What are your Christmas family traditions?

[trish_scotland]

When i was a little girl on the last day of school before the holidays our headmaster would take us all to the church we would sing carols have our nativity play and pray thanking the lord for everthing, my dad worked hard all year and got good tips at christmas to make sure that we had a big beautiful turkey all the trimmings and a huge trifle for desert. We always got new toys and clothes. Mum always had a huge tree which my sisters and i helped decorate. dad always reminded us the true meaning of christmas about jesus. Nana dads mum would always be with us for christmas as she lived a few doors away alone as grandad died when we were very young. We were a big happy family pulling christmas krakers making jokes playing with toys and being together. We would always buy a wreath for the graves of loved ones at christmas. Now that is down to me as my dad and nana are in heaven with grandad and those happy days are memories. As i have a little boy i now do all these things for him and my husband who also works hard. I love christmas i have lots of happy memories of christmas and i hope to give my son happy memories of it too.

 

[jeanne71350]

That would be so neat!! I really hope it works out for you.

And please, please, tell me what’s in gumbo!..I’ve always wanted to know how to make it - Louisiana style! :yup::bounce:

God Bless
Therese

Ooooh…gumbo. so many different kinds.

My personal favorite is the seafood gumbo. My grandma makes this one with fresh shrimp and okra, which is absolutely delicious. Also, people put shrimp, crab claws (the whole thing) and oysters in gumbo too.

Another good kind is chicken/turkey and sausage. Sometimes after thanksgiving my mom uses the leftover turkey and makes gumbo with it. We have this meat market in our town which makes declious sausage. Man is it yummy.

I don’t know much about actually cooking it, but i know you have to make a roux. (pronounced rue)

If you’re intrested in Louisiana cooking, I reccomend Frank Davis. He’s on local TV all the time teaching people how to cook: frankdavis.com/

-Jeanne

 

[JRPO]

We live in the “boonies”, .

Not coming from your part of the world, can I ask. What are the boonies?

Sounds awsome!

 

[Rose5]

Greetings!
Well, in some parts of the U.S it is “slang” for when one lives far away from
a city, or town.
Like, way out in the wilderness, or forest.
Have a great holiday season!

 

[ruthycantfail]

Our family Christmas would not be complete without our Advent Tree. It is a small wooden tree with 24 tiny wooden tree decorations and a star for the top. Every morning we hang a decoration on the tree with the star being put on the top on Christmas morning. Seeing the tree getting more beautiful every day is a really lovely way to build up to this very special celebration.

 

[JRPO]

Greetings!
Well, in some parts of the U.S it is “slang” for when one lives far away from
a city, or town.
Like, way out in the wilderness, or forest.
Have a great holiday season!

Just for your information In Australia when you live in a place like that your said to be living in the Bush.

Have a happy and holy Christmas.

 

[Chuck65]

The only one that never changes is after Mass on Christmas eve, we have breakfast. This started when I was a child and I have continued it in my home. Over the years the attendees have changed. A few times in recent years when we had no children at home, we’ve had to recruit folks to come eat with us. Odd though, it never seems to have been a problem to gather conscripts. I also always turn on Midnight mass from Saint Peter’s. We no longer have a Midnight Mass anywhere around here. I wish we did. I’m not sure why, but I miss it greatly. 10 or 11:00 just isn’t the same.

 

[jeanne71350]

The only one that never changes is after Mass on Christmas eve, we have breakfast. This started when I was a child and I have continued it in my home. Over the years the attendees have changed. A few times in recent years when we had no children at home, we’ve had to recruit folks to come eat with us. Odd though, it never seems to have been a problem to gather conscripts. I also always turn on Midnight mass from Saint Peter’s. We no longer have a Midnight Mass anywhere around here. I wish we did. I’m not sure why, but I miss it greatly. 10 or 11:00 just isn’t the same.

I ADORED midnight Mass when I was little. We went in the beautiful co-cathedrial, which looked different at night. They had the traditional choir which sounded like angels!

-Jeanne

 

[jeanne71350]

Great topic Jeanne.

Our family tradition is getting together the week before Christmas and making Strufoli. They are tiny fried dough balls coated in honey and sprinkles. Cutting the dough takes a while, so usually my sister, my mom. and now my 2 daughters get together and work as a family to make the strufolis. My grandmother is known well in the family for handing out these dishes around Christmas. And now we’re continuing the tradition in our generation.

Those sound yummy! One of my favorite Christmas treats is my mom’s pralines, which are pecans covered in hard sugar. It’s always fun to bake as a family!

-J

 

[jeanne71350]

Enjoy the holidays while your family is all alive. My mom passed in 2004 and my dad lives over 600 miles away and it changes everything. I used to drive home every Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays from Michigan to Ohio. Just driving in the car with my husband and my dog by my side for the 41/2 hour drive and listening ot Christmas Carols and checking out the Christmas lites driving down I - 75 was great. To see my mother’s face lite up when I arrived was worth all the tea and china in the world. Now I live in South Carolina, farther away from my Ohio family and it will never be the same. I miss the snow!! I am glad that I am home thou and not off in some foreign country such as in the military. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!:

That’s so nice how you went visit your mom. She must have really appreciated it.

