Traditions always live on
Family, food and sibling shenanigans will always make for a wonderful Christmas!
For most, Christmas is probably the most anticipated time of the year. From presents, food and quality time with family, it really is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’.
Growing up in a Christian home, I quickly learnt of our family’s traditions from a reasonably young age. These traditions stem mostly from my grandparents, (who were avidly involved in the church) and though they are no longer around, we still carry the traditions through to this day.
Here are three things my family and I always do during Christmas:
1. Midnight mass – On Christmas eve, we attend church from 10pm to 12am. While midnight mass isn’t obligatory, it is seen as more of a way to honour the birth of Jesus Christ.
As a child, midnight mass felt like one of the longest services I had ever attended – probably because it was very much past my usual bedtime.
My younger brother and I would often fall asleep, and so the solution of taking a wonderfully long nap before church came about.
2. Presents – As a child this was my favorite part. When we got back from midnight mass we were allowed to open one present each.
The rest were to be opened on Christmas day.
My younger brother and I were always eager to see what we had gotten beforehand and so we began poking little holes in our gifts to
sneak a peek. I fully admit that I still do this up till now.
Photo: Pixabay
3. Food, food and more food – We grew up in my grandparent’s home which meant that most of my family would gather there – the more the merrier! (Although this will probably be a miss this year because of Covid-19).
My grandmother, being the ever-so-accommodating woman that she was, would begin preparing days in advance.
Along with her daughters she would prepare everything from scratch (this family doesn’t do shortcuts, not even for the shortcrust pastry).
From the roasts to the desserts and everything in-between, it really is a feast.
As I grew older, I realised that it isn’t really about the presents or the new outfits.
Rather, I’ve found it to be more about appreciating family who are still around, and enjoying the time spent together.
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