By Lindsay Baumgartner

On Dec. 25, the number of babies born drops from a daily average of 220,000 to 172,000. One of those rare babies born on that special day is freshman Kaitlin Ochs, who in addition to celebrating the holidays during December, also celebrates her birthday.

Delivered on Dec. 25 by Dr. Jolly, Kaitlin Ochs is the only one of 2000 students at Legend High School with her birthday on Christmas.

“I like it because it’s different,” says Ochs, “not many people have this birthday and I like being one of the few that does.” Even though Ochs enjoys having her birthday on Dec. 25, there have been things she and her family have had to work around.

“We usually have family over on Christmas Eve to celebrate my birthday, and we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. But it doesn’t really matter to me if we do it the day before or the day of,” said Ochs.

“It’s hard sometimes because the holidays are busy, and it’s difficult to plan a party. So my friends come over a week before or a week after.”

Ochs also likes her birthday being on Dec. 25 because it’s her favorite time of year.

“I absolutely love snow, so I like that my birthday is when it’s snowy out,” said Ochs. “I also love Christmas and the holidays, and it’s cool to have two things I like be so close.”

Ochs doesn’t feel left out on her big day; her family helps to make it special for her.

“When I was little my family put up a special tree for called ‘the birthday tree,’ and when my friends would come over, they would put my birthday presents under that tree. We still do it,” said Ochs.

“They also told me that there was a birthday fairy. So every year there would be a present from the birthday fairy under the Christmas tree. And a birthday card from Santa. I thought it was cool that Santa knew when my birthday was.”

Despite popular belief, having one’s birthday on a holiday isn’t all that bad.

“If you have your birthday on a holiday, try and find a special day to celebrate,” Ochs said. It helps make the day more special.

“To be honest, sometimes I forget that it’s my birthday month all together. But that’s okay, because I really like the holidays too,” said Ochs.

“This year is going to be like any other year. I’ll have my own birthday tree and celebrate with the traditions we’ve already made.” Ochs said.