A breakfast of baklava and coffee is a perfect Christmas treat for me. It means that the party was a lot of fun and a piece of my favorite Christmas desert was left over for breakfast to enjoy in the quite morning with a cup of coffee by the Christmas tree.
Christmas Traditions – sweet treats & meals
Christmas traditions are fun to explore and adopt into your own life. One of my favorite parts of travel is to learn about the culture and traditions of different countries.
Baklava came into my life when I was young and we lived next door to a family who celebrated with Greek traditions. This special, yummy desert was only made at Christmas time and everyone made a fuss over it.
Most people have Christmas cookies and candy. My family had divinity and Martha Washington coconut bon-bons. When I moved out on my own, I started making the Martha Washington candies for friends and co-workers at Christmas.
Traditional Christmas meals are so fun to discuss with people from all over the world with different backgrounds. My mother’s family was from El Paso, so tamales on Christmas Eve always put a smile on her face. While living in the Northeast we discovered Italian traditions and started making Lasagna for Christmas Eve.
Christmas Traditions – Trees, Nativity, and ornaments
We adopted other traditions from friends as we relocated around the country and traveled to different countries. My daughters like to have a pickle on the tree to remember their German heritage – pickles are good luck. We have Christmas crackers (from England) at our Christmas dinner where we wear tissue paper crowns and read cheesy jokes.
My favorite tradition is a Nativity on our piano. It has grown into multiple nativities – cowboys and cowgirls in a Texas barn, bears from Alaska, puzzle nativity carved so that it fits together and comes apart, and my favorite wood carved nativity from Bethlehem. When my children were young, one daughter would carry her baby Jesus around the house like a doll.
Of course the Christmas tree is a tradition celebrated all over the world. Many towns have one on their main square with a tree lighting ceremony. In Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity, there is a huge celebration complete with fireworks.
We have found trees in many shapes and sizes. Big and fluffy to tall and thin. Short and pink to petite and proud. One year, we pulled out our many different size and color of trees and decided to have a Christmas tree forest! That year made a memory! The ornaments on the tree are also special. Either a gift, a memory from that year, or a themed tree that represents everything families love.
Why Do You Celebrate?
Just like people around the world come in many shapes, sizes, and personalities; so do Christmas traditions. It is fun to share our traditions with each other while remembering the main reason for the season.
Jesus was born in a humble stable to save us all.
This year as you travel, enjoy and take part in all the ways we celebrate Jesus. Don’t be afraid to continue some of those traditions with your own family. It becomes more than a picture, a souvenir, or a beautiful memory. It becomes part of you and your family for generations.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Faith Connections Travel
