Homegrown Holidays
“Growing up, my mom would always make popcorn on December 1 so my siblings and I could string the kernels together to make garlands to put on the Christmas tree and around the house.”
“Sledding was the highlight of our Christmases. Grandma and Grandpa had a huge hill behind their house, and my cousins and I would compete to see who could sled the farthest. We’d be out there for hours, until our fingers and toes were frozen.”
“Christmas morning, Mom would always make a special breakfast. I looked forward to that breakfast all year long.”
What does Christmas mean to you?
That is, what are your earliest Christmas memories? What shaped your idea of what Christmas is?
As children, our perceptions of the world are shaped by the limited experiences we have. Holidays mean different things to each of us because of our different experiences.
For some, Christmas means decorating traditions with a parent, draping the house in homemade popcorn garland or paper chains.
For others, snowy weather conditions point to sleds and giant snow-covered hills, with uninhibited time to be spent with cousins and other family members.
Thoughts of Christmas morning may bring to mind mouth-watering memories of special breakfasts long past. Maybe it was the same meal every December, or maybe it got mixed up from year to year. Either way, you can’t imagine celebrating Christmas without that special Christmas breakfast or without creating homegrown decorative garlands. When it snows, you can’t look at the laughing children and adults flying down the sledding slopes without immediately imagining yourself as a child, straining to inch your sled further along.
Christmas may not be the happiest time for us all. Familial losses or traumatic experiences can cause Christmastime to trigger unhappy memories. Perhaps you grew up watching everyone around you celebrate the holidays in the way you wished you could. Perhaps you don’t celebrate Christmas, choosing to celebrate another holiday instead or just enjoying the time off work.
Regardless, the world around us changes during the holiday season. For just a moment, our lives are transformed by the festive music playing everywhere one goes, the never-ending supply of Christmas decor and gifts lining the shelves at the stores, the Salvation Army red bucket volunteers and their handbells, and the friendly interactions between complete strangers, “Merry Christmas!” “Happy Holidays!” “Drive safe out there!” “Happy New Year!” It’s a time of uninhibited joy, of hope, of peace.
That holiday spirit tends to peek through in all of us, even those of us experiencing painful memories and seasonal stress. It resurrects the childhood experiences that shaped our perceptions. We all have homegrown holidays of some sort, memories and experiences that make this time of year unique for each of us. What part of your Christmas is homegrown?