When you were a child did your family have any traditions for Christmas?

Well, as a child we did the gifts Christmas morning. If the church held any type of service we attended. My mother is famous for her Christmas cookies. She gives them to everyone, at last count she makes somewhere around 30 different kinds.

With my own children we have started a new tradition. Each Christmas Day we hold a "birthday" party for Jesus. We bake a cake, decorate it, and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. The kids really love it, and it really brings home the idea that "Jesus is the reason for the season".

 

there was a pagent at church and my father made a different pie each year it's a small community, and we were a family then....

 

bruren777, this is a great thread. I've started my own similar thread not to compete, of course, but with a different emphasis.

I love the old tradition of going out into the woods to cut down a real Christmas tree. I got to do this a few times when I was a boy because my Grandfather owned 46 acres. What fun to look for just the right tree that all the family would appreciate!

I also love the special Christmas cookie tradition. My wife makes a big batch every year, and we share them with our Japanese believers at our potluck dinner at church.

 

John of J:

If you've ever been to the Philippines, you would see the tradition of the 7 day early morning Mass, beginning on the 18th of December. People trooping to their parish churches to hear Catholic mass at 4 a.m. then after mass, to those small side stores for the traditional rice cakes and hot ginger drinks.
The whole thing culminates on the 24th of December at midnight which is actually the 25th when they have what they call the Midnight Mass.
After that, when they get home the whole family sits down to a huge meal of native and Spanish or Chinese influenced meals. Spaghetti, macaroni, salami, bacon, apples, grapes, broiled fish, roast pig, bread, rice, chocolate drinks, coffee.
The idea was just about the same as celebrating the birthday of Jesus.
Then in the morning comes the visit from the godchildren for their gifts from their godparents.
Great tradition we grew up in.
But as time went by, materialism set in and the focus shifted on the new clothes one wears, the size of the midnight table, the generosity of the gifts.
Man is a fallen creature, and tends to corrupt anything he touches.
No wonder God had the Israelites destroy the brazen serpent.

 

Alas, I've never been to the Philippines, pinoybaptist. Maybe someday. I have a distant cousin there who is a missionary to the deaf.

This sounds like a fascinating "feast day." You are right that we humans corrupt everything. This is the season of all seasons to keep our "feast days" Christ-centered.

 

My grandparents would come over for Christmas breakfast. I loved that.

 

Grandma always made pounds and pounds of homemade fudge and sent to all the kids(and therefore grandkids )

 

I was also allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve.

 

We did "St Nicholas Day" on Dec 6th. I'd put my shows out filled with hay, and the next morning, there'd be candy in my shoe

 

With our son, to avoid the present rush (we opened them at our celebration later in the day) on Christmas morning, we would open the stockings first thing as per the tradition. We would always have good stuff in that stocking for him, though: small toys, baseball cards, lots of candy. Good memories!

 

One grandparents' house for lunch. The other grandparents' house for supper. Covered dish.

We also had oyster stew at my grandparents house Christmas evening. When my grandparents couldn't do it anymore my brother would go to their house and cook the stew.

Grandparents are gone now. These traditions seems to have gone with them.