The Rebels Celebrate the Holidays
Curious how we celebrate the holidays? Read below!! :)
LA Boruff, East Tennessee, USA:
We celebrate Christmas in the Boruff household. We put up our tree on Black Friday. We always watch the Spongebob Christmas special DVD and the newer Spongebob Christmas movie. Then once that's over we play games while listening to Christmas music. The past two years we've turned on this cool fireplace movie on Hulu that plays Christmas music.
On Christmas Eve we go to my husband's family's house to eat and visit and open presents. Once it's full dark we take our time driving home and look at lights. We open our presents to each other once we get home and drink hot chocolate.
Christmas morning we open presents from Santa, then either we go to my family's house or my family comes to mine. We make a huge Christmas morning breakfast and open presents from my family. Then we lay around, fat and happy, and play with our new toys or watch movies. <3
KL Williams, Suprise, AZ, USA:
When I was young, I remember our whole family getting together at my grandmother’s house for all of the holidays. I loved Christmas the most, because everyone who walked in the door had a gift of some sort. We were opening and handing out gifts all day long. Then the family would eat and my cousins and I would play the rest of the day, late into the evening.
As I got older, and got married, my husband, daughters and I would house-hop. We would go to both of my grandmother’s houses and to my mother-in-law’s house. There was always lots of food and lots of family. Congregating with everyone and catching up was always fun.
We moved three hours away and were unable to come home every holiday, so we started a new tradition. I cooked a large meal, and everyone came over. Friends, family, and anyone who didn’t have a place to go on the holiday.
Now we live a full 24 hours from any of our family and friends, so we have a new tradition. My daughters and my mother come down and we have a big family dinner. I call my father and my husband calls his mother.
One thing about our tradition that has stayed the same is family. Holidays and traditions are about family, whether they are biological or chosen, family is what holidays are about.
Maya William, Mexico:
One of our family traditions after we have our dinner is to play a game we like to call the “Presents game”.
Items:
2 dice.
2 joke/silly/ funny presents each contestant brings wrapped creatively.
1 good present (10 dollars or less) that each contestant brings wrapped creatively.
Now once we all have our beautiful gifts inside a big box, using newspaper, toilet paper, a designer store bag… Time for the good stuff!
Phase One: Finding the presents a new tentative home
All the contestant need to sit forming a circle and set the presents at the center of it. Afterwards they pass a couple of dice for to throw. If they roll a 2,4, or 6 they get to pick a present, if not, tough luck and pass it to the next person. You make as many rounds as you need until there aren’t any more presents to pick.
Important note: Don’t unwrap the present.
Phase Two: Time to steal some presents.
Now, determine how many rounds you’ll like for this portion of the game and explain this time the lucky numbers are 1, 3, & 5. Also make sure that all presents are visible in front of the current owner.
Again we do a round where each contestant throws the dice, however for each win you get to steal another person’s gift. So those who thought they were lucky during the round of picking a present might not be as lucky this time or might be targeted the most. This round usually gets a lot of laughter especially when contestants fight over one specific gift.
After all the rounds pass, you finally get to open the presents and see if the one everybody fought for was a good item or a silly one. It is important that you take turns to open the presents so the family gets a good laugh at the items you get.
If you play this game with small children I recommend to stop the game here, otherwise tears are a guarantee. But if the contestants are teenagers or grown ups, let’s move to the final round.
Phase three: The adrenaline rush.
Once again determine the quantity of rounds this phase will have and everybody place the presents in front of their current owner good ones and silly ones (no cheating!). Also you need to determine the lucky numbers to be allowed to steal.
And we perform the same instructions where if you get the lucky number you get to steal a present, this time knowing beforehand what you get. The only problem is deciding if you pick the one who everybody wants or settling for one people won’t be to tempted to steal it back.
Be a good sport and don’t get mad if they steal yours, this is all for good laughs and it also proves luck might not be on your side until the end of the game or viceversa.
HL Nighbor, Western WA, USA:
Christmas in the Nighbor Household isn’t very exciting, but it’s ours. We are late to the game with putting up our tree, but this is on purpose. My oldest son has an early December birthday and the tree doesn’t go up until his birthday has passed. This usually means our tree and decorations are up by mid-December.
