Honoring The Past While Creating New Christmas Traditions In Your Home
At Elegant Simplicity, we understand that Christmas is more than just a festive season; it's a time for honoring cherished traditions and embracing the joy of creating new ones.
It’s this incredible and beautiful balance of respecting the past and cultivating for the future, ensuring your holiday celebrations are deeply personal and the memories you make are truly unforgettable.
So… we asked our team a few questions about Christmas traditions in their own families.
What Are Some Of The Unique Christmas Traditions Your Family Has (past or present)?
What I’m looking for in your response: Any details you’re willing to share freely + openly about Christmas traditions your family has.
Sherri + John
“John’s family has a very unique tradition on Christmas Eve that I’m proud to be a part of each season. Typically, Christmas Eve is a day without technology. Growing up for John it was also a day where there were no lights or music on, there was no shopping left to do, and you fasted from morning until evening. The day was centered around preparing a poor man’s meal which was eaten after blessing the house at sundown.
The meal consists of tuna, vinegar coleslaw, bread, banana peppers, and butter beans. It’s bare bones and as John says enduring the day + the meal reminds you to be grateful for all that you have.
At the end of the meal, we go to Church which John likes to remind Brooklyn that it used to be a midnight mass. And when we return home, the Christmas lights are on outside, the tree is lit, music is playing all through the house.
As our family has grown to include Brooklyn we’ve added reading Twas The Night Before Christmas + of course tracking Santa + his reindeer to our Christmas Evening rituals. But what I’m most proud of is that John and I open our home to anyone who is in need of a good meal and a warm family to laugh and be loved by.
Of course, my parents come to spend the holidays with us (which yes, mom + dad we love *wink*) but we’ve also hosted long-time family friends, extended family, and even neighbors (who of course to us are like family).
The important thing to John and I is that on this very special day, everyone in our home feels special, welcome and blessed.”
Christy
“Our family history takes us back to Croatia and Serbia. And one thing that’s always been explained to me growing up is how following tradition and remembering where your family came from is incredibly important.”
We begin the holiday season with St. Nicolas day (Sveti Nikola) on December 6th (Croatian tradition) where we put our boots by the door and on this special day, children are rewarded with gifts, following the example of St. Nicholas who according to legend, secretly brought gifts to those less fortunate. In our family, we celebrate St. Nicolas Day with something small and almost always socks and oranges. Which to be honest, we all look forward to every year!
We then end our Holiday season with the celebration of Serbian Christmas on January 7th. Serbian Christmas is a time of the year where we remember our ancestors and celebrate by cooking special recipes that have been passed down like Sarma (stuffed cabbage), lamb and roasted pork. We also enjoy lots of desserts like strudels!
Megan
“Christmas time has always been surrounded with family activity and it's a 3 day event with my sister's Birthday the day after Christmas! Christmas Eve and Day are spent very differently and treated special for different reasons.
Christmas Eve is big in that we all dress up nice and go to mass as a family, where my sister and I have evolved doing different things in the mass from sitting in the pew with my parents and grandparents to now singing in the choir for years. After mass is dinner, which started out as going out to a restaurant and then later turned into getting a pizza and going home so we could start the oven. Then, my sister and I always jump into some Christmasy pajamas, turn on Christmas music in the background and we all open presents and play with or use some new things we got for a little bit before bed.
Christmas Day is a whole different time. When we were little, my sister and I would often get up early as kids around 6-7am and start quietly going out to the living room to see what Santa left us and we would get all excited because these gifts were never wrapped and didn't say what went to who, which I thought was always a cool thing because it showed how my sister's and my personalities uniquely shine and know what we liked. It's fascinating looking back on it now because we rarely fought over anything, we always had a notion as to what was mine and what was hers or even us to share together.
After that we've often driven up to the farm where my dad grew up and spend overnight there with his side of the family, starting with the tradition of ham and homemade noodles which is a recipe that's been around with my grandma on my dad's side and done by my aunt now for as long as I can remember. Time up at the farm for Christmas is relaxed with sledding if there's snow, even snowmobiling if my Uncle Lawrence brought them, watching movies, and of course playing cards (my Grandma on my dad's side always said if you're going to be in this family you gotta play cards!)”
