches utilize the angel tree program.

“Last year and the year before the school paired with the Salvation Army, and the angel tree program,” said MCHS counselor, Lori Slygh. Any student who is a part of the Madison school district in k-12 can participate in the program. The schools sends out letters and phone calls, but people can also go here.

If those looking for assistance are unable to do so, they can go to the Salvation Army or to the school, according to Slygh. “I do not know the exact number of students helped, however, I do know there were 100 participants. Each school took a batch of angels, (and) the high school took twenty angels from the tree.” The Salvation Army helped over 300 in addition to the 100 the Madison school district. “

The school definitely plans to continue helping families in one way or another with the help of the salvation army,” Slygh concluded.