Do you have a holiday tradition that really gets you excited for Christmas? Perhaps it's the meal on Christmas day, or a certain game your family plays, or perhaps someone always reads a special story on Christmas Eve. In my family, we have a new tradition, one that replaces the old tradition that I grew up with, but which our family has recently outgrown.
You see, growing up, my family did not live close to our extended family, so we created a special tradition for our family unit. We would dress up every Christmas Eve and go out to eat for a nice dinner. I remember one year in New York going to Bear Mountain, which I loved. On the way home, we would drive around looking at Christmas lights, and then once we got home, us kids would change into our pajamas and all sleep in the same bedroom, anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival. I could never get much sleep on Christmas Eve as a kid.
This tradition of dressing up and dining out lasted us until two years ago, when both my sister and my sister-in-law were pregnant. My sister-in-law was due just a few days after Christmas, so dining out was not in our best interests, should we have to cancel a reservation, or leave in the middle of dinner. That year we kept things simple at my sister's house, but I knew that I needed a tradition that would keep me looking forward to Christmas Eve.
Enter: New Tradition. My family has a varied ancestry, with many interesting nationalities. I thought, what better way to get to know where our family came from than by celebrating one nationality of our ancestry every Christmas Eve? We could learn about each country's traditions, and try different foods that our ancestors may have grown up with. Thankfully, my family loved this idea.
Last year, for our inaugural Christmas Eve, we celebrated Ukraine. My great-great grandmother came to America from Ukraine when she was just a teenager. My grandmother knew how to make pierogies and stuffed cabbage rolls, so we made those for our Christmas Eve dinner. We also had borscht with mushroom dumplings, challah, and a farro fruit dish. And since no dinner is complete without drinks, my dad served us all shots of vodka for a toast before dinner. My oldest nephew demanded more toasts, and the vodka flowed. It was the best Christmas Eve on memory.
This year, we are celebrating our family namesake, Switzerland. My last name has changed a few times through the centuries, but long ago, it was Zuricher, meaning "from Zurich." My dad and I have actually been to Zurich, and enjoyed a wonderful fondue meal while there, and our Swiss dining neighbors enlightened us as to some fondue traditions. I don't think we will enact some of those (such as: if you drop your bread in the fondue, you have to run naked in the snow), but we will most certainly be eating fondue this Christmas Eve. Dad is already on drink patrol with plans for kirsch, goldschlagger, and absinthe. I can't wait.
I would like to hear from you, because I love hearing other people's traditions. What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? Tell me in the comments below! I'm also linking up with Emily for What Christmas Means to Me, which you can see for me is all about family.
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