Christmas Traditions

As the year draws to a close and many of us are getting ready for family time, I have again been thinking about my family's Christmas traditions.  Sorting through the box of decorations that came to me when my parents passed away, it struck me that many, while slightly tatty, date back to my childhood or before I was born, and they are greatly treasured.  One of my family history projects this year has been to photograph the older, most treasured ornaments and record their significance.

While my family has always had the traditional Christmas tree, wreath and turkey for Christmas lunch, some of our particular traditions were more unique to us - like watching "The Muppet's Christmas Carol" on Christmas Eve.  It is a tradition that we have had since I was a child and we watched it one Christmas on TV.  Much searching from my mother produced a video of the film and even as teenagers the tradition of watching "The Muppet's Christmas Carol" on Christmas Eve prevailed.  It continued as we became adults and spent Christmas with our parents, was tolerated by baffled partners and friends, and after our parents passed was continued by my sister and I.  Eventually while on a cruise I located a DVD copy (in April!) and after explaining the significance to several bemused holiday aquaintances, that night seven adults sat in front of a television and watched the brilliant Michael Caine, so shiningly evil as Scrooge before he finds the spirit of Christmas, as he seamlessly interacted with his Muppet costars.

Some Christmas traditions have also changed - such as the year of my tinsel-obsessed cat that resulted in a rather expensive Christmas day visit to the family vet (again - I am so sorry, Debbie).  As a result of this, tinsel does not feature in my festive decorations.  The same cat has also resulted in the rule that my Christmas Tree is put up undecorated for a week until he has finished treating it as his own personal climbing gym!

2021 has, again, been a challenging year that caused some major disruptions to family life, making the anticipated visits with family and friends even more special than usual.  So whatever your Christmas traditons I hope everyone out there enjoys the festive season and I look forward to 2022.  Merry Christmas!