Seven years in review: Christmas for Harry Potter
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An in-depth look at how Harry Potter spends Christmas each year in the Wizarding World.
It is no secret that attending Hogwarts during the Christmas season is one of the most magical and heart-warming experiences throughout the entire Harry Potter series.
I thought that it’d be fun to look back on Harry’s experiences during Christmas each year!
Year 1:
Best Gift: Invisibility Cloak
Worst Gift: Fifty-pence piece
Christmas for Harry this year was described as the “best Christmas day ever.” The morning started out by receiving unexpected gifts from Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid, Hermione, the Dursleys and Dumbledore (i.e. the invisibility cloak). Following the unwrapping process with Ron, the two of them were joined by Fred, George and Percy to attend the Christmas feast. Harry, marveled by the food, had never experienced such a meal.
"“A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of think, rich gravy and cranberry sauce…”"
After spending his entire life at 4 Privet Drive, this was one meal that Harry would never forget. When the feast concluded, Harry joined the Weasley brothers out on the grounds of Hogwarts for an afternoon of snowball fights. Spending most of the day outside, the four of them trudged back to the common room wet and dripping. The rest of the day was spent inside playing chess and eating turkey sandwiches.
Waiting until everyone fell asleep, Harry used his invisibility cloak for the first time to finally search the restricted section of the library for the whereabouts of Nicolas Flamel. Eventually getting sidetracked by the lurking Argus Filch, Harry came face to face for the first time with The Mirror of Erised. The Mirror of Erised, for those who don’t know, is a magical mirror that shows the viewer their truest desire. Harry did not know this when he spotted the mirror for the first time. So, when he was met with the reflections of his dead parents and the entire Potter family (who are also deceased), staring back at him, he was truly shocked. After spending hours, just staring at the mirror, Harry finally was able to tear his eyes away, and return to his dorm.
Looking at Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts we can see that it was a pretty good one. Not only did Harry get to spend the day with loved ones, he also got to see his parents that night. Though, not physically, just being able to see Lily and James in front of him meant the world to Harry.
Year 2:
Best Gift: Book: Flying with the Cannons
Worst Gift: A toothpick
Like the previous year, Harry’s second Christmas at Hogwarts began with the opening of presents, this time they were not unexpected, and this time they were with Hermione. The Hogwarts Christmas feast came and went in a flash, and like the year before, it was one of wonder. But Harry, Ron and Hermione had bigger things to worry about.
For the entire first term, with attacks occurring all over Hogwarts by an anonymous foe claiming to be the ‘Heir of Slytherin’, Harry, Ron and Hermione, of course, needed to find out who it was. Their main suspect: Draco Malfoy.
Planning to disguise themselves as Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode using the Polyjuice Potion, the three of them were going to infiltrate the Slytherin common room and find out from Draco himself if he were the ‘Heir of Slytherin’.
After putting a sleeping draught into cupcakes and leaving them for Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Ron left their unconscious bodies in a closet and stole their shoes and a few pieces of their hair. Meeting Hermione in the first-floor girl’s lavatory, Harry and Ron joined her in drinking the Polyjuice Potion. Hermione, who doesn’t join the two on their mission to the Slytherin common room, stays hidden in one of the stalls for an unknown reason.
Only having an hour before the potion wears off, Harry and Ron quickly go to the common room located in the dungeons to question Draco. Before the hour is up, Draco personally tells them that he is not the ‘Heir of Slytherin’, and their mission was a failure.
Returning to the bathroom to tell Hermione the news, we find out that instead of finding one of Millicent’s hairs, she accidentally found one of Millicent’s cat’s. The potion, not supposed to be mixed with the DNA of an animal, has turned Hermione into a human/cat mix.
When it came to Harry’s second Christmas at Hogwarts, it was much more eventful than the first. We had an action-packed holiday, where Harry and Ron infiltrated the Slytherin common room to uncover the identity of the Hogwarts attacker. Though they failed in their mission, the readers were met with a great chapter!
Year 3:
Best Gift: Firebolt
Worst Gift: Mince pies
Like every year so far, Harry had awoken to the sound of another’s voice screaming about presents. Going through the packages at the end of his bed, Harry had come across a long thin box.
"“Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread…It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley.”"
The two stood and stared at the broom in awe, until Harry came to realize that there was no note left with the broom. Who would possibly send him the best broom in the entire world? A broom that was currently being ordered for the Irish National Team to use during the Quidditch World Cup. Why would anyone send Harry this?
Immediately the same thoughts came to Hermione when she was informed of the broom before the Christmas feast. Still pondering over the question, Hermione stayed behind after the close-knit Christmas feast of thirteen people, to speak with Professor McGonagall.