On Christmas Eve, we always go to my father’s to celebrate. Before dinner, it is a birthday celebration for my husband since he is a Christmas Eve baby and after dinner, we celebrate Christmas. The only gift my kids open from us that night are their Christmas jammies which was something I did as a kid.
After leaving my father’s, we rush home to put the kids to bed and then prep for Christmas morning begins. It’s rare that all my gifts are wrapped and ready to go, so usually I am wrapping the remaining gifts into the wee hours of the morning and stuffing stockings.
On Christmas morning, we unwrap gifts, eat a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, and enjoy a low key day as a family. Later that evening, we will all get together with my sister and her family to enjoy a simple Christmas dinner.
While my holiday traditions aren’t exciting, they are ours. We keep it simple, low-key, and as stress-free as possible.
Ripley Proserpina, Vermont, USA:
Christmas starts Thanksgiving and doesn't end until we go back to school. The only way we get through Christmas without going into a deep dark depression is by knowing that having divorced grandparents means MULTIPLE CHRISTMASES! Woot woot!
The lead up to Christmas includes anchoring the tree to the wall and making sure the ugly ornaments go on the bottom of the tree so the cats have something to play with.
Christmas morning, nothing happens until coffee is made, and then the animals open stockings (humans and furred). Then, we eat cinnamon rolls and watch Teen Titans Go. Merry Christmas everyone!
Christmas in Canada
TB Mann
Canada is a land of immigrants and multiculturalism. My own family has a mixed background. My mother comes from Scottish immigrants a few generations back while my father arrived in Canada by himself in 1966. Even my husband is an immigrant, formerly from northern England, who arrived as a young boy within a year or two of my father. This makes holiday time a varied experience.
I grew up with a blending of German and general North American traditions. Some years we opened a single present on Christmas Eve and on other years we went to a Christmas Eve church service before returning home to open all our Christmas presents. Some years we decorated the house and Christmas early, but most years we waited until Christmas Eve day to put up and decorate our Christmas tree. We have kept a similar practice with our own children usually opening at least one present on Christmas Eve.
Over the past ten years, we have initiated another Christmas Day family tradition by recognizing all the blessings we have received and donating to others. World Vision and other Christian charities that we support throughout the year send us catalogues containing items that you can purchase for those in need. Our children spend time on Christmas reviewing the catalogue and deciding on an item or items they wish to purchase. As they have grown, the amount of money they contribute to their gifting has increased and now they tend to purchase their own gift completely before joining in on a family gift. The joy and delight on their faces when they decide if they are going to buy chickens or a pig brings the biggest joy to my heart.
So from my mixed family to yours,
We wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, or Joyous Kwanzaa.
K Swanson, NW Oregon, USA:
When I was little, my favorite Christmas tradition was that my entire family would gather at my grandparents’ house. We’d spend the entire day snacking on homemade goodies (like my mom’s homemade chex mix). My oldest cousin and I could usually be found playing video games in the office (On the Super NES system), and we’d just have a relaxed day hanging out.
After dinner, Santa would pay a visit to the house, and he’d give each of the kids a gift. It was almost always something small, like pjs and a stuffed animal. After that, we’d attend church and then come back for gift opening. And everyone always had a gift to open, even if no one expected them to show up.
My brothers and I also got to pick a name off the tree, and we’d each get to choose what we’d get for each child. We always had a lot of fun choosing something special for another child to enjoy.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!
HK Khan ~ Reno, Nevada, USA
Our family gatherings are pretty low key. Anyone and everyone is invited. We usually do Christmas brunch, including everything from French toast to Turkey, and ending with our traditional birthday cake for Jesus ;) Because our extended family is so large, we do a white elephant style gift exchange, so there’s not only gift giving, but the game element to it as well.
As a kid, I had a ridiculous dream of getting a motorhome from Santa, and I would race past the Christmas tree and presents, heading straight for the front window to check. Though I never did get one for Christmas, Santa did leave a voucher for my parents to rent one for our summer vacation when I was nine ;)
Happy Holidays, everyone!
