Today, there are many reasons to celebrate.

As people throughout the region gather to spend this holiday with family, friends and loved ones, many carry on traditions celebrated for many generations before theirs.

And in many cases, people are creating their own new, special traditions for Christmas Day celebrations or anytime during the holiday season

Gail Graham of Middletown is one of those people. Her nine grandsons all at some point have been interested in trains and enjoy “The Polar Express,” a film based on a children’s book about a boy who boards a magical train on Christmas Eve. Years ago, her grandsons took a trip to Indiana to ride a “Polar Express” train. The trip proved costly, so her stepdaughter asked if Graham might be able to host a “Polar Express”-themed party. A tradition was born.

“My son-in-law is the conductor who looks exactly like Tom Hanks. Papaw is the hobo complete with a fire outside; I am an elf; and of course Santa arrives at the precise moment,” Graham said. “Each child receives an invitation in the mail with their golden ticket. They arrive at our house with the soundtrack playing, a train whistle in the background, lanterns lit and the conductor on the porch to punch their tickets.”

Family Christmas traditions also are important to Lula Hartman of Miami Twp. A while back, she found a Christmas tree in a battered box on sale at Rike’s department store. She decided to buy it, and transformed it into a “Charlie Brown tree.” Hartman found 45 odds and ends from around her house, including an empty medicine bottle, a recipe, a wallet and a comb, and topped the tree with a $20 bill folded into a bow tie shape. Each year, her family members who come over to celebrate Christmas can look at the tree for a period of time before she removes or covers it. The players must try to recall as many items as they can that Hartman placed on the tree that year, and the winner receives a prize.

“My grandchildren, even my children, loved it,” she said.

Ever since Dave Agoston of Trenton was old enough to remember, the 61-year-old’s uncle placed a Santa Claus figure called “Ho Ho,” handmade out of a special type of wood, on his roof. When his uncle moved into a condo in Florida years ago, he no longer had a place for the figure, and asked Agoston to keep the tradition alive for him. Agoston has had to reconstruct the Santa figure a few times, but has kept his promise.

“Santa has been on my roof every Christmas since he left,” Agoston said.

For Ashley Barger of Hamilton and her family, owners of the Hamilton Family Fun Center, the focus for the holidays is on giving.

“Our Christmas Day tradition is to open our facility up from 6-10 p.m. for everyone in town to come in for free with a donation of a canned good that we donate to Tree of Life Church,” she said. “We have had many families come and enjoy this event.”

Susan Hildebrant of Middletown and her family had to start a new holiday tradition because they now live all over — from Morocco, to Florida, to Vermont, to Ohio. One of her daughters came up with the idea of using an application called Path to electronically share photos of each family’s Elf on the Shelf, a special elf that is placed in and around the home during the holidays.

“My three grandkids in Morocco have loved seeing all the different places where we place them,” Hildebrant said of the elves. “It has been a wonderful way for us all to stay connected.”

Justin Ord of Greenville remembers going to Mass on Christmas Eve as a child, and then coming home to find presents under the tree.

“The tradition was trying to stay awake during midnight mass so that we could be awake for the presents,” he said. “ … My two older brothers and my sister and I would try to stay awake. … I have two kids, and I’m ready to share the traditions that have been passed.”