Christmas Traditions

One of the things that makes Christmas such a special time of year, at least for me anyway, is that it is a very nostalgic and sentimental time. For many people, Christmas was such a big deal when they were a child that for the rest of their lives, they remember certain things from childhood Christmases. One of the reasons it's easier to remember is because of Christmas traditions. Most families have certain things that they do every year as part of their celebration. Because it's done every year, it makes it easier to recall when you get older and it makes you sentimental - remembering "the good old days".

I have fond memories of several things that our family did at Christmas when I was a child. On Christmas Eve, my dad would always read the "Christmas story" to us from the Bible. After all of the other Christmas Eve festivities were over, right before we would go to bed, he would read Luke 2:1-20. When I was really little, it seemed to take forever, but as I got older it seemed to go faster and faster. It wasn't really Christmas until that passage was read to us. After my sisters and I grew up and had our own families, my dad continued the tradition, albeit a little differently, by calling his grandchildren on Christmas Eve and reading them "'Twas the night Before Christmas". 

I also remember Christmas morning - my sisters and I waiting, (I won't say patiently) and sitting at the top of the stairs, then inching down step by step, eager to get to the tree and see what gifts lay underneath. I think because Christmases when I was young tended to be very humble and lean, I remember more about the time together and what we did, then the actual gifts. I think it's better that way.

As we become adults, we start our own traditions. Some are carried over from things we did as kids. For example, our traditional Christmas Eve dinner is Shepherds Pie, which is what my mom made on Christmas Eve when we were kids. We also have an big Christmas cookie decorating party for all the kids (which the adults have a lot of fun with, too!) Then there is the little hide and seek game with the little miniature Santa Claus ornament on the Christmas tree, that has been carried over from my wife's family.

The point to all of this is that these shared experiences with family and friends, and the way that they are repeated every year, create memories that live on, sometimes beyond us. Sometimes they are the glue that holds us together. They are an important part of the holiday season. 

What are some of your favorite family traditions for this time of year? I'd love for you to share them in the comments below. Maybe this is the year to start a new tradition...