Christmas customs

[ABlipinTime]

What sort of customs do you and your family have during the Christmas season?

My family celebrates advent with the traditional wreath of candles.

[A_Yellow_Dress]

Well, I think we`re very typical. Each year, it switches between which side of the family we spend Christmas day with. the other side we meet up with on boxing day. This year Christmas day is with my dad`s side.

We have a tree, and each year since I was born, my sister`s and I get a new ornament. My mom wants us to have something to remember each Christmas season with.

We don`t have any particular food customs, we`ve done everything from the classic turkey to fondue.

And this year I get a chocolate calendar for the season! I haven`t had one since I was little.)

[mechana2015]

None, anymore.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

This is gonna be my first Christmas living away from the rest of the family (though, hopefully, I should be visiting for the big day itself) so I'll be missing out on quite a few traditions this year. We seem to have a lot of traditions that are light-related, be it decorating the tree (always a big deal) or driving around looking at all the decorations.

[TheMewster]

We used to have the tree. Then, we got our dog Cocoa. Since she's a playplayplayplayplay dog known for eating everything, we were afraid she would eat the Christmas tree. Since she got banished from the house and is now an outside dog, we're doing the Christmas tree thing again.

The family heads over to my great-grandmother's house for Christmas.

I used to get presents and look forward to opening them. Now I just get money to spend on whatever I want, pretty much.

[Xeno]

When I was still living with my parents the custom was to over sleep as to annoy my brother because he wanted to open the presents early (and I didn't care about them), then eat dinner and lounge about. After I moved out I didn't do anything aside from maybe go to a friends house. Now that I'm in Oklahoma with my grandparents and other assorted family nearby I sleep in because none of us care, then go to my aunts house for dinner.

This year though I'm working overtime on the morning of Christmas day, so I'll probably go straight from work to my aunts house, grab some food, talk for a bit, then come home and sleep, then go back to work that evening for another 12 hour shift.

[TheMewster]

Poor you, Xeno. Working morning and night.

[K. Ayato]

My husband and I got a tree, lights, ornaments, and a garland last Christmas. We're planning to do it again .

[rocklobster]

We set up the tree and I play Christmas carols every day on the piano until the actual Christmas day. While we decorate the tree, we sing carols.
On the actual day, we go to my maw-maw's house in either Grand Isle or Lafayette to spend the day with everyone who happens to show up.

[K. Ayato]

Anyone have a traditional Christmas breakfast or dinner? Growing up, Christmas breakfast eventually became one of Cinnabon rolls, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

I know this Christmas I plan to make the dinner myself .

[seaglass27]

Anyone have a traditional Christmas breakfast or dinner? Growing up, Christmas breakfast eventually became one of Cinnabon rolls, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

I know this Christmas I plan to make the dinner myself .

My family usually has pancakes or French toast for our Christmas breakfast.

[Atria35]

Well, we used to have to go to our aunt's house in another state for Xmas, so we would actually celebrate the day before by going to a movie and then doing a oven-baked pizza for dinner, and then opening presents with mugs of hot chocolate by our side. Our aunt's house was pretty dull, so we'd take our stuff with us when we visited.

For the last three years, we haven't gone (they got a winter house in FL), so we just moved our tradition to Christmas instead of Christmas Eve. And started making our own Christmas dinner- the one thing that is a must-have is butternut squash souffle.

[TopazRaven]

I suppose we don't have any set traditions at my house. We always get a live tree (though my mom really wants to just buy a fake one) and decorate it. We make lots of Christmas cookies and watch every Christmas movie we own. This year I'm going to start myself on a new tradition and start reading the Gospels again throughout December. Then of course on Christmas day we wake up, have a home cooked breakfast, give each other presents and then spend the day watching movies and such. Sometimes I go to visit my grandpa with my dad if he wants to take me. Then we have dinner and watch more movies. I usually come online, read a book or play a new game in between all this too.

[TheMewster]

Congrats on reading the Gospels, Topaz! After reading this thread I can't wait for Christmas! <3 Praise the Lord for giving us His Son, born of a virgin!

[Agloval]

We have a very small tree which spends most of the year in the garden. A few weeks before Christmas my parents will bring it indoors, and decorate it and a few of the rooms in the house.

On Christmas day we usually have either a goose or a duck, with two kinds of stuffing, roast potatoes, various vegetables, gravy, &c. Followed by a Christmas pudding with brandy butter, and mince pies. (Basically, a variation on this; note especially that 'mince pies' are a dessert and don't have mince in!)

We usually open our presents in the mid-afternoon on Christmas Day.

For the next few days for lighter meals we'll be working our way through a big Christmas cake, and we often get a pork pie in, too. And at breakfasts we'll usually do something unusual, like frying up some black pudding.

On Boxing Day (that's the day after Christmas!) we usually make bubble and squeak with some of the leftovers from Christmas day

[ABlipinTime]

So much talk of food!

