December 26, 2005

What's your tradition?

'Tradition' isn't the best way to describe the things my families do every Christmas, as divorce means I'm not really related to about half my relatives, and where everyone is changes dramatically each year. But my mom loves Christmas, and the pattern at her house is pretty much the same: an obscene amount of decorating, numerous huge meals thanks to three skilled cooks (her, her boyfriend, and myself), grumbling church attendance on the part of the non-Christians on Christmas eve, and an absolutely disgusting array of presents opened Christmas morning. When I was little, and my parents still together, we also had a tradition of opening one gift the night before, usually socks or underwear because I would only open those if they were first (seriously, I hated getting clothes so much I would refuse to open anything soft or clothing-box-shaped for days).

What holiday do you celebrate this time of year, and what kinds of traditions are particular to your family?

No comments: