GRACE WRITES: How do you celebrate Christmas? Do you celebrate early? Late? Several times with various family members? What are some of your favorite traditions? Do you read the Christmas story? When?
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My favorite tradition we have is to go to the Christmas Eve service at our church. It’s really a special thing to be able to worship God in the Christmas contex and a great way to invite unbelieveing friends to hear the Gospel. Also, usually that service has the best music of the year so I personally really like that part 🙂
My family does something a bit different- we don’t give gifts inside our immediate family. Typically Christmas day we get up around 8 and make every break food imaginable as a family, and then eat it as a family. After that we generally do something for someone else- sort of like a secret santa, although last year we did found gifts to one another. Around noon we head off to my grandmothers(dad’s side) where we spend the rest of the day eating, playing cards, and exchanging gifts with all fourteeen to twenty of my cousins plus aunts and uncles and grandparents. I think we’ve gotten a tad large for Grandma’s house. That Christmas is usually pretty loud.
Christmas Eve we usually spend with my Mom’s side. We go to the Christmas Eve service at our church(because we, my grandparents, and my aunt and cousins all go to the same church), and open presents and feast, but my favorite thing that we do is play music. There’s ten grandchildren, but only eight are there(the other cousins live in CO). All of us play at least one instrument, and several of us two or three. We have almost an hour of just performing and playing for one another. It’s so fun, and it’s really very beautiful.
We also spend one more day with my great aunt and uncle who are like a set of grandparents. We have gift giving, lunch, we play Rook with PaPa, and talk. It’s really pretty quiet with the seven of us and them, but it’s thoroughly enjoyable.
That’s my Christmas. 😀
When we go to our extended family on my mom’s side we play Rook too (you are talking about the card game right?).
Yep. We have entire Rook tournaments with my Dad’s side. We’re big card players.
Normally, we go to our church service on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas Day we open presents, have breakfast, and after a little bit we go to my grandparents on my moms side for lunch/dinner with my three sets of aunts and uncles and my two cousins. This year, we’ll also be going to the mountains on New Years week with my dad’s side of the family; my aunt and uncle, my grandma, my three cousins, and maybe my other aunt and her two kids. We don’t really have any Christmas traditions…. But we might make candy cane cookies today and you could call that a tradition since we often make them at Christmas time.
Well, my family has a lot of traditions that don’t cost a thing! We start playing Christmas music really early (I’m talking about like October early) then when December comes we have what we call Christmas family nights when we watch our favorite Christmas movies all month, and we drive around at night looking at Christmas lights and singing Christmas songs (We don’t sing well but we don’t care). When we put up our Christmas tree we eat candy and watch The Andy Griffith Show Christmas episode. Tomorrow we’re baking cookies and putting up more of our homemade decorations. Than on Christmas Eve we get up early and eat a nice breakfast and sing songs and cook a great big dinner, after dinner we watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas and open some gifts then we read the Christmas story and really talk about it and study it. After that we go to bed and get up really early Christmas day and open more gifts and eat another nice breakfast. The rest of the day is filled with songs, games and joy.
You start playing music in October? Horrors! My dad has managed to instill in us that Christmas music may not, under any circumstances, be played before Thanksgiving Day. Christmas music then stops at New Years. We’re snobs.
I could never wait that long! Christmas music is far too great to wait till Thanksgiving to start playing. We don’t stop till the 2ed week of January.
I don’t think I’ll tell my dad that. He might not take it so well. But it sounds like ya’ll have a lot of fun at Christmas.
We do thank you. ( :
What? You don’t play Christmas music all year ’round?? 😉
Uh… no. Do you?
Hahahaha…yeah. =P Especially Mannheim Steamroller and Charlie Brown stuff lol =)
Doesn’t that ruin some of the “it’s special and is just for Christmas” part of it? Forgive me for being a snob. It’s been instilled since birth by my father. 😀
Hey, you’re talking to a classical pianist of 10+ years, I’m a music snob if there ever was one, lol. I really enjoy listening to Christmas music all year ’round, mainly just because it adds variety to my normal mix, and it’s fun to sing along to. =)
That’s funny. I’ve been playing the piano classically for 8 years.
Oh, but if you’re looking for some more awesome Christmas music to listen to year round, look up Pentatonix new music album. It’s awesome, and they’re awesome, and I’ll be severely disappointed if you don’t know who they are.
I know them!! I love Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy, White Winter Hymnal, and others lol. =)
My fav is Mary did you Know and Say Something.
No, I don’t mind. I rather enjoy talking about it. I’m working on Haydn’s 7th Sonate and Soaring( or Aufschwung, Op. 86 No. 2) by Robert Schumann. I just finished Serenata Burlesca by Denes Aga, and I did a duet with another girl for our recital, Sleigh Ride. Really fun. I also play guitar and sing, and I’m teaching myself how to play the penny whistle, though not terribly successfully.
How about you, what pieces are you working on?