@Atria - your mentioning of butternut squash nearly made my mouth water. i miss that stuff. my grandparents might bring some down with them this year

This week, my family began hanging lights. Around the 4th of Dec, my fam will look for a tree, then decorate it with all kinds of homemade stuff and glass bulbs, tinsel, etc. We water our trees, and we've actually had some last into late January, as I recall.

Late on Christmas Eve night, my dad and I will pack presents and watch Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.

[Atria35]

@Atria - your mentioning of butternut squash nearly made my mouth water. i miss that stuff. my grandparents might bring some down with them this year

Nice! xD If they do, and you're interested, PM me for the souffle recipe. Totally delicious.

[goldenspines]

I usually spend the week before Christmas freaking out while trying to make too many Christmas cards and getting them mailed out. XD

For my whole family though (cousins, aunts, and uncles), we usually have a party at my house and do a gift exchange thing on Christmas Eve. And on Christmas day, me and my immediate family just chill out and eat the chocolate oranges we got in our stockings. 8D

[DaughterOfZion]

We don't have any set Christmas day traditions, because we never know where we'll be on christmas, but we always put up either our fake christmas tree, or we have a little ceramic village we put up on our mantel.

[Gigavine]

My family always reads the birth of Christ from Scripture, and my father hides a pickle ornament that allows the person to find it first to open the first present. Now, seeing opening the first present as relative, I tend to give the pickle to one of my brothers. We also eat a Christmas meal at my grandparents' home, and I eat none of the turkey but a large fraction of the mashed potatoes and corn. But before the day, our church tends to have a Christmas Eve service.

[Htom Sirveaux]

Every December I read A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. And last year as a present I got an awesome hardcover annotated editon with tons of footnotes and other content.

[FllMtl Novelist]

I usually spend the week before Christmas freaking out while trying to make too many Christmas cards and getting them mailed out. XD

Minus mailing them out, this is what I did a couple years back and am bound to do again this year. XD

Other than trying to give something to every member of my family (last year was... a horrendous mistake and will never be repeated, so I'm back to cards), I'll watch White Christmas with my sister sometime. (Every year we see it at least once.)

The whole family will get a tree that is too tall and despite trimming the angel on top will inevitably be squished a bit. We'll decorate. And on Christmas Eve we'll have mushroom soup (or some kind of soup at least) with these, since my mother's Slovak.

We'll do presents (and I'll give out cards) Christmas morning, then probably do church, come back, and just chill around the house.

[Xeno]

Poor you, Xeno. Working morning and night.

Doesn't bother me any. I need the money right now and Thanksgiving is the only holiday I care about, and it's already gone by.

[Shao Feng-Li]

We used to do a Christmas tree and have dinner, etc. Don't celebrate it any more though.

[Rewin]

Anyone have a traditional Christmas breakfast or dinner? Growing up, Christmas breakfast eventually became one of Cinnabon rolls, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

I know this Christmas I plan to make the dinner myself .

My family's Christmas dinner tradition is steak, deep fried shrimp and fries. We started it a couple years ago and it is definitely the best Christmas dinner choice
As for any other traditions, my wife and I will go get ourselves a little tree to decorate just like last year. We'll have 4 Christmas parties, one for my dad's family which will be near here, one for my mom's family which will be in SoCal, one with my wife's family and finally one with just my immediate family. Christmas is very busy.

[Neane]

All my family does is Advent and sit and read the Bible and listen to Christmas Music.
That's all.

[sandalwood]

Before I go home (while I'm still here at school) I'll be going to church each Sunday to celebrate Advent. At home, we're not really a "Christian" family (only me and possibly my mom as of lately - also possibly my older brother, his Facebook religion status is difficult to interpret) so it's just your run-of-the-mill presents and tree Christmas. The night before, we usually have ham. Also, we sometimes go to a church service. I hope hope hope we do this year!

My older brother is 20, I'm 19, and my younger bro is 17, so every year they complain they don't have the "Christmas spirit" anymore. Sigh. I can't wait until I'm older and live alone (or have a family of my own) so I can celebrate the way I'd prefer. Still looking forward to it, of course (I asked for a Kindle!) - but one can dream.

[Furen]

Get together with families, and have a good time

[Yuki-Anne]

Most of my family's celebrations are food-based. We usually have a present opening on Christmas Eve at my father's parents house, then Christmas Day is spent with my mother's parents (since my parents moved back to the same town, my grandparents come to my parents' house instead of the other way around).

This year, though, my dad's parents are off on a cruise and my older brother and his family will be with her family, so it'll probably be me, my parents, my oldest brother, and my mom's parents. And possibly a cousin.

I'm kind of bummed about how small the Christmas is going to be considering I've been in Japan all year, but oh well. Next year's going to be much, MUCH better...

[Panda4christ:3]

We always some kind of chinese food on christmas day...
Other then that not much