The holiday season is here and every tradition we have is being taken out of storage, hung, draped, bought, baked and displayed. Important things are done a certain way. In our home, our son goes with dad to chop down the Christmas tree and they head out for grilled cheeses and hot chocolate after.
I decorate the tree, along with the kids. We do all our decorating in one day. We have Christmas crackers, a tradition from Ireland and England, and eat things we don't normally eat during the year. Special things need to be kept for special times or else they wouldn't be special.
One thing I did a couple of weeks ago was buy mince pies, which are traditional European desserts made from dried fruits, candied cherries and cloves, covered in a delicious warm, buttery crust. We eat them with freshly whipped cream.
I'm not crazy about the filling of the pies but I bought them excitedly anyway, because they remind me of tradition. I can't wait to cook them even though they weren't a great favorite from my youth. They remind me of good times I had as a kid and sometimes good childhood memories can be hard to find.
I'm getting a traditional plum pudding and Irish Christmas cake this year -- yes, the fruit cake with the almond/marzipan and white icing -- the one everyone dreads that I like -- but only on Christmas! For some of us, it's more than the cake -- it's memories and stability and comfort. I'd never eat that cake any other time of year. But during the holidays, somehow it's delectable!
We put our decorations in the same place every year, it wouldn't look right if we switched stuff around. We love Christmas lights, candles and warm vanilla and apple-cinnamon plug-ins.
Log fires are a must, as is watching Home Alone, A Christmas Story and a few other classics. Not watching these movies would be tantamount to a crime, as far as my children are concerned.
As adults, we host a Christmas party every year, where everyone gathers in our home for food and wine and the fun is non-stop. We introduced many people to Christmas crackers at previous parties and now they're a highlight -- from cracking them with a partner to the wearing of paper hats in the cracker (mandatory) and everyone has to read their lame joke found inside, as well as wear the cheesy gift hidden in the center.
New traditions with our kids are great too. I could never understand the hours of work put in on Christmas Eve and Day, especially by the women of the house. They didn't seem to be having a lot of fun. Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year so we just have a good time -- maybe walking around town enjoying the festivities, tracking Santa via the computer or heading to a nice place for cider, cake or cocoa and welcoming in neighbors for a while.
On Christmas Day, no more than a couple of hours are put in for Christmas dinner when we'd all rather play with gifts and games and watch movies together by the fire. No stress, just enjoying the company of others and, quite frankly, eating too much of all the things we put together for the holidays and being thankful we can do it.
Giving is more important that receiving, over-said and under-used but true. Tradition also inspires us to remember those who are less fortunate like kids who may not get a gift at all or their families who have no festive foods to cook. Giving away unwrapped gifts and non-perishable foods can make a family get that feeling too.
Would we do this in February, June or September? A cinnamon and clove scented home in July? Minced pies? I think not! It wouldn't feel right and that's what holiday traditions do -- give us that feeling that only comes once a year and feels so special -- but would never work in any other season.
The combination of all our holidays foods and traditions, recipes, decor and get-togethers are what make the holidays so good. Doing things a certain way, year after year -- eating certain foods and putting up decor in its usual place is a tribute to the good days gone by and makes sure they'll be there in the future.
Tradition is more than just repetition. It lets us know our past and gives us something to look forward to in our future. It's that feeling that is so similar to other families but is still somehow unique to ours.
So do the same things again this year and enjoy every bit of it. Make it magical for your kids so that they'll do it for their kids and magical traditions will remain. And here's to the poor old Christmas fruit cakes -- give them one last chance to remain a great holiday custom -- I am!
Tell Us
What are your traditions? How do they make you feel?
Edited by Malu Banuelos