Anyone have any holiday traditions that they usually observe, or that they USED to observe long ago, but for one reason or another don't do them anymore?

When we were small, we'd always have a live Christmas tree, but I haven't had a real tree in probably 10 years at least.

When we were kids, we'd drive around the various neighborhoods to look at how people decorate their houses with lights.  ooooohhh pretty!  I just recently renewed the tradition, hubby asked where the heck are we going when I'd drive through random neighborhoods.

My cousins and I would always go to the movies on Thanksgiving, but since I've moved away, we don't get to do that now, at least not together.

When we lived in Chicago, we'd go downtown and have dinner at Berghoff's and then go see the tree in Daley Plaza, then head over to see the Marshall Fields' windows.  On Christmas Eve, we'd go see the house in Logan Square that was always decorated. 

We always have a party on Christmas Eve with the entire family on my dad's side (we're closer in both distance and relationship to them).. all of my uncles, cousins, aunts, and my grandmother (estranged grandfather, so he doesn't come).. we exchange all presents not from your immediate family (I get all the ones from my uncles and grandma, everyone else does the same), and then we go back home and open one present from the immediate family, which the other housemates decide on..

Although this year, we're going to Florida for Christmas, so we have to change it all up.. the rest of the family isn't going, so everyone but my parents and I will still have the party.

We observe the jewish holidays but not as much as we used to.

We observe the jewish holidays but not as much as we used to.


Do you light a Menorah or have any special foods that you eat during this time of year?  Is the tradition of giving one small present a day during Hannukah observed or was that just something a Jewish friend of mine did?

Is the tradition of giving one small present a day during Hannukah observed or was that just something a Jewish friend of mine did?



I think most Jewish familes do that. 

When I was kid, we got to pick out one present that was under the tree each day of Hannukah. We were a rarity in those days-celebrating both Hannukah & Christmas. People used to ask if we were confused. We weren't-everyone else was. We thought everyone celebrated both.  I also remember going out carolling.


I still light the menorah. I am not a practicing Jew but I light the candles to honor my heritage (even though Hannukah is a minor holiday). And of course, I still have a tree. As a kid, the tree was real. Then, for many years, I had a fake tree and I really hated it-of course in those days it didn't really seem like Christmas-I was just going through the motions. Now, we are back to the real tree again.



Cat

as a cathojew, i celebrate hannochmas.

as a cathojew, i celebrate hannochmas.



Do you put presents under the Menorah?

Do you light a Menorah or have any special foods that you eat during this time of year?  Is the tradition of giving one small present a day during Hannukah observed or was that just something a Jewish friend of mine did?


We celebrate Rosh Hashannah and you don't have to give 8 presents if you don't want to.

Do you put presents under the Menorah?
sorry, i meant i'm a jewholic.

sorry, i meant i'm a jewholic.



Addicted to Jews, are you?

sorry, i meant i'm a jewholic.



Good For you  ;D

We celebrate Rosh Hashannah and you don't have to give 8 presents if you don't want to.



Do you also celebrate Purim?

Addicted to Jews, are you?
oops. i meant i'm a jewtholic.

oops. i meant i'm a jewtholic.



Thanks for clearing that up for me. 

Do you put presents under the Menorah?


  ;D Wouldn't they get wax on them from the dripping candles?  ;D  or perhaps might catch on fire.  Not a good thing, unless of course, you happen to be getting a fire extinguisher for the holidays...then it would be a useful present.  Ok, I have no idea where that was going, it sounded good in my head, but after I started typing it..well... :-[

Do you also celebrate Purim?



No we don't.

No we don't.



I remember my grandmother making yummy cookies for Purim-they had a dough that had (I want to say) minced meat (or something like that) in them and they were pinched together to look a bit like stars. My grandmother has cookies for every occasion.  ;D ;D ;D



Cat

Cookies here too. Snickerdoodle cinnamon cookies and "Russian teacakes" are my favorites.  Some people may say the recipe is very similar to Mexican wedding cookies but whatever the result is all sugar with a little crunch.
    My mother bought Home Interiors candle sets and they are put up throughout the year but we make them more prominent in the house for Christmas.  We also have many candles which are 60's 70's and shaped like a snowman or a group of carolers. no they don't usually melt just sitting on a shelf and we never light them as they are decorations.  There's also pillows; an angel,  a santa an' a snowman we put on the sofas  and 3 or 4 wreaths of varying variety we put up.  There are always some on the wall with roses and such but these are more holly greenery etc.  We put garland on the paintings and mirror in the living room too.

One holiday tradition that we continue to observe is not putting up a tree until after my sister's birthday.  Also, we watch White Christmas on Christmas Eve.

We always made sugar cookies & toll house cookies (using my grandmother's recipe of course  ;D )




Cat

We used to put up Christmas lights on the shrubs outside our house, but since we no longer have shrubs, we don't do that anymore

as a kid, I'd help my Grandma Cooper make cookies.  Did I mention watching the adults get drunk and get in arguments? I know i did in holiday getting to know you.. yeah that was pretty much a tradition. They'd have some real doozies!

as a kid, I'd help my Grandma Cooper make cookies.  Did I mention watching the adults get drunk and get in arguments? I know i did in holiday getting to know you.. yeah that was pretty much a tradition. They'd have some real doozies!



