Christmas Traditions is a topic that is discussed every year but I can never really answer because it’s not something I really participate in. They do fascinate me however so today’s post is focusing on what traditions I would like to have for myself as well as talking about a number of either sweet or quirky international traditions that you wouldn’t necessarily think of.
I absolutely love the idea of having a Christmas tradition. For my family, I don’t remember us having many traditions and I don’t think that’s as uncommon as you would first think. The only one I can think of is getting a pair of new pyjamas on Christmas Eve. I asked Scott if he had any with his family, and he said that he did the same. I don’t have a very big immediate family but I’ve found through talking to other friends, that if you have a bigger family, you tend to have more traditions but it wasn’t something that was common in mine. Also, how can we forget about the advent calendar? It’s not just chocolate anymore; we have so many to choose from at all budget ranges and let’s be honest, it can be a tad overwhelming too.
As I start to get older and begin to share the holiday season with someone other than my family, I want to bring more traditions to the table; not just for Scott and I but for the future (We have a while to go yet though!).
One of my favourite traditions that I have heard of so far is from Iceland where you exchange a book with your partner or family on Christmas Eve and you spend the rest of your evening reading your book along with eating chocolate. For someone who doesn’t read as many books as she should, this one really appeals to me because it sounds cosy and very chill for the evening before Christmas. It’s known as the “Christmas Book Flood” and when I started doing a little more research, Iceland publishes more books between September and November because they sell so many during this time of year. This is something that Scott and I are doing this year and it’s going to be really nice to get away from the TV and laptop screen for a while and focusing on reading a book instead.
For me, one of my own personal traditions; I used to go into town to specifically go to LUSH (I never used to be able to resist their half price sale!) on Boxing Day and after that, I would go to the gym. This happened for a quite a few years and it was just my thing, which I loved. However Scott and I both love going to the gym and we love a run too so we’re going to set our own tradition of either running or having a gym session on Christmas Day. We’re very lucky to be close to a number of parkruns that are on that day and the gym we go to is 24/7, even on Christmas Day, so it’s a win win.
I remember one of the volunteers that worked with us in my old job, Jana; she was from Spain and she told us about what they do there. Every year, the children decorate a log (that they call the pooping log) with clothes, hands and legs and a hat; they then eat it up until Christmas Day with either bread or fruit, and they hit the log (better known as the Caga Tió) with a stick while singing a special song to encourage the log to poop out sweets for them. It sounds strange hearing to us if you’ve never participated in it before but I think it’s really sweet for young children because it’s all about innocence isn’t it?
When I was doing my research for this post, I came across one of the funniest traditions that I didn’t expect to see; KFC have played quite a role in the Christmas dinner there recently. Albeit this isn’t what most families do in Japan, it seems to be a quirky trend at the minute but it was something I wasn’t expecting.
One of the traditions from Portugal that I thought was a nice touch and I’m sure many people can relate to, is thinking of those you have lost over the year and are missing at Christmas time. Families in Portugal set extra table settings for those who are no long with there to celebrate and this is actually known to bring the family good luck.
We’re so invested in this time of year for so many different reasons but it can be stressful and it can make you lose yourself a little. We all need to take a breather and whatever your tradition may be; whether it’s a walk after your Christmas dinner, having a movie marathon on Christmas Eve or doing absolutely nothing; we need to be mindful that we all need a break from the craziness at some point.
I would love to know about any traditions that you grew up with or you have started on your own, so if you have any, let me know over on Twitter or Instagram. Thanks for reading!
RetroSnowflakes 