Holiday traditions

[Ashley]

Inspired by the Christmas Wishlist thread, do you/your family have any cool holiday traditions? Any special foods you eat or songs you sing?
Here's a few from my family:
My family always takes whosever birthday it is out to dinner that night to the restaraunt of their choice. For thanksgiving, we don't cook a turkey anymore, but we buy a chicken hen and bake it the same way. So it looks just like a turkey, golden brown and all,but much juicer and easier to cook. Around Christmas time, I volunteer to perform in the church plays...that's been interesting. I've been everything from a pregnant teenager, a daughter of a killed soldier, an angel, and a camel. Yes, a camel. I actually wore a camel suit with someone else.
Anyway, your turn now. Got any interesting stories to swap?

[Shinja]

eh we really dont have traditions any more with things as hectic as they have become, we now have a plastic tree( how sad) and we useully dont put out more that just that and a wreath. all other holidays we do nothing. i really miss some of the holliday stuff we used to do, and i miss not haveing a regular church to go to on christmas, thats proabably the saddest thing is to miss the christmas services.

actully the only other thing we do out side of christmas is we eat, normally a smoked turkey, with all the regular southern sides, and sometimes we throw on a ham and some sousage.

birthdays are kinda the same way only less so than thanksgiving. normally theres a few gits and a cake, and some times we do go out to eat. but i like it better when we just grill out, i cook the best steaks

[Link Antilles]

Hmmmm...

For direct family B-days, my parents and I usually go to a sea food or a Japanese style restaurant for dinner, like Red lobsters, Flat Rock, Kyoto, etc, etc...

Every Turkey-day, we head over to my grandmother (mom’s side) for a wonderful feast of turkey, chicken, potatoes, many types of beans, macaroni, ham, and various other foods. The only others there are usually my aunt and uncle from Indiana and my grandmother's neighbors.

Christmas:
For Christmas at Church, I lead the Audio/Video for the service and plays.
For Christmas Eve, we visit my grandmother for another feast, I usually can't predict the food and the usual turkey-day crew is there. Christmas day, I usually hang out at home and for dinner we usually head over to my uncle's house. There my cousins and I play X-box and Gamecube on his oversized big-screen TV w/ a kickin' sound system.

That’s all I can think of right now…….

[Technomancer]

For Christmas we put out the decorations, like the Julgot, the nativity scene or little straw decorations of the Tomten. We'll have Lucia buns on St. Lucia's day of course, and Risgrynsgröt on Christmas Eve. Christmas day is turkey for dinner and plum pudding for desert. New Years' is duck and more plum pudding.

The Christmas tree is decorated on Christmas eve and is taken down on Epiphany. None of us can sing, so we'll play Christmas carols- esp. the Cambridge choir. My personal favourite though is CBC's program that runs through 12 European countries' songs in 12 hours.

[andyroo]

Well, for Thanksgiving (turkey-day) my family gets a Turkey and fixes rolls, dressing, cranberry sauce, etc. Man I wish that I could get some chicken for that day.

For Christmas, its the Chrstmas Eve Service and the presents thing that night and the rest the next day. I usually go to an advent service or two before Christmas. The dinner is - it varies from year to year.

For Birthdays, We go to see a movie that we like and go to the resturaunt of choice.

That's pretty much all that comes to mind right now.

[Bobtheduck]

We really haven't done anything big for holidays and such in years... My mom says she sort of forgets that it's even Christmas when it comes around... She says it doesn't feel like Christmas...

While I don't make a deal about holidays right now, I think I will when I go to japan because I'm going to to force myself to integrate into the culture. Besides, It'll be fun to actually DO something for a holiday... Been a while...

[Heaven's Cloud]

Our Grandma and Grandpa come from Florida and watches us open our presents ever Christmas morning. Though they sleep in and I get a little to anxious. lol.

We also get eggnog to drink. Oh man I love that drink, that is one of my favorites every. By the way, the day of Christmas we go to my dad's side's Grandma and Grandpa who don't live very far away, and we open presents, and eat, and give birthdays there.

[Mithrandir]

Now that I'm not at home any more, we don't really have as many traditions...

(And I think someone should start a poll to see how many people can guess which half of the camel Ash played. )

[Towi Wakka]

Hey! What a cool topic! I have soooo many holiday traditions that I couldn't possibly list them all. Around Christmas my family usually gets together and my Grandmother's cottage and we have a really good time.

[Ashley]

And I think someone should start a poll to see how many people can guess which half of the camel Ash played.

If I told you the truth, I'd have to kill you, because I'd be the butt of too many jokes. I did have to wear khaki pants and put on these funny brown knee pads and big brown cloth "hoofs" over my tennis shoes. Oh, btw, I was the camel that accompanied the wisemen, if no one could figure out why I was running around as an animal.

If you're clever enough to find it, I answered the question.

[Mithrandir]

clever? It's standing out there like a shiney coin.

[ZiP]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahaha, ahoooooo, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Mithrandir]

I think zip went off the deep end.



(Anyone else want in on this pun battle?)

[Michael]

Quit pun-ishing us man.

I was the Sheriff of Nottingham once!

[madphilb]

Well, Ash, I won't bring up that the wisemen where from the east and had arabian horses... that's a whole other thread

Thanksgiving (if we're lucky, it's been this way for the last few years, thanks Mom!) we go to my Mom's where she cooks the meal... Turkey, Filling (not stuffing, PM for the recipie), salad with hot bacon dressing, corn, etc.... pumpkin pie for desert.

Christmas - that's changed a lot since we've all grown up and moved away.

For me I usually change my screen saver over to a nice one I found from a "family friendly" software site (it's a promo of sorts for them).... I've not done much for decorating since it's just me for the last couple years. Family get's together (around my mom's schedule usually) and we'll exchange gifts and do some sort of meal, snacks, whatever.

My mom used to make roll-out (sugar?) cookies every year, along with nut-roll and even toll-house cookies. She's not done that as much since we've been in Florida, but last year (or was it the year before) the went all out and baked up a storm.

I used to make a shoe-fly pie around the holidays, usually to share with my co-workers or to bring to some holiday event, but I've not done that in a while either (maybe I'll get to it this year, It's been a while since i've made them).

PHIL

[Eldatari]

I have to admit it saddens me a little that the Christmas holidays just aren't as wonderful as they were when I was a child. Perspective, I'm sure. I still enjoy them emmensely, though, so I will hold on to that.

I have to say Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We always go up to my mother's hometown, where all of her family still lives. It's a tiny town in Illinois, that barely makes the map. All our family is there - and we always have thanksgiving dinner at my Nona's house. We are Italian - Sicilian, really. And we are every bit as loud and dramatic and loving as our stereotype. If you've ever seen 'My big fat Greek wedding', then you have an idea of what it's like. Only substitute Italian for Greek. My Nona's house is jam-packed, and she makes an amount of food you could not believe. We can't eat at the dining room or kitchen table, because they are covered with platters. She makes everything. Two turkeys, a ham, chicken, dumplings, four different kinds of potatoes... everything. Then I eat til I fall over (which is really a good thing for me, since I'm 5'9 and 115lb. Shaped like a broomstick.) It's just wonderful.

^_^ I just realized that being in a crowded house with noisy Italians, and eating til you can't move probably only sounds nice to me. But that's what matters...