Christmas traditions

Sitting around bored this evening thinking of Christmas past . My grandfather on my father's side was full blooded German Catholic. He believed a Christmas tree should not be decorated until Christmas eve with the entire family participating. Believe he referred to it as "Dressing" a tree. Gifts were not opened until Christmas morning after breakfast dishes were done. Tree stayed up until the 11th of January .
My mother told my brother and I that as a little girl she was expected to sit still on a chair and keep quiet on Christmas day . Lots of older relatives would be visiting . Children were to be seen and not heard back then. She said she did not enjoy Christmas very much. She went out of her way to make sure Christmas was fun , special for my brother and I. She told my dad that we should stay home on Christmas day and let the boys enjoy their toys. We never went anywhere on Christmas day . Lots of good memories.
To this day I still believe in opening gifts on Christmas day.
Would love to hear some of your guys traditions, stories.
Merry Christmas,hope Santa brings plenty of orange.

Gr.Grandparents on Mom’s side were old school German, tree at Greenville wasDressed Conservative just as the Gr Grands had always done not with any bought decorations but garlands of Popped Corn, small home Made candies and paper decorations. No lights or Candles.
Farm Life was tough, this was a remembrance of what was given up for us by one man. Very conservative and modest.
Spent much of the day at the local ministry singing eating listening and praying. Small gifts were exchanged and done. Back to business

Edited by DMiller - 24 Dec 2023 at 4:42am

Since I grew up on a dairy farm, as many preparations as possible to lessen Christmas day chores were done on Christmas eve. Hay was piled by the "feed holes", so it was quick and easy to throw down for feedings, the manure was taken out Christmas eve (so it would all fit on one load on Christmas).

For our family(I, wife, 3 adult ‘children’) Christmas, is probably the most subdued holiday of them all with exception of Halloween, for that we do absolutely nothing, why celebrate Pagenism?
As for Christmas, my wife has very few happy memories of Christmas growing up. Her, the oldest child in her family, my Mother In Law, was a constant critic of her oldest daughter. Any holiday(especially Christmas) was pure agony in the household my wife grew up. After we married, and started having children of our own, we did the dutiful thing and traveled to the in-laws for most holidays. Almost every time on the way home my would be near tears, or just stare out the car window on the hour long trip back to our home. What finally broke the camels back, was a summer family reunion on my wife’s side, our youngest had just celebrated his 3rd birthday a week or so prior, not a word from the MIL. Just criticize about our son concerning his disability. What did you do wrong during pregnancy, was constantly asked from my MIL.
We cut out of there a couple hours early. My wife vowed to never speak to that ‘fking bitch’ again. It’s been over 20 years, my wife communicates with couple of her cousins occasionally, he have no clue if her parents or siblings are still alive.

Copied this from my aunt. Mom's sister
On this soggy rainy Christmas Eve, I choose, instead, to share a memory our Dad would tell us of going to Christmas Midnight Mass. He remembered that, as a kid, his dad would hitch up the two farm horses to the bobsled and put bells on the horses' halters. Then he'd pack the whole family with blankets in the bobsled and under the icy stars and bright moonlit sky, they'd glide on the snow, listening to the bells going kling, kling, kling all the way to Midnight Mass. That was one of his favorite memories....