FineView Marketing

Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions, past and present, hold a special place in our hearts. They are what bind us to our family, our culture, and our community. Traditions give children a sense of belonging and a way to express what’s important to them. As young family members grow into adults, they create their own holiday traditions by merging the old with the new.

Despite society’s evolution, keeping past traditions alive and forming new ones preserves and protects our heritage for future generations. There is no question that life will continue to change. Progress demands it. Yet traditions, especially holiday traditions, offer us time for reflection and relaxation, away from the pressure of our daily tasks.

In the spirit of the holidays, the FineView Marketing team is pleased to share some of their favorite holiday traditions both old and new. Here are a few ways we like to celebrate the holidays!

Chris

Chris kicks off the holiday season by working hard to provide for others. She is the Volunteer Coordinator for Operation Turkey, a nonprofit that prepares, packages, and delivers meals to the homeless and less fortunate on Thanksgiving Day throughout multiple cities and states.

As much as Chris loves Thanksgiving, Christmas is her favorite holiday. You can find her every Christmas as her grandparents’ celebrating her grandfather’s birthday.

Becca

Becca has two favorite traditions: the string game and Christmas crackers.

At Christmas dinner, each person has a Christmas cracker sitting on their dinner plate. They cross arms to hold the ends of each others’ poppers in a circle and pull them apart together at the count of three. They place the paper crowns that come inside the poppers on their heads and enjoy Christmas dinner together.

The string game is played at the home of whoever is hosting dinner. Each family collects and wraps small items throughout the year. The gifts are connected so that they become a “string of gifts.” They sit in a circle and grab one string at a time and pass it around until everyone has one. On the count of three, we open whichever gift is in our hands. After all of the gifts have been opened, they can try to trade for other gifts. This leads to a lot of fun while bartering for the most popular items.

David

This will be a very special Christmas for David: his baby daughter’s first Christmas. He will be creating memories and traditions that his daughter will treasure for years to come.

He and his wife are very excited to decorate a tree for their daughter. My guess is that there will definitely be a “baby’s first Christmas ornament on that tree. They will be baking Christmas cookies and featuring a big turkey dinner for Christmas. Opening gifts on Christmas morning is, of course, on the agenda and next year they will be helping the baby make her own Christmas list. David, his wife, and daughter will also be taking pictures in Christmas pajamas. We hope he shares them with the team.

Katie

Katie has a lovely Christmas Eve tradition. She, her parents, and her brother make homemade sushi while drinking champagne. They keep the movie “A Christmas Story” playing in the background. On Christmas day they head to her uncle’s home to be with her Dad’s side of the family. They catch up with a huge dinner and lots of conversation.

Katie’s Mom’s side of the family spends Boxing Day at her home. They have a huge dinner for over 25 people and a fun game of white elephant. All of the gifts have to come from the As Seen On TV Store. This game ends up with a lot of laughing and craziness while items are being traded.

Hunter

Hunter and his family keep their Christmas traditions simple. They enjoy spending time together and always watch the family favorite, “A Christmas Story.” One side of Hunter’s family opens presents with different games every year. The other side likes to prolong the activity with each person opening one gift at a time.

Jenny

Jenny, who lives in the Philippines, has some beautiful and unique traditions. Her mother’s family is known for its musicality. During their gathering, the children receive a reward (usually money) if they sing, recite a poem, or dance (but mostly sing because there are many good singers in the family). The elders love it when children perform.

Jenny explains, “During the evenings we attend Christmas mass. We call this “Simbang Gabi ” or “Misa De Gallo”. This usually starts every December 16 for 9 evenings till the 24th. In our case though we only attend the 24th since mass that starts at 10 pm rather than the usual schedule which is every 4 am or 5am. After simbang gabi we’d go back to our ancestral home and get busy preparing for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). The youth prepare the street’s stage and long table for potluck food.”

They then have another gathering with relatives where they open gifts and see parents perform.

Bobbi

Bobbi enjoys having her family together for any occasion, but especially at Christmas. One tradition that she dearly loves is buying each of her children a Christmas ornament every year. She’s done this since they were babies, and continues the tradition to this day. The ornaments are typically a remembrance of a special occasion or life event that occurred during the past year. She also loves baking with Christina, the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes, and Christmas shopping.

Bobbi also has fun making her family crazy by forcing them to watch her favorite and their least favorite movie, “A Christmas Story.”

Christina

Christina’s favorite traditions are deeply rooted in her background. One of her favorites, The Feast of the Seven Fishes, stems from her southern Italian heritage. Her lobster bisque and mussels in wine are scrumptious additions to the “reimagined” family Feast.

She also looks forward to baking with her mom every year. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, they bake dozens of cookies, with her specialty being several varieties of biscotti, a cookie with origins in medieval Italy. Christina has always enjoyed Christmas shopping and watching Christmas movies, with “Christmas Vacation” being her favorite.

Conclusion

Holiday traditions can be as simple as spending time with family and as complex and beautiful as attending mass for nine evenings in preparation for Christmas. How we celebrate doesn’t matter. The common thread running through this time of year is the joy of giving, the blessing of family, and the traditions give us a sense of the past that binds us together for the future.