Harry and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room, where Harry wanted to use his broom servicing kit on the Firebolt. But before he could use it, Professor McGonagall entered the common room to confiscate the broom. McGonagall, like Hermione, was unsure of its origins and did not want to take the chance that it could be dangerous. So, rather than risking it, McGonagall confiscated it to have it stripped and checked for hexes and curses.
I would say that this year’s Christmas was a wash. Harry received the best broom in the world, but had it taken away before he could use it…
Year 4:
Best Gift: Penknife- could unlock any lock/ untie any knot
Worst Gift: a single tissue
Harry woke up on Christmas this year with Dobby the house elf staring over him. Screaming in fright, Harry had awoken the entire dorm, and everyone got up to open their presents. After the normal gift exchange and Christmas feast, Harry joined the Weasley brothers out on the grounds for a snowball fight. At five o’clock everyone returned to their dorms to prepare for the Yule Ball.
The Yule Ball, which was held during the Triwizard Tournament, in Harry’s fourth year, was a Christmas dance between the three schools-Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beaxbatons.
Harry and Ron escorted the Patil sister, Padma and Parvati. While Hermione was escorted by Durmstrang student, Viktor Krum. Hermione shows off her true beauty for the first time.
"“It was Hermione. But it didn’t look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into and elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow – rather nervously, it was true – but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever…”"
The rest of the night consisted of dinner and dancing – well a few dances until Harry and Ron just sat there moping in their misery of a school dance. The night was the first-time Ron showed any romantic feelings toward Hermione, and it was through his jealousy toward her and Krum together.
Year 5:
Best Gift: A set of books entitled: Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts
Worst Gift: A portrait of Harry painted by Dobby the house elf
This is the first year where Harry spent Christmas away from Hogwarts. After Mr. Weasley was brutally attacked by Lord Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, Harry, Hermione and the Weasley family spend the holidays at Grimmauld Place with Sirius.
On Christmas day, following the annual opening of gifts and a Christmas lunch prepared by Mrs. Weasley, Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin went to visit Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo’s Hospital.
The day was pretty uneventful. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny came across Neville at St. Mungo’s where he visits his parents each year. This is when we learn that Neville’s parents were tortured to insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange.
Christmas for Harry this year, was a bit of a letdown. Other than being away from Hogwarts for the first time, and not in an ideal situation, Harry still spends the holiday with loved ones.
Year 6:
Best Gift: Box of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes products
Worst Gift: A box of maggots
Similar to the previous year, Harry spends another Christmas away from Hogwarts. This year at the Weasley’s home, The Burrow. During the year’s Christmas feast, Harry and the Weasley’s are visited by newly appointed Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour.
Scrimgeour arrives to question Harry about the whereabouts of Dumbledore, who has recently been leaving Hogwarts on occasion to pursue unknown tasks. Harry, who knows just as much as Scrimgeour, states that even if he did know he wouldn’t tell him.
Here we can see Harry’s true loyalty to Dumbledore. No matter who questions him, and what position of power they hold, Harry will always stay dedicated to Albus Dumbledore.
Year 7:
Best Gift: N/A
Worst Gift: N/A
With Harry, Ron and Hermione on the run, in search of missing horcruxes, the three of them are not in attendance of Hogwarts this year. After Ron deserted Harry and Hermione, the two of them found themselves going to Harry’s hometown of Godric’s Hollow on Christmas Eve.
That night, Harry and Hermione went to the local cemetery to visit the graves of Lily and James Potter. The two were also in search of Bathilda Bagshot in Godric’s Hollow and ended up following a woman claiming to be her back to her residence.
The woman turned out to be Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, and attacked to two of them. Fighting for their lives, Harry and Hermione narrowly escaped, Harry’s wand breaking in the process.
This is the last Christmas we see in the Harry Potter series. It truly shows the desperation in Harry that year, and that he would literally do anything in his power to stop Lord Voldemort.
Harry’s Christmases don’t always turn out the best, but each year he spends the holidays with loved ones. Though as the series goes on, and each year becomes darker and darker, Rowling still makes sure that Harry has an eventful Christmas surrounded by family.
Next: Harry Potter and the Christmas he shared with Sirius Black
***Honorable Mention***
Mrs. Weasley’s hand-knitted annual Christmas sweater is Harry’s greatest gift of all. Molly Weasley is Harry’s mother in every sense of the word. Though she didn’t birth him, she truly treats Harry as one of her own, and exemplifies this each Christmas when she hand-knits a sweater for Harry and all her children.