News Photo by Tyler Winowiecki Stacy Mikesch shows off an Ugly Christmas sweater she owns. Her thoughts on wearing Christmas sweaters has changed over the years.

ALPENA — With Christmas around the corner, so too are the traditions that surround the holiday: putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it, leaving Santa a note and cookies for when he comes.

Increasingly the tradition of wearing your ugly Christmas sweater is becoming more popular.

Nick Modrzynski, a U.S. Army veteran from Alpena, said as a way to connect with his brother who is away at college the two decided to wear the sweaters for Christmas.

“This year will be the first actually,” he said. “My brother and I always do a theme for Christmas being he’s away for college and I just got out of the Army.”

Modrzynski said he and his brother wore bow ties last year for what he called “Bros with Bows.” This year, however, the two would be looking for ugly Christmas sweaters with a funny cliche printed on them.

According to Time Magazine, the ugly Christmas sweater originates from Bill Cosby’s role in the Cosby show where he regularly wore them during the show’s airing. Now the trend is becoming a sign of the Christmas season.

Whether worn for the warm and fuzzy pictures depicted on it or to indulge in the growing trend, ugly Christmas sweaters are becoming the norm. Ugly Christmas sweater parties, wearing them to Christmas celebrations or just wearing them during the season are some of the ways these sweaters are becoming more ubiquitous.

However, what exactly constitutes an ugly Christmas sweater is somewhat subjective. Descriptions usually include bad taste, tacky or gaudy but these leave the range of acceptable sweaters fairly open.

Stacy Mikesch said all Christmas sweaters are ugly and tied it to wearing them as a child.

“All Christmas sweaters are ugly to me,” she said. “I’ve been wearing ugly sweaters since I was a child.”

Mikesch said as a child the sweaters were given from her grandma but became a fun way to show her Christmas spirit.

“You know how gradndmas are wanting you to look cute,” she said. “But now they’re a way to get in the Christmas season. I have boxes full of them.”

The fashion trend even has received its own day with Dec. 16 being named National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.

Purchasing an ugly Christmas sweater is fairly simple as well with local resale shops, large box stores and even entire websites devoted to selling these sweaters give a wide range of options for getting theirs in time for the Christmas season.

Tyler Winowiecki can be reached via email at twinowiecki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688. Follow Tyler on Twitter tw_alpenanews. Read his blog, Just a Thought … at www.thealpenanews.com.

News Photo by Tyler Winowiecki
Stacy Mikesch shows off an Ugly Christmas sweater she owns. Her thoughts on wearing Christmas sweaters has changed over the years.