Traditions Past and New Ones Too

Since I was an Air Force BRAT and we moved a lot our Traditions changed though the years. But as a child I remember Christmas was always special, so here are some of the Traditions I remember of Christmas. I know that the tree was not put up until sometime after Thanksgiving, usually about 2 weeks before Christmas; mom didn't like having to keep us away from the tree for any longer than she had to, and the tree also came down before New Years. I think my mother thought to keep it up longer was bad luck. my mother tells me when I was little she always had to redecorate the tree after I went to bed, because I would hang all the ornaments on it Laundry style, just line them up on one or two branches. I don't think I ever realized that she had moved them. One tradition I remember was that sometime before Christmas my sister and I got sleep under the tree of one night, it was never on Christmas Eve, but mom always left the lights on all night for us. I did this until I moved out of the house, and now I do it quite often now but not out of tradition but because I fall asleep on the couch many, many nights. I have tried to start this with my girls but they are not interested in spending the night downstairs under the tree.

My Grandparents tree always had a light up Santa on it, I believe that it was from when my Grandfather was a little boy, and I know that my Uncle Glenn (Mom's only sibling) now has it. Their tree also had a Lionel train under it, this train was bought my Mothers 1st Christmas and she and her father always set it up under their tree, the train is now set up under my tree, and I just can't imagine Christmas without it.

I also remember when we were in town, Elizabeth City, NC (where both sets of my Grandparents lived). On Christmas Eve my Fathers parents always had a Christmas party, with Santa paying a visit of course. There was so much good food that I was sure I was going to bust from eating anything and everything. My grandmother made wonderful Fruit Cakes (Yes I love fruit cake and if they are sent to me they never leave) the heavy, brick, use it for a door stop kind. I can still remember helping her one year make them and she always had 1 or 2 in the freezer to eat in July if I wanted. My grandfather would bring home a pick-up truck load full of oysters (YUCK!!!) that my grandmother would then fix many different ways but her 3 boys loved to just stand at the side of the truck and eat then raw! Grandma and Granddad had a big house and I know that on Christmas Eve it was busting at the seams, with family and friends from all over. There was always a fire in the fireplace and plenty to eat. Then the best part of the night was when Santa would take time from his busy schedule to come visit us. We also got to open presents on Christmas Eve, all of them that where there waiting for us. I always had wonderful dreams from the parties, Boy! Do I miss them!

Across town at my Granny and Granddad Pollitt's we always had a quite Christmas Eve with just the family. But this is where I learned to Cross-stitch one a Christmas Eve long ago. My Granny taught me by having me make little Christmas ornaments for the tree; (don't know what happened to them). We also had the tradition of on Christmas morning of opening presents youngest to oldest, my Granny always said she wanted to see what everyone else got and see their faces when they got it, but luckily I was one of the youngest and could sit and play with mine while the others were still waiting. This is one that we still do to this day; sometimes we go oldest to youngest though just to make things interesting.

I am trying to start some traditions for my family, my mixing traditions from my husband’s German mother in to some of the traditions I grew up with. We have a small Advent Christmas Tree that has 24 little draws in it that holds an ornament and a scripture that we try to do every night from December 1 until Christmas Eve. I have also started to let my girls help with the baking which is something they love to do, I wasn't much in the baking as a child as much as I was into the eating, but if it was one of my Grandmothers baking then I was glued to their side, sorry mom.

I'm trying to start some new traditions; I have found that with traditions you have to be flexible. You never know when things will change and you have to change with them. Please share some of your traditions with me who knows I might try something new this year.