RM Walker, Christmas with the Brits, Devon, England
Dickensian Evening is the last Wednesday in November, and just as the title would indicate, it follows in the tradition of the Victorian Charles Dickens from a very rose-tinted, well to do, point of view. As most customs are, its mostly based around food. There are stalls selling all sorts of food fare, including roasted chestnuts.. Its also the unofficial start of the Christmas Season.
The town council has spent the last few weeks putting up the lights around the centre of the commercial town. And on Dickensian Evening the lights are switched on officially by someone well known. And so, the festivities began.
From then on until the dark days of January are upon us, you'll find Morris Dancers, Salvation Army Bands, Choirs, Church Chorales, all gathering on assigned days in the town square. Merriment will ensue that won’t be seen again until Easter and the May Day dances.
Supermarket workers will start wearing some truly hideous, but essential, jumpers (sweaters), Santa hats, and flashing bauble earrings. “Merry Christmas.” will be heard throughout the checkouts, replacing the normal, “See you later, luv/mate.”
Decorated Christmas trees were brought to this country by Prince Albert when he married Queen Victoria and wanted to bring some of his own country’s traditions. (He was German.) It caught on and now is a regular part of the celebrations. Christmas Day, the 25th, is traditionally the day that everyone opens all the gifts that “Santa” left under the tree for them. They also empty the stockings that are stuffed with smaller gifts.
Boxing Day, the 26th is an ancient tradition that dates back to about 800 years ago and was when the Alms boxes in churches were opened to distribute to the poor. I believe that this still happens in some churches. It was also Boxing Day that servants were given off to celebrate Christmas with their families. Boxing Day is also St Stephen’s Day (Stephen’s feast) and is the setting of the carol, Good King Wenceslas, which has strong connections with helping the poor.
Wreaths are placed on the front of doors, lights in the windows. (I always wonder how many realise that a burning light in your window is an ancient tradition that tells travellers they are welcome to food and bed for the night in that house.)
Yule Logs are burnt (Or eaten if they’re of the chocolate cake variety.), and mince pies are consumed by the hundreds. It’s a jolly time of year when everyone relaxes that stiff upper lip (only slightly, mind), there’s goodwill and peace wished to all.
A big part of Christmas is the traditional meal. Turkey is the main meat nowadays, but before Turkey was available it was Beef or Goose that was served, ‘with all the trimmings’. The trimmings consist of vegetables, including good old brussels sprouts. Served with cranberry sauce and bread sauce. Yum. It’s usually served at lunchtime or early afternoon.
3pm on the dot is the Queen’s Speech on the telly. It’s customary to have a glass of sherry whilst listening, and to stand when the National Anthem is played to toast the Queen. God save the Queen. (From what he’s supposed to save her, I have yet to figure out.)
After the speech, Grandad will be left in his chair with his slippers on, the fire lit, and the newspaper covering his slumber. Uncle Joe will be put to bed after drinking one too many sherries and trying to get Grandma to swing with him on the table. The cat is left with the boxes, the kids are out on their new bikes/scooters/roller-skates etc, completely uncaring of the elements. The adults put on their wellies, raincoats, snatch up their swords (brollies) and brave the great outdoors. The top half of the country will brace the snow. The bottom half will brace the rain and wind. The middling bit will brace the smog. 😉 We’ll walk off the effects of too much turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, ready to start all over again tomorrow. Turkey sarnie, anyone?
The lights are turned off twelve days after Christmas, the tree is thrown out, the bin man collects all the wrappings, the upper lips are stiffened once more, and January seeps over us, usually with rain.
This is Britain, after all.
P.S. I think it’s good to remember how many of the traditions of Christmas started though. The worship of Saturn (Roman), pre-christian pagan festivals (Midwinter, the tree that was decorated to the god Thor and goes back much further than Christianity, yule log, etc) and the birth of Jesus was amalgamated to include the customs and traditions we take for granted at Christmas time. I saw a joke cartoon once that did make me chuckle. “Christmas is cancelled due to Pagan Copyright.” It did have a point.
But the important things to remember is that all faiths can live side by side in peace and harmony, and we can all share in the goodwill towards all men. Not just on Christmas, but every day of the year. 😊
Wishing you all a Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays. and a fabulous New Year. xx