Christmas is a big deal in the Juell household.
My dad treats the holiday season like a professional sport. He grew up in a family where the holiday china only came out of the cupboard once a year for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas tree ornaments are precious heirlooms passed down from generation to generation.
Like so many of his relatives, my dad always made a point of tradition during Christmastime. A lot of my dad’s family has passed away, but he keeps their memories and stories alive through a number of time-honored Christmas practices.
I grew up with the importance of these festive activities ironed into me. We always got our tree as close to Dec. 1 as possible, leaving the Christmas tree lot with a Douglas fir tied to the roof and then picking up a box of chocolates for us to enjoy while we decorate.
No holiday season goes by without making the unappetizingly named but reliably delicious mothball cookies. “The Polar Express” gets guaranteed air time, typically on Christmas Eve.
Family traditions are a big part of the reason I love the holiday season. All of these specific rituals truly feel crucial to making the holidays merry and bright.
I feel connected to my family, past and present, knowing we’ve enjoyed the same cookies and put up the same ornaments year after year. I never met my dad’s mother or any of his aunts and uncles, but I feel like I know them as I knead the same kind of cookies they started making decades ago.
Tradition can be a word loaded with expectation. Things like making popcorn garlands on a specific day can seem trivial at a time when there is always something to get done, but I think maintaining tradition is a persisting form of love.
It’s deciding to buy in on activities and foods and media in a way only your family can understand. The more ridiculous and specific the better,
By putting on a special Christmas album or creating the same beloved dinner menu, we decide to make the trivial meaningful. We routinely put our time and effort into these practices for no lofty or consequential reason; we simply do them to honor our loved ones and to spend time together.
Even when we can’t physically be together, traditions can be a way to stay connected. I won’t get to see my dad for this holiday season, but I’ll still be sure to make some mothball cookies and put on “The Polar Express” on Christmas Eve.
So even though the holidays can feel like a busy time, relish in your family’s traditions or take the time to create new ones. If you come up with a good enough one, your grandkids might just think of you when they smell cookies baking.
