Christmas is a special time of the year for a lot of people. Most of us tie it to family traditions that we remember since we were little. Of course, some traditions come and go, but there are always a few of them that seem to be timeless. I'm from Southeast Europe, so my family traditions may vary a lot from where you are from (let me know in the comments). In this post, I wanted to share with you just a few of the traditions that my family does every Christmas and are common in my country.
Saint Nicholas
I don't know if everybody is celebrating St. Nicholas' day, but in my country, we do. If you're not familiar with who Saint Nicholas was. He was a saint who had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day―St Nicholas Day on 6th of December.
This became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas. The night before the 6th of December, children clean their boots or stockings and put them on the window. In the morning, they find sweets or toys in it.
Decorating Christmas Tree
I know that everybody has their own tradition about decorating the Christmas tree. As social media is also setting a lot of new trends for families all around the world, I see a lot of people doing it on the 1st of December. In my family, we do it on Christmas Eve.
In the morning, we prepare all of the ornaments and decorate them together. It's a tradition that we have as long as I can remember. I know that for some of you it seems like it's too late to decorate the Christmas tree the day before Christmas, but that's how we do it.
Midnight Mass
I'm religious, so for me any my family in the spotlight is Jesus Christ, as without Him there would not even be Christmas to celebrate. On the 24th of December at 22:00 hours, we have a Midnight Mass in my village church. We all gather outside and wait for Mass to start so we can together welcome the birth of Jesus. Mass finishes around midnight, so we can immediately wish Merry Christmas to one another. Most of us know each other, so I really like that feeling of unity and love.
Christmas Day
On Christmas Day, we all gather around the Christmas tree at 8 o'clock in our pajamas. Then we open our Christmas presents and chat for a little bit. After that, we have a special and delicious traditional family breakfast. When we are full and happy, we get ready for Christmas Mass. After mass is over, we go home and have a big traditional Christmas lunch, after which we all relax and watch movies or play games.
Do you have traditions? Would you like to create new ones?
