My Favorite Christmas Traditions

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I considered beginning this blog post with a treatise on what Christmas is all about, the “reason for the Season,” and so on. Then I decided that with it being one of the busiest times of the year, I would keep this short and sweet both for my sake and for the sake of my readers. Everybody has their way of celebrating Christmas, and some people, for various reasons, don’t celebrate Christmas at all. If you’re among those who skip Christmas, bear with me as I describe some of my favorite traditions for this season, or perhaps miss this post and return next week for my post on my review of 2023 and my goals for 2024.

As a young adult, I was active around Christmas time, participating in caroling parties with my church and friends, visiting seniors’ homes to entertain the residents, or going door to door to family and friends’ houses to cheer them up. I attended several Christmas concerts in the community and sometimes participated in them. I would sing in Christmas cantatas for my church and community or help with the Sunday school Christmas pageants. I had energy, vim, and vigor, even enjoying the canned Christmas carols played over the loudspeakers of every store and business starting after the American Thanksgiving holiday until New Year's Day.

After I married, Christmas celebrations were divided between my family of origin and my husband’s. We would trade off years. One Christmas, we would spend the day with his family. The following Christmas would be spent with mine, and so on. It was necessary to do this because our families live far enough apart that we couldn’t split the day between them. Our families cooperated, and it worked fine.

Once my children were in the picture, we focused on them and their enjoyment of the season, their school and church Christmas pageants, their gift openings on Christmas morning, and their joy and wonder. My husband worked long hours and wasn’t home often, so my daughters and I usually decorated the house and Christmas tree without him, which was sad. But my husband was always home Christmas Day to spend it with us.

One tradition my husband and I established with the birth of our first daughter was that every year, we bought an angel tree ornament for her as a gift. Once her sister was born, we did the same for her, buying her a star ornament each Christmas, and we continued that tradition until they moved out of our home into their own, with their own Christmas trees. The ornaments went with them. I miss having all those angels and stars on my tree almost as much as I miss having my young children around to help hang them on my tree. I want to continue the tradition by buying any future grandchildren a yearly ornament if they join the family.

Since my children moved on to their own homes, my mother has passed, and I’ve grown older, I’ve slowed down, and Christmas has become less active and simpler. I currently don’t have a home church, so I’m not engaged in church-based Christmas celebrations, and due to other life commitments, I don’t sing in a choir or participate in caroling anymore. My husband and I spend Christmas with his family; my family no longer meets after my mother’s death, which saddens me. I must admit I miss some of those traditions that no longer take place. But I do maintain some traditions during this season.

I still attend church when I can, especially during Advent. When I can’t go in person, I watch church services virtually. I bake many Christmas cookies every season, which I pack into tins and give to my family. Our tree still goes up every year. I’m the one who decorates it, so I get to make my tree ornaments and hang them in the place of the angels and stars. My elder daughter and her husband come for Christmas dinner, either Christmas Eve or Day, and my younger daughter travels home from Ontario for the holiday. We’ll still meet with my husband’s family for a turkey dinner on Boxing Day. I listen to Christmas music as I write or read. Christmas is slower and simpler. I don’t know if that’s better or not. It is what it is.

I try to remember why we celebrate Christmas, too. I reflect on my savior, Jesus Christ, who gave up His throne in glory as Almighty God to humble Himself by coming as a human baby to be born into a poor family to face a future of deprivation, mockery, and eventually, crucifixion. He did it to take the punishment of my sins—death—onto Himself so that I might have eternity with Him. He didn’t do it because I deserved it. Quite the contrary. He did it because He is love, grace, and mercy. When I get the Christmas blues, as often come to survivors of trauma, I remind myself of that perfect gift.

What are your Christmas traditions? Do you celebrate Christmas, or are you involved in other holiday/religious traditions? Is this season simply the same as any other for you? Do you despise Christmas for some reason? Tell me about it in the comments. I’d love to hear your input. Christmas can be a difficult time of year for many people. If you’re struggling, know that you are in my prayers and that there are places to turn for support. Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

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Pauline J. Grabia

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