What are your Christmas Traditions?

[SeanF1989]

 

[bisco1]

when the kids were here, we watched white Christmas on Christmas eve.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

As of yesterday, apparently my brother has made my purchases of two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on Christmas Day a new family tradition.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

I have to watch Elf during Advent/Christmas. I have to listen to classic children’s Christmas music while decorating my tree and drink hot chocolate, even if it is 75 degrees outside.

All of my wrapping paper and boxes/bags have to coordinate. This year my colors are black, red, and white. Last year they were brown, red, and green. Yep, I’m THAT person. Lol

You get to open one present one Christmas Eve.

 

[Allegra]

Midnight Mass. Presents. Eating.

 

[asonct]

I find solace in Christmas carols on radio. The classic ones like Bing Crosby and Andy Williams. It may be commercialized, but it eases my mind as Advent Season turns to Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas Eve, I love attending midnight Holy Mass at my church or a special Church locally I always wanted to attend a Holy Mass at. The choir music is so beautiful and if by chance it starts to snow, all the better!

I traditionally watch, Jesus of Nazareth, a 1970’s 3 plus hour movie of the Lord from birth to Resurrection. I have the VCR tapes and tape one is still my favorite: Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and His young days leading to His baptism.

Christmas is my favorite season by far. Easter is the most solemn and probably the most important Catholic holiday. But, Christmas is my favorite and the most loving time of year!

God Bless.

 

[ServusHumilis]

I haven’t even dug out my old Christmas albums. Much of what I’d want to hear can be found on YouTube now.

Anyhow, growing up it was always have a nice big dinner at home Christmas eve and opening gifts with family that night. Then I’d open St. Nick’s gifts in the morning and Mass would follow with maybe another dinner at night with other family.

Lately it’s been different every year. We alternate Christmas Eve and Christmas Night between my father’s and mother’s side. This year it’s Christmas eve with my father’s family and Christmas night with my mother’s side.

The midnight Mass at my parish is in the Ordinary Form, the Extraordinary Form which I’ll help cantor is earlier in the night.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Midnight Mass, regardless of any other obligations. I’m serving an evening Mass on the 24th and one the morning of the 25th, but we’re still going to Mass at midnight anyway (and this year I get to serve that one as well ).

Christmas decorations go up no earlier than Monday of the fourth week of Advent.

Lots of gift-related practices: Gifts only for immediate family. Since we don’t have children, that limits the list to us, my parents, my sister, and The Husband’s mom. No single gift can cost more than a predetermined amount. This year it’s 20€. Each giver can buy or make only one gift per recipient.

Sharing Christmas dinner leftovers with our pastor. (Okay, we’ve only been doing that since 2012 but he’s come to expect it and I can’t imagine not indulging him in this way.)

I’d love to establish a “no TV or Internet” rule all day on the 25th, but The Husband would never go for that.

We also used to alternate spending Christmas with my family and my in-laws, but doing so requires significant travel—his mom lives on the other side of the country, mine on another continent entirely—and my parish responsibilities make it unconscionable for me to leave town for extended periods during Advent and the Christmas season.

 

[Dove1]

Our most cherished Christmas tradition as a family is the Christmas picture. Every year, our family poses in the living room with our decorated and lighted Christmas tree. We’ve been doing this since my youngest child was born - in 2001.

Also, every year I make a slideshow video of these pictures. This year’s slideshow would be the shortest, but displaying 14 Christmases. The video is only 1 minute long.

You can see the video here: Christmas Family Slideshow Video - 2014

 

[Took2Long]

I go to one of the earlier Masses on Christmas Eve. I go to either the 4 or 6 o’clock Mass. That allows me to observe the necessary fast before receiving the Eucharist. By 8 o’clock our house begins to fill up with family and friends. We then sit down to eat my favorite meal of the year…A. SEAFOOD FEAST! Clams, lobster, crab, you name it. It goes until long after midnight. I thought for many years everybody in the U.S. did exactly the same thing. I thought of it like turkey on Thanksgiving. It wouldn’t be Christmas without Mass and that meal. It has been at our house for many years now. We took it over after my dad passed away. I always think of him and his empty chair every year. I do thank him for giving me the tradition that I’ve always known.

 

[Book_Worm]

Our most cherished Christmas tradition as a family is the Christmas picture. Every year, our family poses in the living room with our decorated and lighted Christmas tree. We’ve been doing this since my youngest child was born - in 2001.

