Merry Christmas everyone! Whether you’re spending it cozied up with family in front of your favorite version of A Christmas Carol or reminiscing about past Christmases over dinner and eggnog, I pray everyone can celebrate the nativity of Christ surrounded by friends and family and good cheer. Here are some beloved Christmas traditions which my family loves to share every year.

Christmas Tree Hunting – In our house we never had a fake tree. While we all lived in Colorado we would gleefully bundle up, strap on our snowshoes and head out into the chilly mountain winter air in search of the perfect tree. Some years, the tree had a bit of a Charlie Brown quality to it, whether it be a doubled top or an odd bald spot at the back. Sometimes the tree was slightly too skinny or too fat or slightly bent halfway up but these quirks only made us love it more. We could never return home with the tree until we’d engaged in the annual snowball fights and sledding runs and generally wore ourselves out playing in the snow. Once home, we would crowd in the living room in our socks and slippers to decorate the tree while munching on homemade Christmas cookies.

German Christmas Cookies – During our childhood, every year around Thanksgiving we would cram ourselves into my Oma’s tiny kitchen along with all of our aunts, uncles and cousins, to help bake Oma’s legendary Christmas cookies. She always had a sixth sense for when the cookies were done. No timers in her house. Everyone would run for cover if ever someone distracted Oma and the cookies came out burnt. However, these catastrophes were rare and far between and in general, everyone was sent home with huge tins overflowing with our favorite Christmas delights.

The Christmas Puzzle – This is a bit more of an Advent tradition in our family as a partially finished jigsaw depiction of the last supper or the nativity is generally sprawled across our coffee table for the majority of the season. We always work to complete the picture by Christmas which on occasion resulted in my sister and I happily chatting until 2 in the morning to place the last pieces. 

The Feast – While many people are fond of their Christmas turkey, the feast of the nativity has often spanned several days in our house. We loved embracing our Italian and German heritage respectively and there would usually be an evening for each. My sister and I always loved helping to make the annual homemade pasta. One year we even did homemade pretzels to pair with our favorite German beer for an appetizer. On Christmas morning my mom would always have cinnamon rolls and a delicious breakfast casserole hot and ready. 

Go To Church – Even before we were Catholic we would don our Christmas finery to attend church with our extended family. At the time, we mostly went for the music as we were always sure to catch our favorite carols on Christmas Eve. However, having all now made our way to the Church, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning masses are something that I wouldn’t dream of missing. We still get the traditional hymns which are lovely to hear but the mass is so much more than that. Celebrating Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on the eve of His nativity is a profoundly moving experience for me, particularly when the sanctuary is overflowing with fellow parishioners. Some might grumble at the difficulty of finding parking at this particular mass but I love to see all of our fellow church goers, dressed to impress and there to reverence Christ.