December 25: Christmas Traditions

Movies and television shows traditionally have children waking up before sunrise on Christmas morning, yelling for Mom and Dad to wake up, and tearing through their gifts in mass hysteria. In their onesie pajamas, they crouch by the toy train making laps around the tree and search desperately for the next gift addressed to them. Still in his robes and slippers, Dad holds Mom in his arms on the couch as the mugs of hot chocolate warm their hands and they both admire the little ones. I always liked to think of my neighbors going through this same routine every December 25th while my family did things a little differently.

Christmas morning always started the same way for my sister and me. We would be tucked warmly away in our beds as sugar plums danced in our heads when from out of nowhere, my mom would start shouting, "Ho ho ho!" at seven in the morning. It wasn't a jolly "Ho ho ho" that one might hear Santa chanting, but more like the sound of a drunken vagabond impersonating a screeching alley cat. Of course, my mom was never actually intoxicated first thing in the morning, but for whatever reason, she tried to make her "Ho ho ho"s as obnoxious as possible. They were great.

After taking inventory of what Santa had left, we would get dressed, Dad would mix hot chocolate in the thermos and Mom would be putting together a satchel of pistachios and homegrown tangerines. We would then tie Sport (our Yellow Labrador) in the back of the truck before getting in ourselves. As the neighboring families were ripping through their Christmases, we were on our way to the mountains for a quiet Christmas morning hike.

Being from San Diego, we didn't get snow very often, but we drove far enough east to occasionally catch glimpses of white patches and on a very rare occasion, we would actually get quite a bit of snow. Even though we didn't always see it, the air was always pretty cold nonetheless. We would hike for a couple hours, take a few breaks now and then and laugh as Sport would chase sticks and eat our tangerine peelings. When our hike was over, we would sit on the tailgate of the truck and sip the always over-chocolaty hot cocoa.

More times than not, we would come back home from our hikes and witness the neighbors in the cul-de-sac playing with their new remote-controlled cars and airplanes. We knew their Christmas was over and we hadn't even started yet; it was a good feeling.

After showers, our annual "Farmer's" breakfast, and phone calls to family, we would rearrange the furniture in the living room and slowly open our gifts; never all at once. My sister would open one, followed by me, followed by Mom, followed by Dad and it would continue until three or four in the afternoon when the last gift was unwrapped. Grandma and Grandpa would often make an appearance about halfway through and we would drink champagne, laugh and simply enjoy the company.

I think what I liked most about Christmas was the tradition in which we celebrated. It was unique and different from how our friends did it. Christmas is never just a one day affair. It's a build up that ends on the 25th and I loved how we never rushed the ending. There is so much buildup and if you aren't careful, it will fly by in the blink of an eye.

Some people celebrate Christmas the way the movies portray. Others open gifts the night before and go to the movies on Christmas morning. However you choose to celebrate, cherish it. Take pictures and soak it all in. Take time to reflect on the past year and count your blessings. Merry Christmas!