Chocolates in the Advent calendar and reading the Christmas story day by day to my mom....fat, bald Santa in his little wooden sleigh (a much loved decoration in my house)....walking to the woods to pick a Christmas tree for my dad to cut down....unwrapping each little wooden figurine for the creche...Candlelight service culminating in singing "Joy to the World"....playing "The Little Drummer Boy" over and over in my living room while sipping fresh hot apple cider....my cousins ringing sleigh bells out in the snowy cold so I would go to bed thinking Santa had arrived...reading my Dad's Christmas letter....
These are the memories of my family traditions. When I recall them they are misty and faraway but warm and comforting. I don't remember feelings of running around, rushing to buy presents for everyone, feeling a need to go to every holiday party, or needing to get exactly the right decorations for the exterior of the house. I remember love. I remember family. I remember connection. I remember happiness.
What I know is that traditions aren't about the things you did...they're about the people you did them with and the feelings they evoked in you. Every year is an opportunity to return to those loving feelings and to create new traditions in your holiday season.
I don't need gifts, or parties, or cards, or anything else to maintain these traditions. All I need is family, friends, love, and connection. So in just about a week you will find me sipping hot apple cider, listening to "The Little Drummer Boy," in front of a warm fire with those I love.
