Christmas Traditions

When I was a boy in Estes Park our Christmas tradition was set in stone. All of the kids would be sent into the basement or the back bedroom early on Christmas Eve where we would be given games to play and admonished to stay put, otherwise Santa wouldn't come. By the time I got into junior high school and both of my sisters started reproducing like rabbits, the mob of kids in the back bedroom became almost more than I could bear.

While we were in seclusion, my mother, aunt, and grandmother would put up the tree and decorate it. We were never allowed to have a tree in our house before Christmas Eve. It just wasn't done.

Then my mother would ring sleigh bells to evoke Santa and we would all run out to the living room where we were greeted by a stunning tree decorated with generations of glass ornaments and tinsel. And underneath that tree was a miracle of presents. At least that is what it seemed like at the time.

After opening presents, normally a two to three hour orgy of materialism, we would all clean up and go to midnight mass at Our Lady of the Mountains. I always got a ride to church earlier than the others because I was the main altar boy in our youth group and one did not take that responsibility lightly. The church was always beautiful and the choir (my mother and aunt were altos; my grandmother was a bass) sang the Ave Maria, Gounod's version, and we were all filled with the wonder of the whole thing.

That tradition went away pretty much at the same time I grew up, got married, and had children of my own. So we substituted a new ritual around the holiday season and mostly with Katherine's family.

There is always the name drawing party the weekend after Thanksgiving. The extended family all shows up at Sharon and Roger's house for drinking, a little dancing, a lot of conversation, and finally dinner at around 9:30. As I get older it has become increasingly difficult to remain convivial all the way through dinner.

Then we have a family gift opening at our house. When Franny was a little girl she passed out the presents and paced the whole ordeal like a gifted head waiter. Since Franny has grown up, other young ones in the family have tried to take her place. In my opinion, they can never quite pull it off with Franny's aplomb.

Christmas Eve Chris and Nate would spend with their mother and Katherine and Franny and I would go to Mike and Barb's for a lovely dinner and small party. When we got home on Christmas Eve and got Franny into bed, we stuffed and put up the stockings with care. The next morning Mary would bring Chris and Nate back home. Actually, I would go and pick them up. And we would all gather round the tree and open the stockings and have cinammon rolls and hot chocolate or something equally Christmassy. Later that day we would go to Katherine's parents' house where we would meet Chuck and Teena, their kids, and Roger and Sharon. The gift opening that followed was always obscenely huge and more than a little embarassing. After that we would have a fancy dinner, invariably with mail order filet mignon and twice baked potatoes. Later that night everyone in the family would end up at Roger and Sharon's for more drinks and LATE night chili. Whew. End of holiday.

That tradition has changed as the kids have all grown up and moved away. We still have a name drawing and gift opening party for the family and we still go to Roger and Sharon's late Christmas night. As far as Christmas Day goes, Kathie and I spend the whole day making various tapas-like food and family and friends stop by throughout the day and visit, open presents, drink bloody marys, wine, beer, and sit around the kitchen table and eat. Late in the afternoon before heading to Roger and Sharon's we make Mario Batali's short rib recipe paired with Frank Bonnano's pirogi recipe and no one can get enough.