What Are Your Holiday Traditions?
Ann Roggenbuck
Well, the relatives have come and gone. Whew! As a single childless adult until the age of 50, I spent most Christmases traveling to my parents or siblings homes, especially once the nieces and nephews arrived. I always bemoaned the fact that I had no holiday traditions of my own and it didn’t seem that any childhood traditions had made their way into our adult lives in Arizona and California. After hosting the crowd this year, I think I was wrong. There actually are some simple things that have continued over the years which, I guess, make them family traditions. I always buy Mom jellied orange slice candy in memory of her mother (Grandma) who loved them and I added black licorice to the mix which Mom loves. Also included are much appreciated grocery and home staples gift cards for her. Mom loves to play cards and fix puzzles, both of which usually make their way into our holiday time together. My sister, Sandy, established a Christmas cookie cut out and decorating tradition with her kids which our larger family has embraced over the past several years. My brother, Mark, and I usually collaborate on Christmas dinner. He makes the roast beast and I make the, ever unpopular, Yorkshire pudding. This year it took the form of popovers which worked out quite nicely. We usually head to the market looking for horseradish root but this year Paul and I made our own horseradish harvested from a lakeside garden. We just added a little sour cream and it was delicious with our beef. In a tribute to our growing up years, my brother always cooks some kind of smelly root vegetable received with varying degrees of enthusiasm. This year it was brussel sprouts and rutabagas! Homemade cheesecake seems to be making its way into our annual dessert menu. My pumpkin chai cheesecake was good but my sister in law, Diana, made a lemon cheesecake that got rave reviews. Living in the Southwest someone always brings tamales which are a hit. We enjoy nice weather out west so, for those so inclined, there is always a walk/hike incorporated into the festivities. I took three hikes this year easily making my 10,000 step goal those days.
I have a year round tree in my Flagstaff home which gets additional ornaments for the holiday. I have perfected homemade biscotti (lemon poppy seed and orange almond) for morning coffee dunking which seem to go over well. With my newfound sewing skills, I made embroidered felt ornaments last year and this year I made flannel pillowcases for everyone. I am already pondering next year’s homemade offering. Finally, the presentation of individual boxes of our canning efforts has made its way into our holiday festivities over the past several years. Everyone gets about a dozen jars of different items so there is comparing and contrasting in earnest. The various pickles seem to be the most popular and make their way into the relish dish for taste testing. This year’s new and well received item was pickled ginger carrots. Oh, and this year I infused some vodka with rhubarb and experimented with a holiday cocktail. I thought it was tasty but didn’t have many takers. Go figure!
Over the years, I have always written a very personalized Christmas letter, including life lessons, to my six nieces and nephews and included a little spending money in the envelope. As a retiree, I decided to stop the tradition this year as I have imparted most of what I know and they all now have college degrees and well-paying jobs. Besides, as they establish themselves as adults their addresses keep changing and snail mail is dead. They are balking at this, so I will send them this article which I think has an important message for them moving forward…family first!
Finally, there is my New Year’s goals exercise where there is an accounting of progress toward last year’s goals and the setting of new goals for the New Year. Some members of the family take to this more than others but I personally love it. For those that are into it, I harangue them throughout the year for intermittent progress and goal adjustments. My oldest niece, Mandy, and her husband, David, did exceptionally well in accomplishing their goals in 2017. So in closing, I guess holiday traditions, be they old or new, simple or complex, actually do exist for most of us and they transcend time and place. I recently read that half of Midwesterners have spent their entire lives living in and around their hometown. I bet this means most Review readers have all sorts of important family holiday “coming home” traditions which I would love to hear about and profile during next year’s holidays season.
2017