Traditions

I was at a corporate retreat two months ago with several hundred of my work colleagues. One of the ice breaker activities that day was asking questions of one another. The questions ranged from “mild”, “spicy”, and “hot” as if they were flavors of salsa or barbecue sauce. I guess the thought being, the more intense the heat, the more personal the question.
 
One of the questions asked was about traditions. The question was along the lines of, “Name a family tradition from your childhood that you now carry on in your own family during the holidays.” I thought about that question for a long time. In fact, I’m still pondering that question.
 
Merriam Webster defines tradition as “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior.” The word brings back memories of Topol singing the word at the top of his lungs. (Bonus points to anyone who got that reference from "Fiddler on the Roof.")
 

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Believe it or not, I don’t remember most of my childhood. I remember pieces of memories from my childhood, snapshots of memories if you will. If I were to put the snapshots together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the puzzle would never come together, because I don't know what the final image looks like. These snapshots of memories don't equate to an entire memory, and don't contain any recollections of any family traditions. As for my memories of Christmases in my childhood, I have no memory of most of them.
 
One thing I do remember from my childhood at Christmastime: we had a lollipop ornament atop our tree. Tree toppers are traditionally a star or an angel.  I have an angel tree topper that is a teddy bear; it is at once both angelic and adorable. The lollipop ornament I remember from my childhood was blue in color, sort of a robin’s egg blue, or baby blue. While I remember the lollipop, the memory itself isn’t a tradition. However, it had to be a tradition, as someone in the family used the lollipop ornament as a tree topper for years.
 
Looking back on my childhood, there’s one tradition I remember: Christmas Eve service. My father is a minister, so when I was a child, church activities ran our lives. We knew the calendar on the wall by the upcoming ceremonies we would attend and participate in. As I was in church choir throughout my childhood, I remember practicing vocal pieces months in advance of Christmas, for perfection at the Christmas Eve service. Another tradition for me personally: taking a nap in the afternoon, to be awake and ready to perform at an hour long service that began at 11pm Christmas Eve.
 

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In thinking about traditions in my family, I believe that they have changed considerably. My siblings and I aren't children anymore, and we all live on opposite coasts. Now that I’m living my best life in my own house as a grown woman, I’ve come to realize that I’ve created my own traditions for myself over the years, without even being aware of it! Here are a few examples:
 
-I put up my Christmas tree on Halloween
I absolutely hate Halloween. Well, I do love that bulk quantities of candy are then available for purchase. But that's it. With the waning light in October, I have a profound lack of energy, in both body and soul. Putting up my Christmas tree early rejuvenates my body and spirit, as the lights of the tree cast a warm, loving glow in my home.
 
Last year I bought a brand-new Christmas tree from the Twinkly company. The tree is controlled with an app on my tablet. There are numerous light effects that the tree can perform. In addition, the lights of the tree can be any color in the universe. If it’s visible in the visible spectrum of light, the tree can produce any shade and hue of any color known to humanity. I was so impressed with the Twinkly experience I got a set of lights to use on a garland on my mantle.

Twinkly website: https://twinkly.com/en-us

I didn’t put any ornaments on my Christmas tree last year. Well, I put my golden crown on my tree. It’s only fitting; I am the Queen of Christmas. But other than that, I left the tree as it was, right out of the box.
 
This year I decided to decorate my new tree. I thought I might have to get rid of some ornaments this year, as the new tree isn’t as full as my previous one. However, I was wrong. The new tree has more lifelike branches and tips, which makes it the most lifelike tree I’ve ever owned. To my surprise, I have room for more ornaments on this tree! In truth, my tree looks gorgeous, with ornaments and without!

"My Christmas Tree" by Esperanza Habla

As luck would have it, I had the week before Halloween off work this year. I had a workman in to perform some home maintenance on Monday of that week. Once the gentleman was out of my house, I put up my tree. (Why would I have a problem having a tree up with a workman coming to my home? I refer you to last year’s piece, “The Queen of Christmas.”)

https://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-queen-of-christmas.html

While it was days earlier than my normal tradition, putting up the tree that day was perfect. It was Monday of my vacation; as I was off work, I got to enjoy it for my entire vacation. It also gave my cats plenty of time to get used to the furniture moving around the house, to accommodate the tree.

-I write my Christmas cards on Thanksgiving
I write and address my Christmas cards on Thanksgiving, while watching the Macy's parade. If I’ve written a newsletter, they are printed before Thanksgiving. When I’m done writing a card, I set it upright, with the envelope resting on top of the card, as the ink dries. Once it's dry, I seal every card in the corresponding envelope (pun intended) and put them out to be picked up in the mail the following day. Recipients of my Christmas cards say that it's the first card they receive every year. I had some help doing my cards this year, from my cat Blues….