How Do Traditions Create A Sense Of Belonging And Emotional Warmth?
Sherri + John
“For us, traditions are about feeling connected to something, be it a place, a thing or an experience. And when we feel deeply connected to something, in this case a tradition we do every Christmas together, we foster a sense of belonging and continuity that enriches our lives, creates a vision of shared memories that bond us as family."
Christy
“For me, having these traditions to share with my family reminds me of how important fellowship through tradition is. As we’ve grown up and each of us has our own families, we are all still together sharing our family holiday traditions with a new generation, which I know would make our ancestors proud!”
Megan
“Even as I share these things that have been the norm in my family, life has continued to evolve in different ways. Family has passed away + in marrying my husband, he has a more spontaneous side of the family with new ideas happening each year.
While reflecting on this, I found it difficult to articulate what makes me feel this sense of belonging. Because of the close-knit and loving nature of my family, the belonging has always been there, and as we lose loved ones and add new members to our family, sharing these traditions is a big part of how we pass along that feeling of love, laughter, warmth and home.
I think because of the way my family comes together every year for Christmas, it has always felt magical. Going to mass and singing at mass will always be important to me because it reminds me it's holy. Recipes carry on memories and connection. I started out just eating family recipes and then I wanted to help make these things.I also feel that the way we made each day of Christmas time have various special pieces, it creates special moments for different people.”
Valuing Christmas Traditions Past Down To You
Our holiday celebrations as a family are often rooted in the traditions that were handed down from generation-to-generation. These familial practices, be it the family's Christmas Eve or Christmas day dinner, Christmas tree decorating, cooking or caroling that are passed down – aren't merely tasks to check off this season, but rather the present memory of our family's vibrant past.
In the spirit of Elegant Simplicity, we encourage you to keep these traditions alive, allowing them to breathe warmth and nostalgia into your celebrations this season.
Creating New Traditions for Lasting Family Bonds
While we cherish the old Christmas traditions, there is a unique magic in creating new traditions.
One excellent way to do so is to consider introducing activities that reflect your family's current interests and lifestyle.
A few New Christmas Tradition Ideas To Consider:
Cook A New Recipe Together
Each Christmas, add a new dish to your holiday menu that reflects your family's culinary curiosity.
It could be a dessert inspired by a different culture, a healthy twist to a classic dish, or a recipe that a family member recently learned.
What does this Christmas tradition accomplish? It not only diversifies your holiday menu but also encourages family members to contribute and share their own culinary skills.
Holiday Movie Marathon
There are a plethora of holiday films to watch but you could set aside a night for a family movie marathon. You can choose a few classic holiday movies such as A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation or Miracle On 34th Street or something relatively new such as the new Santa Clause series, Four Christmas’s or Bad Mom’s Christmas (spoiler alert: the last two aren’t exactly little kid friendly).
What does this Christmas tradition accomplish? This tradition offers a relaxing way to spend quality time together. It’s simple
Decorating Competition
A friendly and creative holiday decorating contest within the family can spark a lot of joy and creativity.
Each family member or team can be responsible for decorating a part of the gingerbread house or create their own.
What does this Christmas tradition accomplish? This not only makes your home feel festive but also instills a sense of pride and accomplishment in everyone's contributions.
Whatever the new Christmas traditions you decide to take on, the overarching goal of these new traditions is to create memorable, joyful moments that everyone in the family eagerly anticipates each year.
Christmas Traditions foster a sense of togetherness and belonging, making your celebrations distinct and reflective of who you are as a family. By doing so, you're not just marking the holiday; you're enriching your family's story and strengthening the ties that bind you together.
Ideas for Blending Old and New Christmas Traditions
One of the things that we feel passionate about is that…
“a home that’s Elegant Simplicity is most vibrant when it’s narrating the stories of those who live there and that’s what your Christmas traditions should do.”
But we also know that it can be somewhat of a challenge to balance “the old with the new.” So we’ve put together a few ideas for you to consider this Christmas to help blend traditions from the past with new Christmas traditions.
