Any holiday traditions (Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years, Festivus)

[Sarita]

Do you have any holiday traditions like special meals, special decorations, special events, etc…that you do with friends and family?

 If so, please tell…it’s fun hearing them.

Or are you more of a Grinch (like me)

[LittlePuffyTail]

Festivus all the way. I find Tinsel distracting.

I love Christmas but can be a bit of a grinch when people start getting all Christmassy right after Halloween. And the commercialism of it is just insane. If I think about it too much, I start to get angry. But anyways…..

We don’t really have any traditions. Ricky and I have movies we just have to watch before the big day, among them, A Christmas Story and Bad Santa. Christmas Day we spend at my Moms with my grandparents and my sisters family. 

[Rufus]

My family traditions are probably a bit weird for most of you from the Northern Hemisphere!

In Sydney, the seafood markets are open 24 hours a day in the two days before Christmas. At 2 am on Christmas Eve we normally head over to buy seafood because they’re way way too crowded at any other time.

I have to work a half day on Christmas Eve morning and I normally head to my parents place in the evening (although this year they’ve given my bed to their Great Dane puppy so I won’t head over until Christmas morning) We normally head to the beach for a evening swim on Christmas Eve and then a morning swim on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day the extended family come over – three grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, counsins kids, family dogs – and we have a prolonged lunch, mostly seafood, cold meats, salads and fruit (particularly mangos and cherries ) then backyard cricket! Sometimes another quick beach trip in the evening.

[Rufus]

Oh and I forgot – on Christmas Eve night me and all my childhood friends who still live in the area head to this huge pub with a big beer garden that is out over the water. Everyone I went to School with still shows up ther on that night and it’s great to catch up!

[MimzMum]

I think I need to go to Australia for Christmas…sounds a lot better than wall to wall snowbanks and -40 F temps! 0_0 Although I’ll pass on the pints!

We haven’t really celebrated much over the last few years as the family has been in a state of continual crisis for at least that long. We weren’t even supposed to still be in Alaska so I don’t really have a plan. But we’ll get a tree in (hopefully, if it’s not too cold to cut one) and decorate a bit. I’ve taken to watching the midnight Mass on t.v. even though I am not Catholic. I just love the ritual and prayers and songs. No one else but me really concentrates on the spiritual aspect so that’s the only way I can attend ‘church’ on the day.

It will be our last ‘White Christmas’ this year (if all goes well) because we’re moving back down south to be close to his family, so we’re looking forward to our offer on our new property being accepted as our ‘gift to ourselves.’ Maybe that will be enough cause for a big party. xD

[Monkeybun]

Was wondering if you had managed to move yet… hope it’s soon, MM!

My tradition in my family was to dress up, and drink coffee with baileys as we open presents Hubby though, hates to dress up. So we just hang out with his Mom and watch movies. No presents usually, as he always gets what he wants when he wants it anyway.

[LongEaredLions]

We always get together with our family, open gifts, watch all the childhood christmas movies, help the bunnies open their gifts. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sounds like other people are a bit more original with their traditions.

[Roberta]

That wouldn’t be the Newport Arms by any chance Rufus… Many a jug of beer and seafood platter consumed there in my youth. (But then I could say that for most of the large water front pubs in Sydney, North and South)
I already have the crayfish in the freezer for Xmas lunch… Going for prawns and oyster for the entree with the cold meat and salad in the evening…
We usually have toasted ham sandwiches with hot english mustard for breakfast with champagne cocktails but the rest of the family is down south this year so it is just Mum and I during the day then dinner with Mum, my Nephew and his partner in the evening. Maybe a spot of floating round the pool in the afternoon with more bubbly….

[Rufus]

Haha Roberta! I was talking about the Newport Arms Are you from the Northern Beaches? I grew up there (spoilt), but I just visit now.
What a crazy small world!

[Roberta]

I grew up in Roselands, although it was called Lakemba back then (glad they changed the name, embarrassed to tell people that’s where I’m from these days, place has gone to the pack) Our party boundaries were pretty far flung depending on the seasons and which night of the week and budget… All nighters at the Cauldron in the Cross and breakfast at Mimi’s next door, the Milsons Point Hotel listening to Pat Drummond on a Sunday, of course made rounds of the various leagues clubs and RSL’s too..The Oaks, the pub on the beach there at Brighton Le Sands(have forgotten what we use to call it), The old Commercial Hotel in Balmain, The Drummoyne Rowing Club. The list is endless…

Had to do a few edits there…..

[Roberta]

I should clarify Lakemba is still Lakemba but it covered a much larger area.. Part of it is now called Roselands.

