Most memorable holiday traditions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around memorable holiday traditions from childhood, focusing on personal experiences and cultural practices. Participants share unique family customs, food traditions, and holiday activities, highlighting the emotional connections and excitement associated with the holidays.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants recall specific food traditions, such as a mother’s special cookies and eggnog, which contributed to their holiday joy.
  • Others describe family activities, like creating a nativity scene with moss and figures, emphasizing the importance of family bonding during the holidays.
  • One participant mentions a unique family tradition of holding a Super Smash Bros tournament with specific rules related to Christmas colors and characters.
  • Another shares a humorous take on celebrating Festivus instead of Christmas, detailing the associated rituals like airing grievances and feats of strength.
  • Some participants reflect on their experiences in Catholic traditions, including attending midnight mass and singing in the choir, while others express a more secular approach to holiday celebrations.
  • A participant discusses their involvement in Boy Scouts, highlighting community service through caroling and school events during the holiday season.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of holiday traditions, with no consensus on a singular experience. Different cultural and familial practices are presented, showcasing both agreement on the importance of family and disagreement on the specific customs celebrated.

Contextual Notes

Some traditions are described in detail, while others remain vague or are mentioned in passing, indicating a range of personal significance and cultural context. The discussion includes both humorous and serious reflections, with varying levels of religious involvement.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in cultural traditions, family dynamics during holidays, or those seeking inspiration for their own holiday celebrations may find this discussion engaging.

Fervent Freyja
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What are some of the more memorable holiday traditions from your childhood that you had with your parents?

Anything unique to your culture or area or family? What excited you and made you love the holidays the most? Besides the presents.
 
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Fervent Freyja said:
What are some of the more memorable holiday traditions from your childhood that you had with your parents?

Anything unique to your culture or area or family? What excited you and made you love the holidays the most? Besides the presents.

The food! My mother made these very light cookies she called no-peeks. I think they were made mostly out of egg whites and sugar. If you opened the oven to check them before they were done, they would collapse. I LOVED those cookies and many of the other treats she made. Add to that eggnog. I always LOVED eggnog. And when I hit my teens, dad would let me add a little rum [he thought I was adding "a little"!]

About the time I was 13 or so, my father and I would trade punches on the shoulder. We were always competing in various ways. With trading punches, we took turns punching each other on the shoulder; constantly hitting harder each time until someone gives up. That Christmas we happened to get into a punching contest. But he had probably had a little too much to drink. On one punch, he glanced off of my shoulder and hit me right in the jaw. Laid me out flat. LOL! Mom was not a happy camper!
 
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I lived in a catholic family, only when it came to celebrate something funny; meetings around food, gifts...I loved to go out with my father in search for some kind of moss, to make at a scale the birth of Jesus: moss made the role of grass, little figures represented the child in a makeshift crib, the parents, the sheperds, the three Magic kings...
 
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mcastillo356 said:
I lived in a catholic family, only when it came to celebrate something funny; meetings around food, gifts...I loved to go out with my father in search for some kind of moss, to make at a scale the birth of Jesus: moss made the role of grass, little figures represented the child in a makeshift crib, the parents, the sheperds, the three Magic kings...

I was raised Catholic. Did you normally attend high mass at midnight? I was normally singing in the choir at high mass while attending the Catholic school. I also think I was an altar boy for one high mass.
 
my family plays a super smash bros tourney with the following rules :
Only Xmas colored characters and skins
No items,
Omega and battlefield stages have to be red white or green
a Krampus vs Santa round:Krampus is Ganon and Santa is usually Mario but we're thinking of doing terry this time
winner gets :next smash DLC for free
 
mcastillo356 said:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Misa_de_Gallo
Hi, Ivan Seeking, do you mean if I used to attend Misa del Gallo, at midnight, the December 24? No. I was believer, but didn't go to that Mass. I also attended a Catholic school run by Jesuits.
Greetings!

Yes. I attended a Jesuit school as well. They were the smart Catholics! :D
 
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We did away with Christmas many years ago. We celebrate Festivus. We put up a metal pole and open gifts on the 24th. Followed by dinner, and airing of grievances with each other. We finish the night off with feats of strength. I always win.
 
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Mondayman said:
We did away with Christmas many years ago. We celebrate Festivus. We put up a metal pole and open gifts on the 24th. Followed by dinner, and airing of grievances with each other. We finish the night off with feats of strength. I always win.
I still have a Festivus pole. (It's presently in the crawl space).
 
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mcastillo356 said:
I lived in a catholic family, only when it came to celebrate something funny; meetings around food, gifts...I loved to go out with my father in search for some kind of moss, to make at a scale the birth of Jesus: moss made the role of grass, little figures represented the child in a makeshift crib, the parents, the sheperds, the three Magic kings...

Love this, thank you for sharing!
 
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  • #11
nduka-san said:
my family plays a super smash bros tourney with the following rules :
Only Xmas colored characters and skins
No items,
Omega and battlefield stages have to be red white or green
a Krampus vs Santa round:Krampus is Ganon and Santa is usually Mario but we're thinking of doing terry this time
winner gets :next smash DLC for free

What is a super smash bros tourney?
 
  • #12
Mondayman said:
We did away with Christmas many years ago. We celebrate Festivus. We put up a metal pole and open gifts on the 24th. Followed by dinner, and airing of grievances with each other. We finish the night off with feats of strength. I always win.

That’s pretty cool! Not sure about the airing of grievances- I’d surely get beat up for telling mine what I think (again, but all at once). 😂😂
 
  • #13
Fervent Freyja said:
That’s pretty cool! Not sure about the airing of grievances- I’d surely get beat up for telling mine what I think (again, but all at once). 😂😂
Its a reference to Seinfeld, one of the greatest TV shows ever. We don't actually air grievances. But we actually do celebrate festivus, because we are not very religious and just enjoy the social aspect of the holidays. It just mostly involves gifts and drinking games.
 
  • #14
Mondayman said:
Its a reference to Seinfeld, one of the greatest TV shows ever. We don't actually air grievances. But we actually do celebrate festivus, because we are not very religious and just enjoy the social aspect of the holidays. It just mostly involves gifts and drinking games.

I was going to ask if it involves liquor. 😆 Sounds like quality time with loved ones to me!
 
  • #15
Was anyone else here a Boy Scout? Between the school and Scouts I was busy. We had an annual school play that we put on for the parents. We also had a huge bake sale and Christmas Bazaar. Most of us students were involved in helping with those events. And those of us in Scouts would practice for weeks and then go to convalescent homes and sing Christmas carols.
 
  • #16
Ivan Seeking said:
Was anyone else here a Boy Scout? Between the school and Scouts I was busy. We had an annual school play that we put on for the parents. We also had a huge bake sale and Christmas Bazaar. Most of us students were involved in helping with those events. And those of us in Scouts would practice for weeks and then go to convalescent homes and sing Christmas carols.
I do join the boy scout. We do practice every day and I only last for one year because of uncertain problems.
 

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