There is excitement in the air on Christmas Eve day at Maple Hill School and it is hard for the young scholars to pay attention to lessons. That afternoon parents and young brothers and sisters will pull up in their horse-drawn buggies to celebrate the season with student skits, poems, and a Christmas carol sing. Christmas Eve in Amish Country also means the usual round of chores, feeding the animals, and milking the cows and cleaning the stalls. But a dusting of snow makes the evening magical.

Two days of Christmas are celebrated by the Amish in their own special ways. There are always the chores, but there is also simple gift giving, in the spirit of the wisemen. There are visits to relatives by horse and sleigh, big family dinners, and the fun of getting together with cousins and friends to sled, build snowmen, and ice skate.

All too soon, the holiday is over, and Amish youngsters return to school filled with memories of two days overflowing with family and fun.