When I was young I remember the holidays as a magical time of year when fresh baked cookies were always available, houses twinkled with multi-colored lights, and a fat man cloaked in red and white brought me toys. The holidays were a time of family and late night games and movies featuring Rudolph and Frosty. We would decorate our tree, drink hot chocolate (even though it was still warm outside), and listen to carols. The holidays were about comfort and warmth and love.
Thankfully, the holidays are still a time that make me happy to be alive. I still go over my parents house to bake cookies and decorate the tree. My husband keeps the Christmas movies alive by tuning into some of his favorites - "A Muppet Christmas Carol," "Scrooged," and the old claymation version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Now I am decorating my own home with my own tree, but the fun is still the same. *SPOILER ALERT* Knowing that there is no real "fat man cloaked in red and white" does not ruin the fun of gift giving and receiving and I still, occasionally, receive toys (last year a got a Gator Mr. Potato Head).
Sometimes I wish that I could go back to that innocence of believing that the jingling keys that I heard outside my window on Christmas Eve is truly Santa and his sleigh. But, I am a firm believer that most things get better with age. I no longer worry so much about getting that cool new Barbie for Christmas. Instead, I appreciate the little things like seeing my beloved cousin (whom I don't see often) or watching my brother's face when he opens the gift that is perfect for him. If anything, as I have gotten older the holidays have become MORE about comfort, warmth, and love.
I would love to hear about some of your holiday traditions...
20 comments:
I definitely agree with you. I think that when we are young and innocent all we really care about is waking uo on christmas morning and seeing all those beautifully wrapped presents under the tree. At least that's how I was. I remember my mom would always tell me these big stories about how Santa was making a list and that I better behave if I wanted to be in the "nice" list and not the naughty one. That was my biggest worry, because I wanted to get that nintendo 64, and those action figures I had seen advesrtised on tv. Now that I have outgrown that childish mentality, I have realized that there are more important things then just getting presents. I don't get many presents for christmas anymore, but that's ok, because getting to spend time with my family is enough.
I have always been a huge fan of the holidays. But by far, Christmas is my favorite. Ever since I was really little, I always get so excited when december comes along. It is just by far the most perfect time of the year. Of course, me and my family always celebrate Christmas time in many of the normal customs. This includes putting up and decorating the Christmas tree, hanging stalkings across the fire place, drinking hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows, watching classic christmas films, going to church, and of course the one and only Santa Claus. Of course when I lived back home in Vancouver, we always used to go sledding and skiing in the snow, along with sporadic snowball fights. Those were the days that I miss most when spending Christmas's in Florida. But it is still a lot of fun with or without snow.
I think one of the best things about Christmas is that it is a time of giving. Unlike birthdays, everyone is included in this time of sharing. My family always does secret santa every year which is always a nice surprise to see who you have or who has you. Even better than all of that, it is a time of year when everyone gets to be together. I get to see many of my brothers again who are usually off at college, which is nice because it allows me t realize how much I truly get to appreciate them. Also, I always get to see my grandparents, and sometimes even my cousins which is a really good surprise. What matters most to me about this time of year is the upbeat spirit that seems to spread like nothing else. Everyone is cheerful and you really do truly get to see the best of people. And this is one thing that I will always appreciate more and more as I grow older.
For my family December usually revolves around the holidays, every year it stays as tradition for my mom to secretely wrap the presents and pretend 'Santa' brought them for us. We usually sit around the tree on Christmas eve and promise to only open one present at mid-night, but we usually end up opening all the gifts at once. I don't usually appreciate the Holidays because of the gifts, I mostly like it for the family being together. The simple act of getting everyone together under one roof is a very big accomplishment for us and is a present all on its own.
I agree that it would be a lot more fun if I still believed in Santa. Even though I don't, my little sister does. She is six and I really enjoy watching her open her presents and thanking Santa. The look on her face is adorable. For Christmas, I get to see my family. We wake up, open presents, and have a huge dinner.
Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. Not because of the gifts but more for the family time. My family enjoy decorating the Christmas tree every year.We turn on some traditional Christmas carols and decorate away.
We attend church every Sunday but especially on Christmas day. Some times we go to the midnight mass which is always fun. Seeing how well put together everything is and how beautiful it looks completes Christmas for me.:)
Christmas is boring. At my house we set up a tree but don't ever give eachother presents anymore. Christmas is really boring at my dad's it used to be really fun but now I don't even really want anything or christmas If we do it's something really random. Nobody from my dad's side ever calls us to wish us a Merry Christmas, we're kind of reclusive.
I have a big, big family. When I lived in Argentina, we would be about 50 people in total celebrating Christmas. However, we opened the presents at midnight, when the 24th turned to the 25th, and we still do. It's part of our traditions. As a kid I would always be so, so nervous for the clock to strike 12 that I would have to use the bathroom every two seconds. I don't know why! However, I now realize how easily I would be fooled. Every year they would tell me they saw Santa outside, and when I came back in, the presents would all be there. I miss Santa, and I did cry when I learned the truth, but I live it through making other little kids believe in it.
Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. Every year we go to Colombia to spend Christmas over there and look at the lights and sing songs. But unfortunately this year we are going during summer so this is going to be my second Christmas at home. When I spend Christmas with just my parents its more personal and you can really appreciate the things you have. Which brings up another topic, when I spend my Christmas in Colombia we go to this orphanage and give the children clothes and gift and we are also going to do that this year here in Florida.
Before my grandmother moved into her retirement home, my whole family would spend Christmas at her house. We would go down to a Christmas tree farmed owned by one of my dad's old friends and cut down our tree. This is definitely my favorite part of the holidays. Going to the farm when it's actually cold out and smelling the fresh christmas tree smell would just make the holidays seem perfect.
