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Share Your Family Custom, Tradition or Ritual
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Anna's Christmas Sherry Ward's Christmas When my first daughter was born in 1995, I told myself that every year during the Christmas Holiday that she and I would gather toys, clothes and books and other items around the house and donate them to other families that didn't have as much as us. I wanted her to appreciate the meaning of giving and not always expect to receive gifts for Christmas. She is now 7 and we continue to do this. One year, I let her pick out $50.00 worth of toys from the local Dollar Store and we went to the Hospital on Christmas Eve day and I had her hand out the toys to all the children that were staying there. She truly enjoyed seeing the kids and I hope it made her appreciate her health, family and what she has. Terry Clark's Irish-American Christmas Tradition Although this is not truly an Irish tradition, we associate it with the Irish because of the great potato famine. Every year since I was little ( a very long time ago), my mother and father used to have an open house for all of their neighbors, family and friends on Christmas Eve, to celebrate. It was always a potluck buffet style affair. Always lots of goodies and those special treats. We were the poorest among them all and this was a glorious day for us as children. So many people, so much food, the clothes were so pretty and the tree so big. Before the arrival of all the guests, my mother made a very simple pot of potato soup. Nothing fancy, just what she had in the cupboard, usually including canned milk and ham. When asked why we were to eat such a simple soup before all of the delicious cakes, cookies and candies, you would think that she would say that it was good for you to eat simple before all of the rich food. But her comment was, "To remind us that there are those who do not even have this simple soup to eat and to remind us of all of our blessings." To even think of it to this day, makes me teary. We have kept this simple tradition for almost 50 years now and my children have no other request for Christmas eve supper except for potato soup. Martha Fernandez' Cuban-American Christmas Tradition I have three children and five grandchildren. In the morning of Christmas, my children with their respective families plus my mother, father, a cousin and her mother (a total of 16 people) come to my house to exchange our gifts and spend most of the day together. Our tradition is not only to get together at my house every year which we have been doing since my children were born but also to open our gifts by order of age, one by one. In other words, the youngest person opens her gifts while everybody else just watches and celebrates. We like to give more than one gift per person, especially to the children who get many toys. Only when that person is done, the next person in line (according to age) opens hers/his. This is done rather early in the morning, we gather in the living room and while we open the gifts we eat breakfast. We usually have a light breakfast, i.e., café con leche and pound cake. The pound cake is another tradition since it is made for us, every Christmas and brought to us the night before by the eldest aunt in the family who happens to live next door to us and will be turning 89 years old next March 2004! By the time we finish opening the gifts, it's time to set a buffet table with lots of food, including left-overs from the night before that we celebrate Xmas Eve in the Cuban style, roast pork, etc. We take lots of pictures and spend most of the day together until late afternoon when the young couples and their children go visit other relatives. All throughout the day, family members and friends come and go visiting us. Usually about 50 people come by our house Christmas Day. I feel very fortunate that we are a close knit family and able to do this, we wouldn't change it for anything. Sandy Swanson's Christmas We
have been cutting down our Christmas tree for many years now.
Every Christmas tree that we have had, my husband cuts off a thin piece
of the trunk, maybe 1/4 inch thick. He
sands it on both sides and drills a small hole on the top of the trunk piece,
writes the year in very small letters or numbers (1995, 1996, etc.) above the
hole. He then varnishes the piece
(shellac, polyurethane, etc.) and I put a thin piece (four or five inches) of
fancy ribbon through the hole making a nice bow at the top.
We hang these pieces on our Christmas tree every year.
We probably have over 25 now. This
year, I actually bought a small artificial tree and I am going to hang them on
this tree. You can cut down your own tree, or purchase it from a lot. It just has to be a live tree. Eddie’s Memories of Christmas Shared with Brothers and Sisters My first memories of Christmas go back to a time when I
remember just the Christmas tree, Mom singing and Dad decorating. In the
beginning I remember the smell of a fresh cut tree most of all and then the
beautiful colors and finally the shiny bulbs and tinsel. The shiny bulbs and
tinsel were most beautiful when the lights were out on the tree, the living room
was dark and the presents were tucked under the lower branches. Sisters and brothers were added to my memories each year it seemed until I was 8 years old. I remember lying under the tree looking up through the branches…it seemed the tree was so tall! Jan and I knocked the tree over one year in Erie crawling out from under it after enjoying the upward view. My favorite bulbs were the plastic lanterns and my favorite lights were Noma Lights with red beads to hug the lights to the branches. Dad was always in charge of the decorating on Christmas Eve and we usually bought the tree in the afternoon just before decorating. Mom was always busy in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner and stuffing the turkey for Christmas Dinner the next day. When her work was done, Mom would hang a bulb or two and a few pieces of tinsel. She seemed to just take it in and enjoy the view while Dad stood proudly. Although I must admit I am not real religious, my early memories included the Manger Scene with the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Wise men and the lambs. How warm and welcome a scene it was. I would stare at the Baby Jesus hoping to seem him move his out-stretched arms or turn his head toward me. I always felt he looked down upon our family with tenderness and love. From
the very beginning I felt the love, joy and security of Christmas. Mom and Dad
made sure we all felt that way…although I do remember in Richmond, Jan singing
“Tammy…Tammy’s in Love” for which she was scolded because it was not a
Christmas song. We sat in the corner together while she played with her doll and
we both looked at each other knowing nothing could really spoil Christmas. Mom
