Share Your Tradition
After being in school for what felt like a lifetime, I’ve met countless people all who come from various backgrounds, all who celebrate various traditions.
Families form their own ways of recognizing the holidays and as a result we hear a number of traditions that are celebrated throughout the country. I haven’t heard more ways to celebrate any other holiday or day of the year than Christmas Eve. From eating pizza in pajamas over movie marathons to having tacos and opening only one present, each family makes the day their own.
Growing up, Christmas Eve was all about quality time with grandma and grandpa. My grandparents would come over for dinner and spend the evening with us until it was time to head off to midnight Mass.
Christmas Eve is my absolute favorite day of the year. The snow, the twinkly lights, the music, family, the nostalgia, and anticipation for Christmas morning capture my heart every year. It’s a day full of closeness and overjoyed hearts; a day of giving and sharing. And a day of pausing. Thanksgiving has come and gone, but it’s not quite time to start the massive, chaotic clean-up after Christmas. The gifts are bought and wrapped (if you’re not the procrastinating type), the tree is set up, the house is decorated. It seems like it is the one-day that isn’t full of schedules and to-do lists and the day we can breathe before the next whirlwind.
How do you spend the day before Christmas; What makes your Christmas Eve special? Share your tradition. Share your story.
April 8, 2017 @ 10:25 pm
Hey there Kate! Love your story! I’m a design student at California College of the Arts and I’m doing a thesis revolving around how we as people celebrate traditions and why they’re important to us. I was wondering if you’d like to share your story on a web page that I’m developing (whatsyourtradition.com) where people can share, learn and discover traditions from all over. Also on that note
On Christmas it’s definitely a special time of year that does bring nostalgia as well as anticipation for not just the new year but the gathering of family. Typically during the coldest times of the year but definitely feels the warmest with waking up in sweaters and hearing the firewood cracking. On Christmas me and my family use to decorate ginger bread houses, play music with the family and watching movie marathons in our pj’s till everyone passes out!