 

[Mintaka]

Re: “out in the boonies”

That’s from “out in the boondocks”. And what I didn’t know is that “boondock” is really the Tagalog word “bundok”, mountain.

So our Filipino poster and our poster from the boonies aren’t too far apart…

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Ooooh…gumbo. so many different kinds.

My personal favorite is the seafood gumbo. My grandma makes this one with fresh shrimp and okra, which is absolutely delicious. Also, people put shrimp, crab claws (the whole thing) and oysters in gumbo too.

Another good kind is chicken/turkey and sausage. Sometimes after thanksgiving my mom uses the leftover turkey and makes gumbo with it. We have this meat market in our town which makes declious sausage. Man is it yummy.

I don’t know much about actually cooking it, but i know you have to make a roux. (pronounced rue)

If you’re intrested in Louisiana cooking, I reccomend Frank Davis. He’s on local TV all the time teaching people how to cook: frankdavis.com/

-Jeanne

Thank you!!! :bounce::dancing: I could make some right now!

God bless you and yours
Therese

 

[Rose5]

Just for your information In Australia when you live in a place like that your said to be living in the Bush.

Have a happy and holy Christmas.

Ok! Sounds good…then we live in the Bush.
They say that for isolated, wilderness areas in parts of Canada too.

May you also have a happy and holy Christmas! Thanks!

 

[Rose5]

Re: “out in the boonies”

That’s from “out in the boondocks”. And what I didn’t know is that “boondock” is really the Tagalog word “bundok”, mountain.

So our Filipino poster and our poster from the boonies aren’t too far apart…

Wow! That is quite interesting Mintaka. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[pseudosig]

My family is Polish, so we’re starting a oplatek wafer (holy bread) tradition on Christmas. The head of the household usually breaks off a piece of the oplatek wafer and distributes pieces so that friends and family can give it to each other, along with a blessing. It’s a symbol of forgiveness between two people and is meant to remind us of the importance of God, Christmas, and family.

 

[Irishmom2]

My family is Polish, so we’re starting a oplatek wafer (holy bread) tradition on Christmas. The head of the household usually breaks off a piece of the oplatek wafer and distributes pieces so that friends and family can give it to each other, along with a blessing. It’s a symbol of forgiveness between two people and is meant to remind us of the importance of God, Christmas, and family.

Wow, that is a very interesting and touching tradition. Do you eat any special Polish foods too? I would love to hear about them.

 

[chevalier]

Nothing out of the ordinary. Christmas tree, Christmas Eve supper, Shephers’ Mass, typically visiting some friends or relatives on the First or Second Day.

 

[Jan_Bolbot]

The Polish tradition is very important and was part of growing up for us. The important celebration is on Christmas Eve. When we were kids we would help set the table and underneath my mother’s best tablecloth we would place a wisp of straw from our creche (to remind us of Christ’s birth in a stable). We set one extra place at the table for the “unexpected guest” and put a candle in the window to invite him in. (There is a legend about this where a beggar is turned away from the rich men’s houses on Christmas eve and finally goes to the poorest shack where the family has only one piece of bread, but they invite him to share. Of course, the beggar is really Jesus…) Nothing could happen then until the first star appeared in the sky (we kids would be looking out the window). Then we would break oplatek (described in some of the other posts above) and on to Christmas eve dinner or wigilia.

This dinner is meatless, but sumptuous. There are various kinds of fish. In Poland, carp is traditional (it is quite different from the carp here), but any white fish or even kulebiak (salmon loaf with spices) is possible. Pickled herring, of course. Soup, either mushroom or clear barszcz (borscht) with uszki (little mushroom dumplings). Polish mushrooms are rather different than your basic white mushrooms from the store. Most Polish delis in the US carry them dried and they can be reconstituted. Fruit compote, usually made of various dried fruits. Sauerkraut with yellow peas. Pierogi with sauerkraut and/or mushrooms. For dessert, usually homemade cookies or chruschiki (deep fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar–they look like angel wings).

Then midnight Mass. In my father’s day–he lived in a very Polish neighborhood–they would go after Mass and have another large spread with various meats, sausage, and so on. That would go on until morning. These days I put the kids to bed and have a stiff eggnog. Presents usually wait until the morning, though sometimes we let the kids open a couple before Midnight Mass. Christmas Day is normally more relaxed with visiting relatives if any live close by.

I usually make kielbasa for Christmas, though it can’t be eaten until after Midnight Mass.

jb

 

[pseudosig]

Wow, that is a very interesting and touching tradition. Do you eat any special Polish foods too? I would love to hear about them.

The tradition is something that my family is going to start (i.e. I’m young and married recently). My dad described it to my wife and me about the oplatek tradition and purchased some for us (to start this year). My dad, also being Polish, described what his grandparents and did when he was a child (i.e. the oplatek tradition). Aside from that, we may eat some sauerkraut and pork with dumplings. Basically, we’re building our tradition now.

We’re excited to start a “new” old-tradition.