Also, every year I make a slideshow video of these pictures. This year’s slideshow would be the shortest, but displaying 14 Christmases. The video is only 1 minute long.

You can see the video here: Christmas Family Slideshow Video - 2014

Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s a great idea, and you executed it so well. You have a very beautiful family.

 

[Book_Worm]

We no longer have one of our favorite Christmas traditions. Our DD went to an all-girls HS, and Christmas Eve Mass in the school chapel was breath-takingly beautiful. The chapel was lovely, very ornate, and on a hill top and as you walked up the hill through the cold, dark night, the way was lit by luminarias, and the angel voices of the nuns’ choir led you to the door. The chapel was in darkness until Mother Superior’s voice beckoned us to welcome Jesus, the Light of the World, and she began to pass a flame from her candle to the ones we all held until the chapel was ablaze in light. The rest of the Mass was equally stirring, and made the joy of Our Lord’s birth very real.

Unfortunately, Mass was moved to eight o’clock, which conflicts with our family gathering. There is joy in our parish Christmas morning Mass, but I miss the solemnity and joy we experienced when we celebrated with the nuns.

 

[petitfleur]

A small thing we do is add a new animal to our manger scene each year. Among the traditional animal you will find rabbits, a meerkat, a gorilla family, a cheetah, dinasaurs, unicorns, and we added a panda this year. All the animals are gathering around Babay Jesus. It is kind of sweet. I think “come and adore him” when I look at it.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

I just realized this thread is in the Spirituality forum (I thought it was in Back Fence; excuse me, I’m hallucinating :hypno. From a spiritual point of view, there’s nothing we do during Advent or Christmas that we don’t do other times of the year. We do have an Advent wreath every year, which our neighbors find quaint (it is apparently not common practice for Catholics in France to have Advent wreaths in their homes; this year, even our parish churches don’t have them ).

I used to have a nativity every year when I was single, but we haven’t put one up since I arrived in France because before I came along The Husband didn’t have one and we can’t find mine. I know it’s around here somewhere…

I might pray a seasonal novena and/or offer a Mass for a particular intention, but apart from that and the aforementioned midnight Mass attendance I do the same thing I do all year, a list that includes but is not limited to daily Mass, the LOTH, and weekly Adoration.

God bless

 

[schaeffer]

Making gingerbread houses.

Different “theme” for the tree decoration every year.

One of my sons always got at least one bizarre food item in his stocking.

Getting new movies to watch.

Getting a family game we could enjoy all year.

When we lived on a lot that was partially wooded we sent the kids (tweens and teens at the time) to find a tree and cut it down. Left it totally up to them. We ended up with some very interesting trees! One year we’d had a huge ice storm and they just brought in a giant branch from a broken pine tree.

wearing our jammies, eating our candy and watching our new movies on Christmas day.

 

[wheelie]

Growing up a lot of church. Midnight mass and Christmas day (sometimes I got to sit out though and read my book)
Then often just me and my dad hanging out, I’d cook, we would eat and watch TV. Go for a walk of Boxing day as everyone does.
Basically it involved food
Now just no Church on Christmas day unless we are at my dad’s.

It is a pretty standard traditional British christmas

 

[Ralph_Cooper]

Love, peace and Joy came on earth at Christmas to make you happy and joyful. Good for happiness filled your life.

 

[Dove1]

Thank you so much for sharing this. It’s a great idea, and you executed it so well. You have a very beautiful family.

Thank you, Book Worm. :thankyou:
Merry Christmas!

 

[LongingSoul]

I dream of one day having a white Christmas or even a ‘cool’ Christmas. I think it must be easier to get the spirit of the Holy Family’s creation in Bethlehem when the weather is similar. Here in Australia, it’s normally hot as hades on the day. Especially here in Queensland.

However, when you know nothing else, heat can be holy and sweat can be sacred. Our traditions are fairly usual. Carols on Christmas eve and family on Christmas day. We normally play the latest board game after lunch or watch a Christmas movie on TV. I kind of like Christmas night when everyone has gone home and we have leftovers of everything in front of TV.

 

[pnewton]

Christmas Eve Mass

Pig in the blankets in the morning

Three gifts for kids

Advent calendar

Shoes out for St. Nicholas Feast Day

Sometimes in the past especially shift work has made me have to shift some observations.