Tradition, and... GRAVITAS

"I like tradition at Christmas,

the over and over of things gives the years gravitas..."

~Susan Branch

Yes, I confess... I looked up the word "gravitas" -- not a word I was familiar with.  I'm so glad I did, because it made me love this quote from Susan even more.

I can recall a time, back in my school days, being asked to write about our family's Christmas traditions.  I was stuck.  As a kid, I didn't really think about us as having traditions.  Our family just did the same things over and over again each holiday season.  Nothing too special, I thought.  Afterall, didn't everyone "do Christmas" as we did?  Oh, the naiveté of a child!

What I didn't realize at the time was that those things that we did over and over again year after year gave OUR Christmas a certain pageantry.  At our house, we always knew how Christmas "went."  We didn't have to wonder.  Truth is, we still don't.  Though we've adapted to various situations through the years, my parents still count on doing things much the same way.  While we don't take ourselves too seriously (as the term "gravitas" may suggest), we DO enjoy knowing what to count on year after year.

TRADITION::  Bringing out a favorite Christmas afghan made by my Great Aunt

When I was a tween, my family moved from Buffalo, New York to Ohio -- and Christmas changed.  Christmas (and every other holiday) was now spent traveling back and forth across the miles to spend time with extended family.  After many years, we had the chance to wake up in our own beds Christmas morning, and we realized -- the travel HAD BEEN our tradition! -- and we missed it like crazy.

Sometimes when we're LIVING the tradition,

we don't even realize it IS one...

TRADITION::  a favorite homemade gift from a friend ~ Biscotti!

Traditions can just be the carrying on of the daily daily-ness in specific circumstances (like a holiday) -- or as Susan might say, the over and over of things that gives the years... dignity, seriousness, or solemnity of manner.

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?