Christmas Traditions

Why are traditions so important?

Perhaps it’s something that brings families together. Something that brings peace and comfort because they are familiar and take us back to our childhood.

It is something that reminds us of our loved ones.

Growing up, our family had Christmas traditions that are still some of my fondest memories. As kids, my sister and I would open a chocolate advent calendar every day as we counted down to Christmas. My dad would set up a single strand of Christmas lights lining the roof and I’d sit on the driveway and stare at them at night. My mom would take me to craft fairs and I’d pick out a decoration to put up in my room or in our house and we’d always get a real Christmas tree. And my favorite was probably when our parents would look in the paper for houses listed with Christmas decorations and drive my sister and I around the neighborhoods to look at lights.

Christmas was always my favorite time of the year and it still is.

And now in our home, I have carried on some of these same traditions that bring me so much comfort and joy, as well as added a few of our own for our family.

My kids of course get chocolates and count down to Christmas too. (Although next year I’m thinking of actually making an advent calendar at Choco le`a). I’m going to take them to craft fairs to find a Christmas decorations to add to our collection. We always go together to pick out our real tree from a local store. And like we have been doing every year, we will drive around neighborhoods as a family to look at lights.

A few new traditions we’ve added on as our own are we attend a candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve and we open presents slowly during the season rather than all on Christmas Day.

Hopefully the traditions in your life can keep the spirit of loved ones lost, alive and the memories made may still bring you some peace, comfort, and joy.

erin’s tip

Continue a tradition you grew up with and create one of your own!