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Celtic Radio Community > General Discussion > Family Christmas Traditions?

Posted by: zeryx 17-Dec-2006, 05:32 PM

I was just wondering if your family have developed any little traditions that you simply can't not have now?

We always have our Christmas dinner early afternoon, and in the evening we have a big cheese board. The planning for this starts a few days before Christmas when we go shopping in the large 24 hour Tesco in Dundee. The delicatessen counter has oodles of lovely cheeses and we go through them tasting them and selecting around 10 different ones - we have some staple ones we get every year such as brie, smoked applewood chedder and edam etc, but we have lots of new ones too

Anyhow - on Christmas day we sit down to enjoy this selection of cheeses with crackers ... of course there is usually enough left to last a couple more days too

Posted by: MDF3530 17-Dec-2006, 08:51 PM

Last year, we had to start new traditions. See, my parents and I moved. They moved to the same suburb my sister and her family live in, while I moved into an apartment in a town about 30 miles north as the crow flies of them. All of us used to go to Mass on Christmas morning. Now we've started alternating, having Christmas on either Christmas or Christmas Eve. This year, me, my sister and her family will be over at my folks' on Christmas Eve. After that, I'll be going to midnight Mass at my church.

Posted by: Joe_Pearson 17-Dec-2006, 09:39 PM

We go to a party my mom's classmates throw evey year.

Posted by: Lady of the Loch 18-Dec-2006, 06:09 AM

We used to have christmas eve at my grandmothers house. She would decorate it all up and there would be a room for the kids, the living room and the dining room. We could fit all are family in those three rooms comfortably. (Her house had 21 rooms...it was huge) Anyway, when you would walk from the dining room into the living room there was missle toe hanging, and anyone who got caught had to give up a kiss. Needless to say, when we were younger, we ran into the other room. We would laugh and keep track of who was kissed and how many times...we used to think people done it on purpose. Obviously, I am grown now, but those times stick in my mind. It was so much fun. My grandmother passed away going on 5 years ago, and I really miss the house she had. I even thought about buying it, just to hold on to some of those memories!

Posted by: oldraven 18-Dec-2006, 08:29 AM

Similarly here, we too have a tradition of eating a variety of cheeses and crackers with wine, or egg nog for the kids, on Christmas Eve. My sister always makes her gifts, so that is also a tradition, to open her gifts while we eat the cheese. Applewood Cheddar is a must, as well as Edam and Emmental. We'll be going to church on Christmas Eve this year.

This year Ange and I are making a Yule log, as I had to cut over two feet off the tree before bringing it into the house and had this hunk of log left. We used to make one for the family to put in one of the window sills at church, where other families did the same.

Posted by: Dade 18-Dec-2006, 08:44 PM

We used to meet at my grandparent's place when my uncle was alive, but my father and aunt's sadly cannot get along. My grandparents were eventually put in rest homes, so the house is gone. It's sad we didn't stay close.

Posted by: Antonio 20-Dec-2006, 01:02 AM

Ours was simple, a couple of days after Thanksgiving the Christmas decorations would be pulled out of storage. Then that evening after dinner and home work was done! I would put on the Christmas music and the kids would start decorating the Tree. But the thing I miss most now that they are all grown and gone with familys of their own. is the smell of hot chocolate and cinnamon toast and them arguing over who gets to top the tree. My wife and I still put on the music and have our chocolate and cinnamon toast, but It' some how not quite the same.

God Bless Everyone!!! have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Antonio

Posted by: zeryx 20-Dec-2006, 01:30 AM

QUOTE (oldraven @ 18-Dec-2006, 02:29 PM)

Yup ... Emmental here too

we'll have to compare the cheeses we have this year and share the experiences

Posted by: BluegrassLady 23-Dec-2006, 03:01 PM

We have our family gathering on Christmas Eve with children and grandchildren. One tradition we started when the grandchildren were born was to bake a birthday cake and we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Happy Holidays to all

BGL

Posted by: zeryx 23-Dec-2006, 03:17 PM

Janet what a lovely tradition that is

Posted by: Ceciliastar1 23-Dec-2006, 11:32 PM

My family has great traditions!!! We're a pretty strict Catholic family so we don't start celebrating Christmas until Christmas Eve. Before that we celebrate Advent. Anyway, we put up the tree on Christmas Eve, we go to mass, and then we come back and decorate the tree and have a huge dinner. Christmas morning we wake up and open presents and then we watch White Christmas and later that day we have a huge Christmas dinner! I love it!

This year is my husband and mine's first Christmas and we both work all day so we're probably not going to be able to start our own traditions until next year when the baby will be among us to join in the festivities!

Posted by: BluegrassLady 30-Dec-2006, 01:54 PM

QUOTE (zeryx @ 23-Dec-2006, 05:17 PM)

Janet what a lovely tradition that is

Thanks, Lynda. This year hubby decided that since we all live on the same farm he would put some blankets in a farm trailer, attach it to the tractor and go to the kids homes and pick them all up Christmas Eve. I could hear them singing Christmas carols all the way here! Now the grandkids think he should do it on New Years Eve too!

And another family tradition begins......

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

BGL

Posted by: zeryx 31-Dec-2006, 04:10 AM

That sounds a wonderful way to start your Christmas off Janet!! I hope he dressed up as santa to drive the tractor