and Dad would never really let that happen. The challenge in my younger years was discovering where Mom and Dad hid the presents. My most successful Safari was in either Erie or Wilkinsburg. The present was hidden on the top shelf of Mom and Dad’s closet. It rattled and it was quite large. Little steel balls seemed to be rolling around on a metal surface…I was sure it was broken. On Christmas morning I unwrapped a shooting range, complete with pistol, steel balls, target and a metal base all contained in a plastic funnel-like structure. I loved it. My favorite hiding place to explore was inside the foldaway couch. It was always packed with presents. The problem was they all felt the same and my hand could only reach about 3 inches into the “treasure chest” of presents. My imagination always ran wild. What could they be? I wonder if I’m touching one of mine? Of course I could not share my joy and expectation with anyone. Mom and Dad would be mad. The rest of you knew Santa had the presents. Ahhh! Santa Clause. I found out when I was 4 years old. We were living in Erie at the time, Jan was 3, John was 1 and Annie was on the way! I was helping Mom make Mom and Dad’s bed in the morning after Dad went to work. Out of the blue I asked Mom the big question. She tried to avoid it but I made that impossible …and so my suspicions were confirmed. She kept my spirit alive by challenging me to make sure each of you was sure Santa would be there for you each year. Christmas became even more fun for me then! This was my kind of challenge: tie Adam and Eve to the birth of Jesus and then to a little fat man in a red suit who slides down chimneys with presents! I have always loved every minute of it! I learned that the adventure of Christmas starts as soon as you want it to. The adventure gets better as you see the same spark in a brother or sister’s eye as you feel in your heart. The expectation, the desire to surprise each other on Christmas morning…knowing how happy Mom and Dad always were during that time of year. The taste of cookies, the Christmas stories on TV…Scrooge every Christmas Eve, and most especially decorating the tree! Nothing
can surpass the Adventure of looking for a Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve. What
was easy when I was a little boy became a crisis as I got older. I felt
responsible to find the best tree…even when all the lots were empty. Dad
seemed to thrive on the challenge of doing the impossible. Sometimes it was dark
when we finally found a tree! Best of all I remember 2 hunts for a tree on
Christmas Eve. The first great hunt was actually when the family had moved to Amarillo and I was in Oklahoma with my young family. Dad as usual had put off the hunt until Christmas Eve. Mary and I and the kids had just arrived an hour or two after lunch. We went out looking around 4 PM. Most lots were closed or out of trees. We, the boys and Dad because this was real man’s work, were debating about which tree was the best tree. There were only a few to pick from and it was almost dark. We were sure the girls were worried. We were at K-Mart, we finally picked it out, the lot was closed, it was free, I tossed it over the fence and broke off the top 2 feet of the tree. Dad immediately proclaimed, “Awe the … with it! Pick any tree!”. We did and it was beautiful as always when we all finished decorating it together. The second great hunt was with my own children…but that is another story! The art of picking out the right Christmas Tree is not learned from a book. It is acquired through endless cumulative hours of lifting, turning tilting and discussing…measuring, oohs and ahhhs etc. etc. Each year we become more adept at carrying on the lessons from the previous year and all of those from before. It is as if we each carry the burden of all of mankind’s experience with Christmas Trees, for each one is quickly assessed and pronounced either fit or unfit be as it may. We are each Judge and Jury and when we shop together all judges and juries must be in agreement: "“that is the perfect tree!" And so each year we go about this most important ritual. My early lessons taught me that a tree is tall and full and it is as wide as it is tall. I learned this finally when I returned from my first few months in the Navy. Dad picked out his usual tree and I suddenly realized it was 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide…the thumb rule I knew in my heart I now consciously understood! Surely an adventure which ranks up there with Safaris for presents and hunting for a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve is Christmas morning. But wait, Christmas Eve after going to bed. I remember the sound of my heart reverberating through my bedsprings. I remember the flurry of noise from present wrapping downstairs. The noise usually continued to 3 or 4 AM and then it got quiet. I always waited a respectable amount of time (30 minutes or so) before embarking on “the great exploration”. But first the stocking chock full of wonderful goodies and fascinating tiny toys…and a flashlight…always a flashlight with fresh batteries! Now downstairs to the tree! As time went on my exploration party grew from a group of one to two and then to three…for this was also man’s work and John first stepped up then Dan. We were like Lewis and Clark and Dan, complete with flashlights! Squeezing, shaking, name reading…Santa Clause signature identification…all were a part of an annual adventure unsurpassed by anything I can remember. Then and finally are the memories of opening the presents Christmas Morning…as brief and as precious as Christmas Eve. After making quiet noises to ensure a gentle awakening for the rest of the family it was time to tear into the presents. In my younger years it was the joy of opening my own presents. As I have gotten older it has become the pleasure of seeing the joy on the faces of those opening their presents. I remember Glen Bernie when Jan got the record player and Annie danced all morning to the music. I remember Mary wearing boxing gloves in Meadville, standing there grinning like the World Champion Boxer. There are so many snapshots in my memories of Christmas…but what rings true throughout is the warmth, security, closeness and happiness of sharing something truly wonderful together each year. It is a time of year when we all remember to act like the human beings we really are. We are each important to each other and have an intense desire to share happiness. We work quickly, efficiently and so very happily. We should live our lives as happily and selflessly all the year through. I love my Family through all times and circumstances. These are my fondest memories of Christmas at home with Mom and Dad! Love
Eddie |
Traditions: Freedom American Culture
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