Another thing that I would always do when we picked out a christmas, was find one tree the same size I was at that time and take a picture with it. It may not seem like much, but it's something that I've done every year that I have celebrated christmas in Maryland.
Every year Christmas is held at my house. I have a semi large family and depending whom id down in Florida there can be more people which makes it even better. Gingerbread houses are not something my family does, we will definitely bake though! We make bars called Magic Bars; they have coconut, chocolate, graham cracker, condensed milk and more chocolate! Cookies and carrots are always left by the Christmas tree. One thing I hate is my mom making me watch all the "classic" Christmas movies; I like the cartoon ones so we get to watch those too!
Holidays for me are still about comfort, love, and family (all 30 of us). Keeping tradition fully alive, our Colombian Christmases are filled with endless singing and dancing (and drinking). Santa Claus still comes dressed up anonymously as my uncle at the strike of midnight, and his presence makes us all become 5 year-old's again. Presents do make a big faction of the warm feeling, yet we learn that giving is more gratifying than receiving.
I love the holidays, its a time of being able to be with my family all week and my brother who is away at UF. Every year on Christmas eve we watch Christmas Vacation and another movie that we get from the "pickle present" Each Christmas eve my parents hide a pickle ornament. Whoever finds the ornament first gets to open the movie. Then we open our presents from our parents which are mostly practical things such as clothes and books. We eat a traditional meal and go to sleep. Then on Christmas morning my brother and I wake up early and open our stockings together and then go back to bed because we are not allowed to wake my parents up before 8. Then we all get hot chocolate or coffee and sit around the tree opening presents from "Santa." We spend the rest of the day together playing with our gifts and watching Christmas movies. We also used to take our dog and go to a Christmas tree farm to cut down the perfect tree, but since we now live in Florida that is no longer possible. We also bake batches of cookies and decorate the house every year. This time of the year makes me appreciate all I have and makes me feel like a kid again.
I think that the innocence and wonderland that we live in our heads when young is one of the most beautiful and fulfilling years of my life. Heck, from time to time I like to remember the past by forgetting my maturity and behaving like a 4 year old. Yeah, most people might frown some might envy to be able to let go so easily, I just think of it as simply as possible. Do what I like for as long as I have. This would kick in last year when I decide one day to decorate and cover the entire house in lights, I did and thought it was perfect. Maybe this year I'll come up with something wily and have a better story to tell for next years blog posting.
The holidays, for me, is also a time of cherishing. Past years my family and I have spent this time at my grandpa's house in central Florida. We would all gather around the living room and share stories about what everyone has been up to this year. It would always be my responsibility to get the tree out of the dusty attic and set it up. Then my mom and grandma would place all of the decorative ornaments on the leaves. This tradition is then followed by going to my grandpa's orange groves to pick buckets of fresh oranges until dusk. Then we go back to the old house and have dinner as a family and open presents. Its always fun to see the look on my little cousins' face when they get a present from Santa.
Wait, What do you mean Santa isn't real? Anyways, I love holidays. Christmas is the best, no offense to jews. I know Christmas is the best, specially as a teenager, because you spend time with all of your family, eat exquisite food, and receive gifts. As a proud member of a hispanic family of 22 people, I know the value of a good, genuine, calm family gathering. It's truly priceless. Every year the other part of my family travels from Venezuela to Weston [pronounced wes- tou-wn]. Like I said before, something that makes Christmas special is also the gift giving and receiving. Except, when you're a kid or in my case a teenager, for every gift you give you get around 5 in return. You got to love Christmas economics!
Now that I think of it, Christmas is not the same without the whole idea of Santa, but my family and I still try to keep the spirit going. Every year, my family and I go to pick out a real tree at Home Depot or some plant nursery. We usually pick a large 9 to 10 footer because the ceiling is high. Anyways, my dad started this family tradition where we all put up the 9342375672 ornaments we have, together, as a family. Most families probably do this too, but it is a tradition for us as much as anyone else. In the end, the tree looks tacky because we have overloaded it with sparkly trinkets from family and friends, or even some my brother and I had made when we were young. Christmas is such a pleasant and unique time of year, and I love the fact that it is always something to look forwards to.
I remember I used stay up until midnight every christmas eve to try to get a glimpse at Santa Clause. I would even track him on this website to see where he was in the world. Ya I was pretty naive. Me and my family always try to keep the traditions alive, being the most decorated house on the block and always getting at least a 15 foot christmas tree. Its definitely my favorite time of the year and I'm always looking forward to it.
I love Christmas, but it's not as exciting as it was when I was a kid. Nowadays I know what Santa is giving me before he comes down my chimney. I miss waking up early on Christmas mornings trying to get a sneak peak of my shiny new toys.
Christmas is my favorite holiday not only because I get wonderful presents but because of the time I spend with my family. My family celebrates a Colombian tradition called la novena. This is pretty much a count down to Jesus's birth. The celebration starts from December 16-25. It is called la novena because it is celebrated for nine days nine=novena. What we do is we all gather around and pray. We pray from a book with prayers in it which tells you a different prayer for each day. At the end of the prayer we will sing some songs together and eat a family dinner. I love this because it teaches me to love my family.
About a week before Christmas my family gets a tree and we all decorate it.
The tradition we have with this is that my mom puts the first decoration on the tree, a decorated sphere with many different colors.
In the end my dad is always to put the star in the top on the top.
That’s my holyday tradition, simple, and common, but is still nice.
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