Memory Lane Decorations
Alongside traditional ornaments, create new ornaments each year that symbolize significant events or achievements from the past year. What happens year after year is you begin to hang decorations that don’t just look pretty on a tree but embody your story as a person + a family. And each year you pull them out to hang them, you’re reminded of where you were + where you are.
Festive Fusion Feasts
Combine classic family recipes with new, adventurous culinary creations to keep the Christmas dinner exciting and inclusive or completely do away with cooking for Christmas dinner + instead make it a tradition that you order takeout. Whatever way you decide to go, food is something to consider *wink*
Digital Storytelling
We live in a digital world right? Well create a digital album or video montage of past Christmases, adding new memories each year + then display it on a digital TV or frame for everyone to see.
What you’ll find is people love to reminisce on the past + often feel so connected by the presence of their memories.
Cultural Immersion
Many families come from multiple cultural backgrounds and so incorporating elements from each culture into your Christmas celebration expands your family's appreciation for the holiday traditions of their heritage.
These can be recipes, music, movies, games or even a sequence of traditional events that you incorporate into your present day Christmas celebrations.
Yearly Time Capsule
Create a time capsule filled with letters, photos, or small mementos from the year, to be opened in future Christmases. We love this idea because someday, you’ll be reflecting upon what you found so valuable and why. A stroll down memory lane where everyone has the opportunity to share is such a wonderful Christmas tradition.
The Importance Of Making Giving A Christmas Tradition
Incorporating charitable giving into your family's Christmas traditions can have a profound impact, both on those you help and on your own family. In our opinion, it's a powerful way to teach compassion, gratitude, and social responsibility, while making a significant difference in the lives of those needing help.
Adopting a Family for Christmas
This is a deeply personal and impactful way of giving back. It is truly, Elegant Simplicity *wink* Many organizations and churches offer the opportunity where you can 'adopt' a family in need for the holidays.
This typically involves providing essentials and gifts that they might not otherwise be able to afford. Getting your family involved in selecting and wrapping presents, purchasing groceries for a holiday meal, or even preparing a meal yourself for those in need is such a wonderful Christmas tradition. We love this because this act of service is particularly powerful as it allows your family to connect with the direct impact of your generosity.
Donating to a Meaningful Cause
Encourage your family to collectively choose a cause or charity that holds special significance to you.
This could be anything from supporting local shelters, contributing to food banks, or donating to organizations that work with children of families in need.
The key is to select a cause that resonates with your family's values or experiences, which makes the act of giving more meaningful.
How to Make Giving To Charity A Christmas Tradition For Your Family
Annual Discussion
Each year, have a family discussion to decide on the cause or family you wish to support. This can be done during a family meal, a car ride, or a dedicated family meeting.
Involvement in the Process
Ensure that all family members are involved in the process, from choosing the charity to participating in the act of giving. This could involve shopping together for gifts or food, writing cards, or even volunteering time.
Reflect and Share
After the activity, whether that was cooking, shopping or delivering the gifts, spend some time sharing what the experience meant to each of you. This could be done over a family dinner or a gathering. Encourage everyone to express how it felt to make a difference.
Create Awareness
Use this opportunity for giving to educate your children, regardless of how young or old they are, and others about the importance of giving and the challenges faced by those who are less fortunate.
The world we live in needs to foster empathy and by creating space for this conversation to unfold you’re broadening a deep understanding.
By making charitable giving a part of your Christmas tradition, you're not only contributing positively to your community but also instilling important values within your family. This tradition can become a cherished part of your holiday season, bringing a sense of fulfillment and joy that comes from serving others.
Christmas traditions should be a perfect blend of past and present, a time to honor enduring family legacies while making new memories.
At Elegant Simplicity, we are excited to help you celebrate these moments in a home that reflects the beauty and depth of your family’s stories. This festive season, embrace the joy of Christmas by intertwining old Christmas traditions with new ones, creating a holiday experience that is as timeless as it is contemporary.
May your Christmas be, Elegant Simplicity®. Merry Christmas.
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