Young Writers Society

I know this thread is a little late for Hanukkah, but looking for a sugar cookie recipe for Christmas made me realize that there wasn't a holiday traditions thread in the lounge.

My family's two holiday traditions are making sugar cookies and watching the Polar Express. We haven't been perfect about doing both these past few years, but I'm hoping we'll have a chance to watch our favorite Christmas movie sometime before Christmas day. I'm also in charge of making the sugar cookies this year, so I know we'll follow through with that tradition this Christmas!

What are your holiday traditions for your favorite winter holidays?

Although I am a Muslim, we live with my maternal grandparents who celebrate Christmas. I love Christmas; it’s my favorite holiday after Halloween!

I have a couple:

Days before Christmas, we’ll all sit down and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. it’s our favorite family movie, although Home Alone is my personal favorite. My dad loves The Polar Express! His favorite scene is when the kids are singing that song.

On Christmas Eve, we used visit my step grandfather’s family. We would do the same stuff most families do during a party, but every year after dinner, we all gather in the living room. My step Grampa dresses in a Santa Claus suit, and he, the kids, and I sit in a circle on the floor, and we’ll each read a page from ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas!

Obviously, we can’t do get together this year, but we’ll still be able to read from the book. Just over Zoom

2020 is not a year for maintaining tradition XD But the Winter Solstice is one of my favourite holidays.

We fast during the day and then have a big evening meal in preparation for the night, when we spend time doing creative things like dancing or playing music, and stay awake all night until the new sun comes up. It's all about fighting away demons until the morning so we can focus on new life and leave behind the things that hold us back, like wasteful habits or ill feelings towards others.

For the twelve days afterwards we commit to something, kind of like a new years resolution, but only for twelve days. So, we have to face a different fear every day, or reach out to an old friend every day, or something like that.

This year I celebrated the winter solstice on my own, but it was still nice. It was interesting to do the fighting demons thing without being around others because it meant having to connect more with myself and my environment, and I think that had its own virtue. There was less resolution with others and more resolution within myself.

@Valkyria, that's really cool! It's neat how Christmas sometimes transcends religion for some families. I'm not religious at all anymore, but I still really enjoy Christmas every year. I guess that's what happens when history blends some celebrations together.

I love that singing scene, too. <3 shey actually performed it on his clarinet for his fourth grade talent show, so it definitely holds a special place in my family's hearts.

I hope that Zoom call goes well!

@Tenyo, oh definitely. My family also has a tradition of visiting specific relatives for on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve tends to be stressful and Christmas Day is a little anticlimactic. Those traditions completely slipped my mind when I was writing my first post, but part of me is grateful we can make new traditions through quarantine this year.

I'm also grateful we can continue the traditions I've always loved.

But that winter solstice celebration sounds really cool! I'm sorry you aren't able to so it with other people this year, but it sounds like you've been able to make the best of it.

(I was wondering if anyone would reply with winter solstice traditions. Someone in my high school celebrated it, and it was really interesting hearing what his family did every year to celebrate.)

Edit: I just realized my earlier comment makes it sound like I don't like the religious aspect of Christmas. I wanted to clarify that I love its religious ties, but that I'm also just really interested in how diverse different celebrations can be.