Across the world, families and friends gather together in December to celebrate Christmas. The month is full of Christmas memories from days gone by, or marked by traditions that burn as strong as a candy cane scented Christmas candle. The TSGS team has plenty of Christmas memories and/or traditions that are keeping them busy this holiday season, and a few of our board members responded with their favorite Christmas memories! Ready to learn more about the Christmas traditions that four members of the TSGS team hold dear? Then keep scrolling!
My favorite Christmas memory is helping my dad wrap presents for the rest of the family. I felt so special getting to do this.
My favorite Christmas memory is of going to my maternal Grandparents on Christmas Eve. After anticipating Christmas all month, it was like Christmas had finally arrived.
After waiting during the day for my Dad to get off work, we got ready, loaded up the car and went to my Grandparents who lived on a farm in Gibson County. The roughly 30 mile 40-minute trip was spent looking at Christmas lights and listening to Christmas music on the radio. We usually went up there as it was getting dark.
It was a fairly large gathering as my Mom had 4 brothers and 3 sisters and I had right at 30 cousins all of which were still young and at home.
My grandparents had a fairly large house and he always had 2 fireplaces going but it was still what one would consider packed. The adult males would be downstairs and have clabber games going as well as taking. The adult women would sit in the kitchen and talk. The cousins would talk or play together.
My grandmother would get all her 33 grandchildren one gift. My grandparent’s children would get a $100 bill.
Looking back it is hard to imagine having that many people together and having that many children playing in one house like that. Also, I now realize that my grandparents being of German heritage; this is what those of German heritage did on Christmas Eve – they had their children and grandchildren over for a Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve.
When I was growing up, one or both of my Grandma’s would spend Christmas at our house. They really enjoyed getting to see us open gifts and have a meal together. Now, my husband and I have two sons and they are both married. One son has a son who is two years old. We like to spend Christmas Eve with my husband’s family opening gifts and eating. After that, we attend Christmas candlelight service at our church. On Christmas Day we spend with my family and have a meal and open gifts with my side of the family. It’s so special for us to be with so many people in our family.
There are so many Christmas traditions I treasure. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is visiting live nativities in my area. As the actors don historical garb and the sheep baa in the background, I’m transported back to Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth. Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, visiting live nativities is a time to reflect on what the season is truly about. It takes the focus off of the pile of presents lying in wait under the tree and instead shifts the Christmas celebration back to the ultimate gift: Jesus’s birth.
Of course, as a historian and genealogist, I also enjoy delivering Christmas decorations to family members buried throughout my county and neighboring communities. While I originally decorated just the ancestors I had thoroughly researched, I’ve since expanded to include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a few “adopted family members,” like Civil War soldiers I’ve extensively studied. Delivering sprigs of greenery, complete with little red bows tied to each evergreen bough, is one of my favorite Christmas activities. It’s special to push “pause” on the Christmas chaos for a bit to reflect on those who came before me.
A couple of years ago, my family started a new tradition that has quickly grown into one of my favorites–viewing Christmas lights! My community began a Christmas light decorating contest, so each December there are plenty of houses throughout my county that can be visited. My family enjoys commenting on each house, noting when some go for traditional vibes, others take a classy approach, and still others deck their homes out with so many decorations that they must rival Santa at the North Pole. We always grab hot cocoa for our Christmas light viewing, and sometimes a cookie, which makes the day feel a bit like a “Hallmark moment.”
Christmas Eve at my house is basically an extension of Christmas Day. When Covid began, my family started having a Christmas party, just for our immediate family. We play Christmas games, swap gifts for Sneaky Santa, and even have a cookie decorating contest. That evening, right before bed, we gather around to read the biblical account of Jesus’ birth. After a day full of fun, it’s meaningful to rest and remember that when we wake up tomorrow the gifts, the food, and the fellowship are all secondary to the celebration of Christ’s birth–the Reason for the season.
While those are the traditions I hold dear in the days leading up to Christmas, I have an altogether different idea when I think about Christmas morning. Already, I can almost hear the country ham sizzling in the skillet, the aroma wafting through the house amid the notes of Christmas cheer on December 25th. A tradition my family has observed for years is waking up on Christmas morning, opening stockings from “Santa,” and then sitting down for a hearty Christmas breakfast of country ham before drawing Christmas out into an all-day festivity. After gifts, we have a “traditional” dinner of ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and other yummy Christmas trimmings. Not to mention, my sister bakes the most delicious truffles and peanut butter pie–my favorite delicacies! On December 26th, I’ll start back to my exercise regimen, but until then I’ll enjoy all the sweet treats I can handle–Christmas Day calories don’t count, right??? My family will round out Christmas night by watching a movie, normally something humorous like Elf (one of my favorite movies of all time) or Deck the Halls.
In my family (especially with a sister that is crazy for Christmas), Christmas runs from November 1st to January 1st!
