For as long as I can remember my parents have been giving me and my sister two “presents” to open on Christmas Eve yearly. These so called “presents” have been the same for the past 14 years. It has always been a pair of matching pajamas and a Christmas book. My sister and I would have to wear the pajamas to bed on Christmas Eve and wake up in, on Christmas Day. The book that we would receive on Christmas Eve from our family would have to be read before my sister and I went to bed that night. When we are done reading, the books would go in a Christmas basket with over 20 books over all the years of this tradition. My sister and I, every Christmas morning, wearing our new pajamas, have to wake up my parents. But not the way you might think. We have to go to their room and sing them two Christmas carols. The reason behind this is that when my sister and I were younger we used to get up really early on Christmas morning to go get our presents. My parents on the other hand did not like that very much.
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Although no one else in my extended family does this tradition it does not mean that other people around the world do not do this tradition. So I do not really know where this tradition came from because my family is definitely not the family that invented this tradition. If you are just looking at it from an immediate family aspect my mom Kathy would be the one who started it in our family.
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My family has been doing this tradition for as long as I can remember, this tradition has created so many memories for not only my self but for my mom, dad, and my sister. Whenever I grow up these traditions will definitely be a part of my family’s Christmas Eve rituals.
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These are all of the books that my sister and I have accumulated over the past 15 years. Everyone is different and every single one has been read multiple times on Christmas eve, while we are all in our new Christmas pajamas, sitting by the fire waiting for the time when my sister and I can finally go to sleep and wake up way too early for my parents.
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Works Cited
Coughlin, Joseph F. “What Holiday Shopping Tells Us About Innovations in Retirement Planning & Healthy Behaviors.” Big Think, 1 Jan. 2016, bigthink.com/disruptive-demographics/what-holiday-shopping-tells-us-about-innovations-in-retirement-planning-healthy-behaviors. Accessed 28 Oct. 2017.
Ferguson, Kathy. Christmas Basket. 28 Oct. 2017.
Ben, the picture of the basket of books helps me to see how important this tradition is to your family. I can imagine your mother (or father) shopping for the pyjamas and the new book, and the challenges that must come with finding bigger sizes and a new story each year. I'm sure there are years that you don't want to do it, but as you go through the basket you have a physical reminder of memories from holidays past. Do your parents record the year in each of the books? Is there a theme to the books, other than "Christmas"? I know that Kylie has a similar tradition in her family, so you're right, it seems to be something that other Canadian families feel is important and is not unique to your own. In the future, will you do something similar with your own family?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the book basket is amazing,it is a way for your family to connect. The idea of you and your sister having matching pj's every year is a good idea. In the future will you change the tradition at all? If so how or why will you change the tradition?
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