Muse and Mischief

What really makes Christmas magical? How does it still hold so much power for some of us? When I think about the Christmas Season what stands out to me are the traditions. I feel that these are what make the holiday season so magical and special. I also think in a way the traditions we carry are a way of keeping the connection to our family alive. So, for me, it’s all about the traditions. These played a strong role in my novella When the Candles Burn where some of my own traditions inspired key moments in the story. Here are some of the ones that I love when I celebrate. 

Growing up as an Army Brat I didn’t really have the big family Christmases that a lot of people have. My wife grew up with that and I will say it was an experience when I spent the holiday with her family for the first time. No, for my family growing up it was always just my parent’s and us kids. 

When I was younger my grandparents would give my dad money so the kids could buy what they wanted for Christmas instead of guessing. In doing this they actually created one of my most treasured traditions from my younger years. 

When we were stationed in New Mexico there was just three kids for the first three years and getting one on one time with Mom was at a premium. However, in December we would each get a day where she would take one of us over the mountain to the nearest city to go shopping with our Christmas money. 

Going into town was a 45 minute drive so it was a big deal. We would go the mall, because those were still a big thing in the late 80s,and walk around. We would use a little bit of our money to buy a small present for our siblings and then spend the rest on ourselves. A lot of times my mom and I would also go see a movie. Remember when movie theaters were attached to malls? We continued that tradition through our duty station in Hawaii and then it kind of just died off as we got older. I still think about those times each year though. 

Christmas Eve is where a lot of our traditions lived though. Raised Catholic, Christmas Eve Mass was always a regular thing all through high school. After mass we would drive through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights, all the while me and my sisters were chomping at the bit to get home so we could open the one present allowed for Christmas Eve. 

Then my parents started getting dinner ready with my dad making the oyster stew that he made every year until he died. I carry on that tradition now and it is very special to me. While they did that, we would start our sequence of movies. 

It would always start with the Rankin and Bass Rudolph, then the Grinch, then Frosty, and after dinner my parents would turn on White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. My sisters and I can still quote practically the whole movie by heart. Then my parents would put on It’s a Wonderful life and send us off to bed. 

After I learned the truth about Santa a new tradition started where I would get to stay up with my parents and watch It’s a Wonderful Life until we were sure my sisters were asleep. My mom would light all of her Christmas candles throughout the house and I would help bring out my sisters’ Santa presents, which we did not wrap. 

I would organize all the presents across the living room and help stuff the stockings. My mom and dad turn off all the lights and walk around the house with the candles and Christmas tree glowing. Then I would head off to bed. 

Our Christmas Eve traditions stayed intact for the most part until my Dad passed away. When I moved out with my oldest I kept most of them going and started some new ones. One Christmas Eve my sister brought over wine while I was making spaghetti and thus Wine and Spaghetti Christmas Eve was born.

After my wife and I started dating Christmas Eve adjusted to us going to spend it with her parents, but I still keep some of my traditions going. We have also started putting our family traditions in the weeks leading up to Christmas which I think helps keep that magic going. 

That’s the nature of growing up. Some traditions are everlasting and others only stay for a short time to leave a lasting impact on us. I feel that my traditions like the oyster stew and It’s a Wonderful Life are ways that I can still feel connected to my parents now that they are gone and that…that mean everything. 

What traditions did you grow up with? Which ones are still around?