Christmas time is full of warmth and comfort. Cozy blankets wrapped around us as we cuddle by the fire. Hot cocoa with marshmallows sipped over cookies and conversations. Warm embraces and family all lend themselves to the comfort of the holidays.
There is something more that just makes this season special beyond any other time of year.
More than any other time, this season is full of traditions packed tight. Some of these are more universal like lighting the Chanukah candles, decorating your Christmas Tree, and turning your yard into a landing strip for small aircraft.
Some traditions are unique to your family. Maybe, Grandma has a secret cookie recipe that only gets made for Christmas or you have a board game tournament.
Other traditions may be a twist on universal traditions that your family has made uniquely yours. Perhaps the youngest person in your family gets to light the first candle in the menorah each year. You could decorate your tree the first Saturday after Thanksgiving and take turns putting an ornament on the tree.
For my family, our traditions began with a trip to Vermont each year to visit my dad’s uncle. He lived in a cabin in the woods. We would take a walk and cut our tree. When it was put up back home in New Jersey, the house would smell like pine for days.
Christmas Day after opening gifts, we would go to Grandma and Grandpa “down the street”. (We called them that because the other grandparents lived literally across the yard.) There we would eat and take the grandkids photo in front of the tree before we were allowed to think about presents.
Christmas Day evening, was spent with more family at Grandma and Grandpa across the yard.
Some other Christmas traditions in my family include a giant stocking and wrapping paper unique to each kid.
The giant stocking is something my parents started 40 plus years ago when they took a picture of all their kids’ first Christmas in a giant stocking. 4 kids and six grandkids have taken the picture so far and I’m looking forward to Christmas 2021 when my second will have her/his photo taken in it.
By far my favorite thing my parents did for us growing up was the way Santa wrapped the gifts at our house. There were never any tags on the gifts so peaking at the tree was useless for inspecting what boxes might be yours.
Instead, we had to first go to our stockings where we would find our wrapping paper. Each family member had our own unique wrapping paper that identified our gifts. We were always care not to mix up our wrapped stocking gifts for fear of mixing up the big stuff.
After we knew our special paper, we would scramble around the tree gathering every gift that matched our paper. Wrapped packages got piled high and once we were sure we got all our gifts, the unwrapping free for all started. Paper would fly everywhere in the unwrapping frenzy.
This process is the exact opposite of what my wife’s family does for gifts. Youngest to oldest, one by one gifts were opened and displayed for all to see.
Image our shock when we experienced each other’s Christmas for the first time. What do you mean I have to wait to open my gift? Where do I look, what’s going on, why are the kids running every where grabbing presents?
Regardless, of what your family traditions are, it’s the comfort of them that brings a special warmth to the winter holiday season.
2020 is no different. Yes, our traditions may be a little different this year, but think of the new traditions you can start, like Grandpa recounting the story of the Covid Christmas each Christmas Eve.