anyalindholm

Students walk into Costco with their moms hoping to score some free fall samples, but then what to their wondering eyes do appear? Instead of a jack-o’-lantern, they find a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. Most people are under the impression that there are 12 distinct months in a year, but the Christmas joy has spread all the way into September, blurring the last four months of the year together.

Most students mark the changes of seasons by the release of flavored holiday Starbucks drinks, but for senior Hannah Walz, Christmas comes not once a year, but all year long. She dubbed herself the “Christmas Queen” (CQ for short) sophomore year. “I bring Christmas everywhere I go, whether it is school, home, or out with friends. Christmas will always be around,” Walz said. She realized her undying love for the holiday when she chose to listen to Christmas music during art class in October two years ago.

This event marked the beginning of the CQ’s reign. She listens to Christmas music all year long.  Walz even turned on “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” when handed the auxiliary cord during an intense dance party with her friends. But, this came as no surprise to them. She’s a pro at playing Name That Tune Christmas Edition.

“You can name any Christmas song, and I know every word to it,” Walz said.

“Our friends will be having a sleepover and she’ll wake us all up by saying, ‘Wake up, it’s Christmas,’ while playing Christmas music in the background. You want to die, but I hate to say that it’s funny,” senior Macie Kubat said.

Walz hosted a “halfway-to-Christmas” party on 25 June. She has even named her car, or “sleigh” as she refers to it, Prancer. She feels that this title describes her to a T, so much so that she wrote her college application personal statement on this unique aspect of herself.

“Sorry, who’s Hannah? I go by CQ,” she said. Her friends have learned to respect the fact that CQ is not just a nickname to Walz; it’s who she is.

“It’s odd for me to call her Hannah. Sometimes when we are in public places and people overhear me calling her Christmas Queen, we get weird looks. That’s okay with us though,” Kubat said.