Last week, while riding the subway to work, I was talking to a friend and mentioned how much I still had left to do for Christmas. We were talking about the different things that had to get done, and she casually mentioned. “you don’t need to do it”, when I was trying to figure out when I was going to get my baking done. I thought about that statement long afterwards. Why do I feel the “need” to do certain things every Christmas? If I didn’t make Seafood Chowder, bake Christmas cookies or send Christmas cards, would it really matter? I thought about this for a long time.
Most of us remember the Christmas’s from our childhood fondly, and the foods and traditions that we had at that time of year are very important to us. Christmas changes as we grow up, people move away, loved ones pass on, and people marry and have families of their own, and start their own Christmas traditions.
Those “chores” that I feel I must do every year at Christmas time is the string that ties me to the Christmas’s I had as a child, they provide some familiarity, comfort, and a sense of home. So, to answer my own question, "yes", it does matter, even if it only matters to me.
Rob and I have started our own Christmas traditions and they complement the traditions I carry on from my childhood. I may huff and puff a little every year about all the stuff I have to do at this time of year, but as Rob reminded me yesterday, I love this time of year and all the Christmas craziness that comes with it.
Tomorrow is my last day of work until the new year, and I am looking forward to all the festive fun this time of year has to offer and sharing a bit of my Christmas traditions with friends and family.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and all the best in 2016!
1 comment:
I agree with you. It’s those little yearly rituals that mean a lot. Keeping up traditions that make Christmas Day personal. We still have all our presents in the afternoon after Christmas lunch because that was how it was when I was small. My dad worked Christmas morning. My children grew up with the same tradition. Stocking and one small present on the bed.My daughter makes the Christmas cake and pudding and mince pies.
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