The Handbook of Christmas Traditions

For my tradition-loving family, Christmas is our favorite time of year.

We love every aspect of the Christmas holiday. Our family has traditions for everything from worship services to decorations to food and entertainment. You might say we are wrapped in tradition. In fact, we could publish a handbook of standard operating procedures for our traditions.

 

The Tradition Handbook, First Edition

From our first Christmas as newlyweds, we began establishing traditions for our family. But creating new customs requires compromise and negotiation. We had our own thoughts on “essential” family Christmas traditions. But we also owed a certain allegiance to the customs of the wider population of in-laws and outlaws on both sides.

 

For instance, my husband’s family always opened gifts after attending an early Christmas Eve church service. The only gifts under their tree on Christmas morning were “Santa presents”. In my family, Christmas Eve started at Grandma’s house with the extended family, and ended at church at midnight. Our Christmas Eve presents were from grandparents, aunts and uncles. They mostly contained new pajamas, socks and underwear that we were obliged to hold up and acknowledge publicly. On Christmas Day our gift piles included both family and Santa presents, and they took most of the morning to open.

 

Since we were the portable members of the family in those early years, we adapted the “when in Rome” philosophy for Christmas. We went along with the traditions of whichever side of the family we were visiting. I did resolutely keep one of my mom’s traditions even when at the in-laws. She always insisted that the first sustenance of Christmas Day should be a Christmas cookie. Or three. That tradition is still in the handbook.

 

The Tradition Handbook, Home Edition

Since we both grew up decorating live Christmas trees, we agreed on that from the start of our married life. However, as a farm boy, hubby always cut down his tree, whereas we chose ours from the Boy Scout lot at the strip mall. I was happy to adopt the tree-cutting tradition. My mom was prone to selecting the “Charlie Brown trees” and often bought the ones that needed a bit more love. (Also known as the ones that had no needles left by New Year’s.)

 

I did lose the candles-in-the-window argument. My house sported those orange bulbs in the plastic multi-candelabras that were supposed to look like real burning candles. (But didn’t.) The in-laws used green bulbs in a one-candle-per-window arrangement. My argument that candles didn’t have green flames held no sway. Being able to identify the “house with the green candles” to Christmas visitors was imminently more practical. So that one got added to the handbook too.

 

The Tradition Handbook, Compromise Edition

My dear husband and I disagree on both Christmas music and movies. I’m a temporal traditionalist when it comes to Christmas music. I believe firmly that Christmas music is allowable just as soon as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is over. Since Santa ushers in the Christmas shopping season when the parade reaches Herald Square, that is the appropriate time to fire up the ol’ Bing Crosby. There is absolutely no cause to be fa-la-la-la-laaing at Halloween. We had to add an appendix to the handbook on this subject.

 

Likewise, we compromised on our list of Christmas movies. We purchased DVDs of both “Miracle on 34^th Street” and “Christmas Vacation” so that we didn’t come to blows when they were on at the same time. I am also at liberty to record and watch any movie on the Hallmark channel provided no one else is home or requires the TV. Rudolph, Charlie Brown and the Grinch are always must see TV regardless of how many times they are broadcast on network and cable channels. Reciting lines verbatim while the shows are playing is also completely acceptable.

 

Incidentally, the one thing never in need of compromise is the reason for the season. Our Christmas traditions first and foremost celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, and the hope He brings to our lives. That’s in chapter one.

 

The Tradition Handbook, Family Edition

We have revised the handbook the most since the advent of children and pets. Safety concerns prompted the codicil that only unbreakable ornaments belong on the bottom third of the tree. Tinsel must be constrained to the top two-thirds. The children added the rider specifying Santa’s refreshments: cookies and milk, carrots for the reindeer and cheese for Santa Mouse. We also included a legal affidavit that Santa’s handwriting is not identical to the Easter Bunny’s. And to preserve my sanity, we cut the chapter on annual Christmas letters (with accompanying happy family pictures) before the kids even finished kindergarten.

 

Let somebody else keep that tradition.