The Holiday Season and Traditions

[Aniko]

One of Caity's posts in the the first Cranberry thread made me think (as did a conversation a had recently with someone). I liked her question about asking people what they have every year.


I think cranberry sauce is traditional in all parts of the country but what are some of the other things everyone has every year?


I'd like to expand it a little and see what everyone does as well as eat every year. I'm thinking any of the holidays, not just Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Does anyone always travel to see family or have family come to visit?

Is there something you always do?
(aside from the obvious buying of presents...
...unless it's your thing to go out the day after thanksgiving and shop...or go out the day after christmas and buy christmas stuff for next year).

Is there something you have/or eat every year that wouldn't be the same if you had/or ate something different?

Do you always celebrate a holiday at one particular house/or place?

Are there any other holiday traditions you'd like to share?

[starrdarcy]

Did you know that there are other major celebrations that go on unoticed by much of the public? One that comes to mid, Diwali, over here it's like a second christmas, 3 or 4 days of fireworks and parties. One reason why there not big, the retail sector hasn't picked up on it yet...

[SamsoniteDelilah]

There are a few things that make me feel like it's Christmas:
Bruce Springsteen singing "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town"
Buying a wreath of fresh pine greens for the door (soon!)
Nat King Cole singing carols
Walking around and looking at people's lights and decorations
My mom's Russian Tea Cookies

I have decorations for my apartment that I've collected/made over the last few years. I'll post a pic of the grapevine tree I made. The hotglue nearly cost me my fingerprints, so it's rather dear to me!

My roommate and I are going to get a fresh tree this year. Should be fun to see how the cat takes it. :D

[allthatglitters]

Does anyone always travel to see family or have family come to visit?

Is there something you always do?
(aside from the obvious buying of presents...
...unless it's your thing to go out the day after thanksgiving and shop...or go out the day after christmas and buy christmas stuff for next year).

Is there something you have/or eat every year that wouldn't be the same if you had/or ate something different?

Do you always celebrate a holiday at one particular house/or place?

Are there any other holiday traditions you'd like to share?

My family isn't big on tradition, we never were. My brother likes to say something that a family vacation or holiday isn't the same without a good old fight or mad rush to clean the house perfectly before we can leave to go somewhere. I disagree, there have been several holidays and vacations that we haven't fought, I just can't remember them. All joking aside, we really don't have traditions.

When I was little my parents worked ALOT, my dad was a youth pastor and my mom's job as a night shift NICU nurse often required her to work teh night of or before a holiday. One Thanksgiving we had chinese take-out, with left-overs from the youth groups thanksgiving party a few nigths before. I suppose the most memorabal dinner was Christmas when I was 11, my Mom had to work so my dad let us make our own food. No wait I take that back, last christmas my mom attempted to make ham bone soup, but burned it and we had left-overs. The smell over-powered the crisp scent of pine leaves and lasted even longer.

I don't mind, not having traditions is nice. Sure I don't have a cultural identity, but I have me own identity. I long ago accepted that I lived in a family of mismatched quilt pieces, spread thin, rather small and oddly sewn together, but no unsightly holes or ravaging tears. Sure it's faded and has it's fair amount of tear stains, but it's ours. I guess mabey our family tradition is remembering that.

[Sedai]

Eat food. :D


more later....

[PimpDaShizzle V2.0]

It's all about everyone eating some Bird and playing some board games - at first the games were boring, then embarassing, now incredibly entertaining and time well spent with the family and friends - then deep sleep. We usually grab our Oswald Family Christmas tree the saturday after Thanksgiving. No pre-cut trees, those tangs' are for dorks, lazy people, and old people. Cut em' yourself, that's what I say. Unless you think the tree isn't important or you're a tree hugger, then get a plastic one, or whatever. Oh yeah, we watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every year, and laugh at the same jokes everytime. I think they might even get funnier.

[susan]

a tradition at chanukah time is latkas or potato pancakes...usually with apple sauce...

i actually used to visit my parents in florida up until 2001 when i got a new job that prohibits travel during the winter season...

holidays were usually celebrated at my inlaws, but the last three years it's been at our house

[nebbit]

For the silly season, Robert and I used to spend it with my parents, my sister and her children, my brother always went away with his family, it is more of a present giving thing than a religious thingy.

Now my Parents have passed on, my Sister doesn't speak to me, and all the children are grown up, all is changed, this year we are going away to the mountains, staying in a very up market place just the two of us. http://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons3/BALLOONS.GIF

[susan]

For the silly season, Robert and I used to spend it with my parents, my sister and her children, my brother always went away with his family, it is more of a present giving thing than a religious thingy.

Now my Parents have passed on, my Sister doesn't speak to me, and all the children are grown up, all is changed, this year we are going away to the mountains, staying in a very up market place just the two of us. http://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons3/BALLOONS.GIF

sounds like a great idea to me...enjoy

sorry about your parents...and your sister

[nebbit]

sorry about your parents...and your sister

Thanks for that, it is ok as all my memories of my parents are good ones, they were both lovely, well, my sister, she is just silly that's all :p