[Rufus]

Wow you really did have far flung party boundaries.
I have a meeting for work in Lakemba on Monday! I’ll say hi from you (or wave to Roselands)

[MissD]

I’m Polish and most people in Poland are Catholic. Our Christmas dinner is actually on Christmas Eve – it’s the most important day of Christmas and a family affair for us. Just before dinner we break up a special wafer and share it with each other and exchange wishes. The dinner traditionally starts when the first star appears, around 4 pm. The main dish is carp as we’re not supposed to have meat. Altogether there’s 12 dishes and they’re all meat free – a lot of cabbage, mushrooms, dumplings, beetroot soup, vegetable salads and fish. After dinner we open presents and spend the rest of the evening having a few drinks and relaxing, then we go to midnight mass which is absolutely brilliant, even if you’re not religious, the church looks amazing with all the decorations, and there’s a big choir singing carols. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are usually spent visiting family and friends, all the shops are closed. Christmas is not as commercial there yet. I live in the UK now and the difference is huge, it’s all about shopping here, before and after (sales on Boxing Day…). It’s very hard to follow all the traditions here, and most of my family are still in Poland so I don’t really celebrate Christmas much now.

Where I come from there’s a lot of Orthodox people (members of Russian Orthodox Church) and their Christmas is actually in January (6th I think) so when I was at school we had a Christmas break twice a year

[Roberta]

I had Polish friends in Sydney… I loved visiting them… The food was awesome and the weekends seemed to be the time for recreational baking etc…

[bunnygirl]

Oooh how I love Christmas! It’s our second one in WA this year – but usually…it’s get up around 8ish, and eat breakfast. We then exchange gifts, grab our towels, and head to one of the beaches. We eat strawberries and drink champagne on the beach with our family-friends and afterwards, everyone comes back to our place and we BBQ and dip in the pool! I love Christmas in Australia in summer – definitely beats British snowy Christmases. But then again, it doesn’t feel like a proper Christmas without the Christmas jumpers and snowy frost!

[bunnnnnnie!]

So fun hearing all the different traditions, especially with BBers in all different countries!

This will be a new tradition this xmas for me… first time I’ll be splitting xmas between my house, my parents’ house, and my boyfriend’s parents’ house. In the past it was always wake up basically at dawn at my parents’ house and open presents. Then just hang out and relax all day and have a nice dinner, usually with like turkey or ham.

This year it’ll be x-mas morning with my boyfriend and the pets (yay ), then probably head to my parents’ house, then to his parents’ house. There is going to be a lot of driving going on for us, LOL.

[LBJ10]

I tried to post in this thread yesterday and I got an error. Everything I typed was gone. =\

Anyway, we don’t really have any traditions of our own. We can’t put up the tree this year or decorate since the house is all torn apart and the Christmas stuff is buried in the basement. I wish this stupid project would have been done already, but it has been on hold for the past few months. *sigh*

My mother-in-law will always make oyster stew on Christmas Eve though. Blech! I guess you could call it a tradition, but I don’t want to eat the stuff. What’s sad is the fact that I LOVE seafood, but the oyster stew she makes is gross. I don’t know how my husband can eat it.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I think this year I’ll be the grinch. This is my second Christmas working at a toy store and who woulda thought it would kill my Christmas spirit!? Haha

When I lived in Texas closer to family this time of year was great and jolly! We’d go to my grandparents on my dad’s side Christmas Eve and have dinner and open up presents. Then on Christmas morning we would open up presents with the padres and in the evening go to my grandparents on my moms side and eat lunch there and open up presents. It wasn’t really the presents that I looked most forward to but the food and laughter of all the family gathered around the table actually talking and enjoying each other’s company. My family is very stubborn and opinionated and a lot of them don’t talk to each other all year but on thanksgiving and Christmas we always come together, sit at the table, and really enjoy each other’s company. I loved it! But now that I’m across country… Idk. Just doesn’t really feel like Christmas anymore. Not sure why lol. I’m actually disappointing myself when I think of the lack of spirit I’m showing!

But it’s really cool coming in here and seeing everyone’s routine! Wow how different individuals are. Love reading about it

[LittlePuffyTail]

Christmas at the beach! That sounds great! Although, I think I’m so used to a White Christmas, I would miss the snow. We usually pray that we are not snowed in on Christmas Day!

MissD- 12 Vegetarian Dishes! That sounds great to me! . My family is Catholic as well. I often go to Christmas Eve Mass with my Mom.

[rayray]

LittlePuffyTail, I’m so glad you mentioned Festivus!! lol! My friends and I celebrate every year. This year we’re doing homemade Manitoba perogies. Then some drinks. We’re too wimpy to do the Feats of Strength so we just arm wrestle each other. Winner gets to throw a snowball at the person of their choice.

[LittlePuffyTail]

What about the airing of grievances?

[MimzMum]

LPT, this is my daughter’s biggest downer about moving out of state, no more white Christmases unless we take a trip to the mountains. (Unlikely as OH would have to see his dad that way.) Personally I’m going to be happy not to have to drive on icy roads anymore! But it will be a bit strange, we’ve been here almost 20 years so I’m so used to snow by Halloween.

[rayray]

I air my grievances 364 days a year. I’ll give them one day off. lol!

[justwildbeat]

Even though my family is Asian my mom likes to have Christmas meals that belong in a Normal Rockwell painting. This year though we’re going to take a ski trip in Michigan lol. This is in lieu of presents, since last year’s present opening caused a fight…well more like an argument.

[Author]

Messages