Your Favourite Christmas Tradition

[Curtis]

What is your favourite tradition that you and your family celebrate during the holidays?

On my wife's side of the family, we get together and play music - I and her brothers play guitar, my wife and her dad play the fiddle and others just pick up whatever they can tap out a beat on to join in.

Loads of fun

Oh yes, and lots of drinking and eating - but that's a given

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[Mitsuko]

Me and my friends going out to get drunk on christmas eve

[austrian_girl]

We usually get together early on the 24th. Then, some of the family take out the kids or keep them entertained. The rest in the meantime puts up the tree and decorates it. We have a very high ceiling in our living room. It kind of stretches into an attic room. So, our tree is usually about 5 metres high and we need at least 4 people working on it to get ready on time. It's big fun, esp. climbing up and along the beams to decorate the top. At around fivish or sixish, the kids are allowed in and we keep telling them that baby Jesus has brought a tree and presents. In Austria, we traditionally don't believe in Santa Claus but in an angel-like appearance which represents the infant Jesus. Only the Coca Cola advert has introduced that ugly fat old man here... Well, afterwards we sing songs, which usually ends in a big discussion between the musical part of the family and the people "free of talent". Then, there is the distribution of presents, and then the binge-eating begins. We don't have a traditional x-mas meal, although I know that a lot of other families have. But we always end up drinking hot punch or mulled wine in the end.

On the 25th, we usually just rest....

[elvaago]

I'm not much of a Christmas person. I do enjoy spending some free time with my wife and giving her presents, but as far as I'm concerned, it's two days off and nothing more.

I'm the Grinch!

[Wim]

Eating chocolate cake at my grandmother's house at X mas afternoon with the whole family. The 24 th in the evening we have a xmas supper with my sister and mum; so a real family clash I must say, and not to forget the huge Xmas tree of course

[MrRottweiler]

Baileys!

[snookersfun]

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of Christmas going on in the 'Holyland'.
At least we try to have some sort of nice and comfy pre-Christmas season. We put up all our Christmas decorations from all over the world (the fake (won't get a real one here) tree is from Connecticut, Tin-figures from Texas, wooden figures, etc. from Germany... all received over the time from loving relatives). Our biggest tradition though is baking all kinds of yummy Christmas cookies according to German recipes.
Here are some from last years efforts...

[April madness]

Actually I like the time before Christmas. A week or two before I and my mum are cooking gingerbreads after a special recipe, they are so delicious that melt in the mouth and at the very start they are being eaten faster than we can bake And then the thinking what to get for presents, then decorating the Christmas tree, then gathering together, having evening meal on 24th (there must be 9 courses on the table according to the tradition!), and telling little poems or singing songs in order to get the presents that are under the Christmas tree. Some funny traditions is fortune telling - taking a small piece of tin or leat, melt it and drop in the cold water - and then trying to guess what that piece looks like and what would that mean for your future next year. Always funny guesses

[austrian_girl]

Some funny traditions is fortune telling - taking a small piece of tin or leat, melt it and drop in the cold water - and then trying to guess what that piece looks like and what would that mean for your future next year. Always funny guesses

I love that too but we do it on New Year's Eve.

[April madness]

I love that too but we do it on New Year's Eve.

Yeah, this can be done on New Year's Eve too

[mcmanusrules]

I'm just a traditional X-Mas perosn....although some say I start with the songs too soon......is July too soon?

[April madness]

Well yeah, I always start with the songs well in advance, because there always are concerts just before Christmas, so we start to learn the Christmas programme with my choir in November or late October already.

[Cessy143]

Me and my friends going out to get drunk on christmas eve

Change of plans Mitsy??

[Mitsuko]

Change of plans Mitsy??

No I'll still do it
















and regret it

[Nina]

One thing I love is being awakened on Christmas Eve by children singing carols from door to door. We give them money now, in the past it was also sweets.
The Christmas sweets are melomakarona and kourabiethes (th pronounced as in the), honey pastries and sugar pastries, also thiples, really delicious!
The Greeks traditionally eat a lot of pork on Christmas, but turkey too.
We decorate trees of course, but as we are a sea people the tradition is to decorate model ships and many people still do that, especially on the islands.
Our Santa (St Basil) doesn't come round on Christmas Eve but New Year's, so I'll tell you about that when the time comes...

Merry Christmas!