Christmas Traditions and Memories

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. I love all the lights, smells and warmth of the holiday. But what I love most are the memories and traditions that I have as a young girl. One of my family's traditions is, before any gift can be opened we read the Christmas story from the Bible. I don't know when this started but it is all I have ever known. As little girls. my sister and I would crawl up in my pawpaw's lap and he would open his old, worn and tattered Bible and read us the story of baby Jesus. Then he would pray. When my sister had her two sons, they too did the same thing- crawled up in pawpaw's lap and he read the Christmas story. And now, Drew has had the opportunity to do the same each year (although I am not sure how much longer pawpaw's knees will hold out). These tradition has been a part of our family for at least 40 years (sorry to tell your age Holly) and still is today. I don't want anyone else to read the story other than my pawpaw and I am sad to think that one Christmas Day, this reading that we have gotten so used to, will stop.


Another tradition we had was when my great-grandparents were alive the whole family (and it is a lot) would end up at their house Christmas Day evening for fun, food etc... I remember all the sounds of laughter throughout the house and the sound of dominoes being shuffled across the table as my unlce's would sit and play a couple of rounds. I can still see my great grandma, Mattie Belle, in the kitchen wearing her apron accented with a big smile, loving every minute of it.


As I got older, my great grandparents passed away and everyone started having their own family things to do, so we began doing our own thing. We would go out on Christmas Eve and drive through Highland Park and look at the big fancy houses all adorned with lights, then we would end up at some cozy little restaurant and have hot chocolate or we might make a trip to the mall.


The fact that my great- grandparents are no longer alive does not mean that the traditions have to stop- it just means that we make new ones. A couple of the traditions I have started are, Drew and I make a birthday cake (or cupcakes) for Jesus, or we might spend Christmas Eve at the Gaylord looking around at all the trains and decorations.


I know at his age Drew could really care less about traditions or memories, but I hope that he will. As he gets older, I hope he will look back and cherish and hold on to them as much as I have all these years.


What traditions do you have with your family?