It's not a holiday in our house unless someone is drunk, crying or angry.

It's not a holiday in our house unless someone is drunk, crying or angry.
 

Yeah it's not exactly the storybook Christmas.. but it's entertaining perhaps.

We used to celebrate St. Nicholas day on (Dec. 5th, I believe)...we would put one of our shoes outside of our bedroom door, and my mom would fill it with goodies that we would find the next morning.

One holiday tradition that we continue to observe is not putting up a tree until after my sister's birthday.  Also, we watch White Christmas on Christmas Eve.
we watch White Christmas on Christmas morning as we open presents. Mainly it's Julie opening up a bunch of presents while I lay on the sofa with my coffee mug trying to wake up. but we make a nice breakfast and have a log in the fire. It's pleasant, but now that Julie is older she isn't as excited about getting up early like she used to be. then we have the big gathering of Dianes family for Christmas dinner, probably 35-50 people, and the family tradition there is the talent show. Each family can participate if they want, by either playing a musical instrument, or singing, some have done silly & serious short sketches. It's fun. and we sing carols. and the food rocks!

we watch White Christmas on Christmas morning as we open presents. Mainly it's Julie opening up a bunch of presents while I lay on the sofa with my coffee mug trying to wake up. but we make a nice breakfast and have a log in the fire. It's pleasant, but now that Julie is older she isn't as excited about getting up early like she used to be. then we have the big gathering of Dianes family for Christmas dinner, probably 35-50 people, and the family tradition there is the talent show. Each family can participate if they want, by either playing a musical instrument, or singing, some have done silly & serious short sketches. It's fun. and we sing carols. and the food rocks!




My sister and I still wake up early on Christmas morning, and we're 24 and 19 respectively.  I guess it's just one of those things we never got over when we got older.  And that talent show sounds fun......too bad my family sucks and we have no talent.

We have had a lot of traditions in our family. Mainly our Christmas Eve Secret Santa tradition has stood the test of time. We buy a $10-$20 Secret Santa gift, then pull out numbers from a hat (or bucket) and whoever is #1 goes first, but if you're the last number, then that's the best because you can trade with anyone the gift you like most (if you don't like yours). It's usually a riot because we'll kinda make fun of some of the gifts (if they're really corny) and if you're stuck with it, you're stuck (if you don't trade the moment you get it or if you're #1). So, anyway, that's one tradition we've always have done for as long as I can remember.

Another tradition that my brother and I did was wait by my mom's doorside while she wrapped gifts and then she'd open her door and leave them out there for us to take to the tree. One year (or maybe we did this for a few years) my brother and I made up a ceremony where we'd play "O Holy Night" on the stereo as we put the first gift under the tree. We'd have fun with that.

As kids, we ALWAYS had a real Douglas fir tree. I am very adamant about having real trees, but I now understand under certain circumstances, it's just something you have to pass on if you can't afford it or don't have the time or don't have the space. Unfortunately, this year I do not have a real tree. But, that's okay. I think it's caused less stress for my mom and I to just buy a 6ft. $16.99 tree at Target and make do  ;D

I'm sure there are more traditions we've had, but I can't quite think of all of them at the moment.

we watch White Christmas on Christmas morning as we open presents. Mainly it's Julie opening up a bunch of presents while I lay on the sofa with my coffee mug trying to wake up. but we make a nice breakfast and have a log in the fire. It's pleasant, but now that Julie is older she isn't as excited about getting up early like she used to be. then we have the big gathering of Dianes family for Christmas dinner, probably 35-50 people, and the family tradition there is the talent show. Each family can participate if they want, by either playing a musical instrument, or singing, some have done silly & serious short sketches. It's fun. and we sing carols. and the food rocks!


;D That was one thing my brother and I hated was getting the parents up!! Even I had trouble waking up, as I remember one time I was sick with the flu and I didn't feel well enough to wake up early. I remember sometimes we woke before the sun rose! That really killed the parents off.. My Dad would do the same thing, get his coffee (or hot coco) ready, and kinda be half awake while we went wild and my mom took pictures of the event (or some years, video camera).

My little brother was always the one overly enthusiastic about waking up at the crack of dawn.  I always did prefer my sleep.  lol  Unfortunately I can't count how many times mom would come in to my room on Christmas day and take a picture of me half-awake with bed head hair and everything.  I must have 5 or more pictures.  I don't know what the big thrill of having a picture of me looking hideous was.

Our family still celebrates Rosh Hashannah and once in a while we would invite my Aunt Harriet over for dinner.

We usually celebrate Christmas Eve by playing games and the kids get to open 1 present.  Then, my parents & younger brother come over on Christmas morning where we open presents, have (Sara Lee pecan, which is getting harder and harder to find every year)coffee cake, then sit around until dinner is done.  I'm not sure what we're doing this year as hubby's grandma is having their Christmas on the weekend before (the 23 or 24th) and we're going to our lake house for New Year's.  I'm adamant about being home on Christmas too so that throws a monkey wrench in the plans as well as it's on a Monday.  So, if we want to do both his grandma & his parents on the weekend before, we'll drive East, drive West, drive East again, then back West.....kind of a waste, IMO.  I think we may end up skipping grandma's, doing Christmas morning here, then going out to the inlaws in the afternoon, then to the lake because that would be drive East, drive farther East, then West....we'll have to see...