Traditions

When my sisters and I were kids, my parents celebrated St. Nicholas Day at the beginning of each December. We would put our shoes by the front door the night before, and in the morning there would be candy in them. My dad was German, so he bought German candy at the German import store, and he would fill our shoes with that. As an adult with four kids of my own, I never recognized that tradition. I don’t know why. It was a fun tradition.

Over the years I set out to create my own traditions for the most part. Not that I didn’t like the traditions my parents took part in. I just never thought about it before. My husband and I had fun coming up with our own traditions. Some we thought of were compilations of his family’s old traditions and mine.

The one tradition I stuck with (or tried to) is how my mom did Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. From decorations to dinner I wanted my Christmas for my family as a grown up to mirror hers. Why? Because of the feeling I received when I walked into her house as an adult going to her house for Christmas Eve dinner, opening presents in the morning, decorations, all of it. But I learned something along the way during that process of trying to mimic hers. I can’t. I am not her.