-I watch Christmas movies starting in October
I own several Christmas movies, everything from Rankin/Bass Christmas specials to Sesame Street specials to modern day Christmas cartoons and romantic comedies. I am a Hallmark Christmas Movie devotee, tuning in every weekend to see new Christmas movies. They began on October 21 this year, and I’ve watched every one. Well, a portion of every one. One thing I’ve discovered this year: just because it’s a Hallmark Christmas movie doesn’t make it a good Christmas movie.

As for my movies, I own several movies and specials on digital and Blu Ray. I begin watching my collection of Christmas around Thanksgiving. I have some die hard favorites, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Muppet Christmas Carol”, “Prep and Landing”, and more. (But not "Die Hard." It's not a Christmas movie.) I’ve watched a few so far this year. However, I’m behind this year. I need to catch up on my viewing!

Some of the many holiday specials I own 

-I begin listening to Christmas music in September
At my library, we play music everyday. I've curated a playlist that encompasses several genres: classical, jazz, classical crossover, instrumental covers, and more. I also have a jazz playlist I’m currently curating. 

In addition to finding music for us to play, I scour each year’s holiday releases to find new music. As the new holiday releases come out in September, that’s when I begin previewing Christmas music for myself and for my library. We play instrumental versions of Christmas carols, and vocal versions of secular Christmas music, as well as several Hanukkah songs.

If I can vent for a moment, it’s completely frustrating to listen to new Christmas releases. Every artist or group does a rendition of several holiday staples: “Silent Night”, “Jingle Bells”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “The Christmas Song” (also known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”), and on and on and on. I have versions of those songs that I like, from new and vintage artists alike. But it gets old after a time. Switch it up folks! There are tons of Christmas carols that are rarely featured on contemporary Christmas releases. I truly value, and end up downloading, songs that are brand new-tracks that the public has never heard. That’s what it takes to get onto my playlist-new, original music.

-I make chocolate covered pretzels
Years ago, I found a pretzel mold in a craft store. It looked completely easy, and it is! You melt the chocolate, spoon it into a pretzel mold, put a pretzel rod in the mold, turn the pretzel, coating it in chocolate, and put the mold into the refrigerator. Thirty minutes later, remove them from the fridge. Voila, chocolate covered pretzels! In years past I’ve made white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter, peppermint, even salted caramel! I have friends and family that would go for one if not all of those flavors. My favorite part of the process-spooning up the last bits of chocolate and eating it. Molten chocolate is the best. Here are the first batches I made this year, in a few flavors:

-I make the best hot chocolate
I was given a hot chocolate maker several years ago for Christmas. It eventually gave up the ghost, and I had to replace it. Two years ago I finally found one that I liked. Picture a blender that you put milk in, and then the hot chocolate mix. You turn the blender on, and the hot chocolate maker mixes and heats the mixture. Some minutes later, voila, hot chocolate! 

I make 2 cups at a time, and drink from mammoth mugs. I'm not team marshmallow, I'm team whipped topping. I pour the hot chocolate into a cup, put some whipped topping on top, and I’m all set. Using a hot cocoa maker ensures that the cocoa is properly mixed and heated to the temperature I like. What temperature is that exactly? When the cup isn't piping hot in my hands. When it's cooled down a bit, it's ready to drink. This year I splurged and got some holiday sprinkles to go atop the whipped topping. They should make for a fun and festive cup of hot chocolate!

 

A typical mug of hot chocolate in my house

-I buy Christmas pajamas
It’s a holiday tradition for millions of Americans to buy matching pajamas at the holidays. As it’s just me, I don’t need a matching set. I look for pajamas that I like. I’m a person who is always cold, so I buy fleece pajamas. The thicker the fleece the better. I began this tradition some years ago at an after Christmas sale, when the pajamas were greatly discounted in price. Whether it be at Christmastime, or after winter clothes season is over, I buy myself a new set of fleece pajamas every year. I have my eye on a set of pajamas to buy this year!

-I write Lessons of the Year-
It’s my New Year tradition to write a lessons of the year blog, a year in review if you will. Whether they be good or bad, we can learn from the lessons we learned throughout the year. Sometimes I write these lessons in advance of the New Year; other times, this piece comes a little into the New Year, as I’ve needed time to reflect on the year that has been.

Upon reflection, I think those are all my annual traditions during the holidays. Now that I’m aware of my Christmas traditions, I think it’s time I create some new ones! In truth, my holidays are rich and plentiful, peaceful, calm and bright, comfy and cozy. I can’t think of any new holiday traditions I’d like to create at this time. I’ll have a think on it.

No matter what you celebrate, if you celebrate anything, I hope you have you have a happy, healthy, peaceful holiday season, full of holiday traditions old and new.