Cool! I also play guitar (as you can probably guess hahaha), but I can’t sing. Although I have taught myself how to play a shaker pretty well, too. =)
Wellllll a bunch lol. In addition to my solo stuff, I perform at retirement homes and such for money with my dad who’s a tenor, so I have a lot of accompaniment repertoire as well. But the big pieces I’m working on rn are Chopin’s Ballade in G minor (the famous one), Brahms Hungarian Dance #6 in D Flat Major (not #5, the famous one lol), and a Gigue by Bach. =D
Hey, actually I have heard Brahms Hungarian Dance no. 6! I’ve got a CD of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra doing it. It’s one of my favorites on the CD. 😀
Oh, that’s cool! yeah, it’s pretty common as an orchestral piece, but there’s only one copy on all of YouTube of a solo piano performance. =P
Oh that’s cool! What pieces are you learning if you don’t mind me asking? =)
Our family plays Christmas music in September, no joke XD
Christmas music in October wow! I only started playing Christmas music this last Sunday!
Methinks you’re a bit late… We’re on a very strict Christmas music schedule, my family. Start on time, end on time. 😀
Yeah I am very late this year but I’m usually earlier like 3 weeks before, just depends on the year and what I’m feeling like!
How can you wait that long???
I really don’t know, must be the way I am! I usually start a few weeks before but I just put it off for some reason this year. Maybe next year I’ll start really early like you Lol!
We need to watch the Grinch…but I’m still not done Christmas shopping yikes =P
Well, you must shop fast you’re done now. Although you wait awhile to get started.
Haha yeah, I did it all yesterday and today =P
Oh and Rudolph, don’t forget Rudolph lol
Oh no! lol We’ve already watched it.
We start music early too! It’s just so good.
Yess! You cannot wait till December to start. lol
We usually listen to a lot of Christmasy music and play board games. Every year’s different, but it’s always fun.
It doesn’t begin till the week before for us. We put up the tree on mum’s birthday then on Christmas eve we light the candles and read Christmas storybooks (this is a tradition from when we were small) and watch Christmas movies. Then on Christmas day we get up as late as we can possibly leave it (unfortunately the Christmas service is at 10am at our church which I think is awful early). After church we cook dinner and eat it by which time it’s mid afternoon so we open presents then have pudding by which time it’s evening (we are really chilled) so we have the pudding from our Christmas dinner. Then we chill and watch movie or play games. Usually at some point during the day my brothers and I get our instruments out and have a jam too. Then either boxing day or Hogmanay/New Year’s Day is open house. And at the end of the first week in January all the decorations come down and that’s us 🙂
We go to a few carol services, services at church, visit family, play games, put up decorations and lights leading up to Christmas then a few days before we start reading the Christmas story from the Bible. Then Christmas day we spend as a family, opening presents, playing games, going for a walk, having a big Christmas dinner and thinking about Jesus coming into the world to save us from sin!
We always go to my Aunt’s house (Mom’s side) for Christmas. My Aunt usually makes ham and turkey and then other various foods. Sometimes, we bring a pumpkin roll and my Grandmother (aka Gram) brings magic cookie bars. My cousin usually makes a loaf of homemade bread and sometimes there are mashed potatoes. I don’t like mashed potatoes though. Anyways, all I’ve been talking about is food. Hehe. After we eat, we usually visit. Sometimes, we play a game together. The most common game that everyone can play is Pass the Trash which is REALLY fun. We all stay at my Aunt’s until a little past midnight (usually) and then we all go home and go to bed. =)
Well, tonight (Christmas Eve) my family will be having our family Christmas celebration at home, before heading off to a midnight church service where my sisters and I will be playing music. Then, tomorrow morning (Christmas Day) we’re heading off to visit my mum’s family and celebrate Christmas there. So yeah… perhaps I’d better have a rest this afternoon! 🙂
Well we have a Christmas Eve party at church where me and my sisters will be playing/singing. Christmas day we spend time with one side of our family (this yr its with my moms fam). So yeah.. Not much hahah
Every year my family and I go to my oldest sisters house and celebrate Christmas Eve. I always eat way to much food. But on Christmas day they all come to my moms house and we exchange gifts its really crazy cuz I have 5 nieces and 13 nephews, 4 brothers and 4 sisters and my aunts and uncles are there to. So all in all there are over 40 people at my house.
I stay up late and get too loud : (
Before Christmas we decorate, eat lots of junk, and help out with the church christmas programs. On christmas eve, we go to the service and usually do it since we’re the pastors family 😀 Then we watch ‘The nativity’ get our ‘christmas pajamas,’ and eat Christmas Cake with marzipan!! (my personal favorite) then we go to bed and get woken up way too early by my younger siblings, open stockings, eat breakfast, then open gifts. After that, we just hang out (obvious, since I’m on here on christmas day) . And read the christmas story, watch movies, or go to a park or something depending on the weather.
We have a lot of awesome traditions and my favorite part is just hanging out with my family and remembering why we celebrate Christmas!
What does my home look like at Christmas? An absolute mess! But that wasn’t the question…
Sam…. This is the truest comment I’ve seen…. Our house 2 days ago was an absolute disaster!
🙂 Yeah…
I believe Christians shouldn’t celebrate Christmas at all. And we probably shouldn’t have a Christmas tree either, look at Jeremiah 10:1-4