Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Season's Greetings to all!
This time of year is full of traditions, no matter what religion you are. For me, learning about other people's traditions and faith give me the opportunity to grow as a person.
This can be a joyful time of year or a really tough time of year and it's important to recognize the differences for people who are struggling. So as you enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season please remember to be kind to the grumpy man or lady that you run into on your joyful path. Sometimes just remembering to hold the door open for a stranger can brighten up their day.
Now for a few of my favorite traditions...
We put up our artificial Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We have an artificial tree because we needed to stop the annual "when are we going to get a tree" fight. LOL Now I can put the tree up as soon as I want and not worry about pine needles dropping everywhere. This year I found these pine scented sticks that you can hang in your tree. They actually do work. You can smell the pine when you walk in the house.
The first ornament that goes on the tree is my daughter's first Christmas. It gets a prime spot.
Then comes our beloved Macy ornament. For those of you who don't know we lost Macy in March. This will be our first Christmas without her in eleven years. Believe it or not, she loved Christmas. She could hardly wait (and sometimes didn't) to open her presents on Christmas morning.
I've always heard it's good luck to have a bird in your tree. My Secret Santa (nurse Lu) gave this one to me many many years ago. I now have quite a few birds in our tree...
Another tradition for us is Christmas Eve pajamas. Every year for as long as I can remember I've gotten a new pair of pajamas or a night dress. So when we had our daughter we continued the tradition.
On Christmas Eve we go to a late movie so it will be time to go to bed when we get home. Santa comes after everyone has gone to bed... and in the morning we discover what he has left us in out stockings.
One of my favorite traditions is that Santa always brings us a box of cereal. When I moved to America (age 8), I remember being shocked by the abundance of different cereals in the grocery store. In England we pretty much had two kinds of cereals...shredded wheat and weetabix. I don't know if that is how the tradition started but to this day, Santa leaves a box of sugary cereal for each of us.
The last tradition I'm going to share is Christmas Crackers.... If you don't know what they are, Google them. They are so much fun. We did them in England when I was little and in the past twenty years I have been able to find them here. We pop them open after our Christmas dinner. Then we tell the joke and wear the paper crowns.
So...What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
Have a blessed Happy Christmas and Hanukkah.
