Your Favorite Family Christmas Traditions Bring the Holidays Alive

With the holidays quickly coming upon us, it can be easy to get caught up in the commercial aspect of this important day. Of course, the gifts will need to be purchased. However, by focusing on your favorite family Christmas traditions, you can be sure that your family will remember what is really important. After all, the holidays aren't really about what you get, but the people you love and the time you spend together. Keeping those traditions alive and passing them down is one of the best parts of the season.

No discussion on favorite family Christmas traditions is complete without decorating the Christmas tree and the traditional
Christmas wreath. Many people collect ornaments as the children in the family grow. Each year when the tree is pulled out, the memories come with it. Other families take a hands-on approach and spend time hand crafting ornaments as a family. In addition, decorating and placing the door wreath signals the beginning of the holiday season. Each time your family walks in the door, they get a visual reminder of the joy surrounding these merry months. These two things mark the beginning of Christmas cheer and open the door for many more fun family times.

Another common tradition is baking and cookie making. The Christmas season is steeped with smells and tastes that tantalize. It is common for grandmothers to teach their grandchildren their secret recipes. Cookie exchanges are also increasingly popular. Each guest makes several dozen of their favorite recipe. The selection is then mixed up, allowing each guest to come home with a variety of Christmas cookies. If you don't already do this, consider throwing a cookie exchange party this year for the first time and making it one of your favorite family Christmas traditions.

In addition to the tree and great food, Christmas just would not be complete without the music filling the already decked halls. There are dozens of traditions that incorporate the amazing seasonal music. Many communities put on concerts or plays during this time. In fact, you may be surprised to find that many of these are free. You could soak in Handel's Messiah, for example, for nothing but the cost of your gas. Participating in such things can also be a great tradition for your family. Finally, who can resist that classic caroling choir? This can be an extremely enjoyable evening activity for your family. Invite all your friends along as well. When it comes to caroling, more is definitely merrier.

As you can see, there's so much more to the holiday season than getting stuff. In fact, with the proper attitude, you can teach your kids to appreciate your favorite family Christmas traditions even more than gifts. After all, the traditions make the holiday come alive for the whole season and and not just for a day.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company which handcrafts a fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreath, Christmas Centerpiece and Kissing Ball which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

The Yule Log Tradition

The Yule Log today is thought of as a traditional Christmas dessert traditionally made with sponge cake which is rolled, frosted in chocolate and decorated to look like a yule log. Common knowledge of what a yule log looks like has almost disappeared in modern society. The Yule Log was a log at one time that was brought into the house on Christmas Eve and allowed to burn throughout the twelve days of Christmas.

The custom of burning the Yule log is said to be the oldest Christmas tradition which actually started before the birth of Christ. It began as a celebration of the winter solstice in Scandinavia. The winter solstice festivals were called Yule. In medieval times an entire tree was cut down on one’s own property or a nearby property and ceremoniously brought into the house. The large end of the tree would be put in the fireplace and the rest of the tree would stick out in the room. Decorations would be placed on the tree and it would slowly be moved further into the fireplace as it burnt. The Yule log would burn sometimes for a few weeks prior to winter solstice until a couple weeks after. Eventually the whole tree being brought into the house evolved into just a log.

Ceremonies and rituals celebrated with the yule log evolved over time in different countries. The log was thought to bring good luck and offerings were placed on the tree to bring good luck for the following year. Your bad luck and mistakes from the previous year were thought to burn up in the fire. Pieces of the log and ashes were kept to protect the house and fed into the fire the following year to continue the good luck. It was also thought to be bad luck if the yule log went out during before the twelve days of Christmas were over.

The tradition of burning a yule log morphed into eating a yule log when houses no longer had huge hearths and fireplaces. The yule log became the traditional dessert served on the largest feast day during the Christmas season. This is Christmas eve in some families, Christmas day in others. In France, it is served at le reveillon which is the late supper served after midnight mass on Christmas eve and the yule log is called “buche de Noel”.

The popularity of burning logs during the holiday season still exists with the stockings hanging from the fireplace, along with the Christmas tree in the corner and Christmas wreaths on the doors. The meaning of the yule log today is more associated with the dessert but why not eat your yule log dessert sitting in front of your fireplace enjoying the warmth of a burning yule log.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.