Your Christmas/Whatever Holiday you celebrate at this time of year's Tradition?

[Violet Indy]

Since many of us are from different parts of the world, I'm rather intrigued by the little things one and one's family does at this time of year and which holiday they are celebrating.

My family and I celebrate Christmas with rather European style traditions (we're of non- English European descent), like a turkey lunch/dinner for Christmas Day and we actually split the pressies between Eve and Christmas Day. Eve is the presents you know about, really given to those too old for Father Christmas' list and Day is for those little surprises you weren't quite expecting. I personally make a Gingerbread house and train (from kits, I'm not that talented :p ). Also am the one who decorates the tree, and yes, tests the lights. We also go to the local carol night (that's this weekend).

So what do you do?

[metalinvader]

Nothing to exciting.Go out to dinner with my family,Pass out gifts,Have a few beers..
We used to have big family get togethers this time of year but distance and family fueds have stoped that.

[Violet Indy]

Ah, yes... the Griswald thing, big family get-togethers are the worst. :rolleyes: We had a bad one last year when my Grandmother decided to invite herself up here with her boyfriend. I had to work through Christmas Eve as a check-out chick and at the same time, I came down heavy with the flu that day! Totally sucked. Glad so far none of that is happening. :)

[Finn]

I celebrate Saturnalia. On the Christmas night, exactly at midnight, I run outside into the snow wearing nothing but a loin cloth since it's time for the traditional goat sacrifice. We pray that Saturnus, the great giver of Life, would grant us plentiful crops on the upcoming year too. From there, I continue to a massive orgy where moonshine flows and no one feels too self-conscious.



















Meh. I wish. Family, good food, Christmas tree, presents - the traditional shebang. Nothing to tell here. Since we're not Christians, religion doesn't play a big part though.

[roundshort]

Bacon, lots of Bacon

Skiing, and lots of Skiing!

[xfkirsten]

Pretty typical US Christmas here! Get up and open presents in the morning, then plop in front of the TV for the WDW Christmas Day Parade (WDW Christmas Day Two Hour Advertisement? ;)). In the afternoon, we get together with relatives for dinner.

[metalinvader]

Oh,One other thing,TBS plays 'A Christmas Story' all day long.
So,I know what I'll be watching on Christmas!:D

[Violet Indy]

"A Christmas Story", love that movie. They rarely show that one down here. We taped it years and years back but the tape broke last Christmas so I'm searching for the DVD. They always show 'Christmas Vacation" on Christmas Night and a live boradcast of the Carols in Melbourne on Christmas Eve. Also Christmas special episodes of every TV series running all day for two days.

Wow, they have a WDW parade? Cool. Sometimes they show the Canadian Rose Parade thing, always delayed by a couple of years.

[metalinvader]

I don't know about Australia but The "A Christmas Story'' DVD is widely available in the US.It's well worth the search though,The film is such a classic.:)

[Ayrun]

Usualy we spend chrismas with my parents and on the second day of chrismas the whole family has a get together at my grandma´s place.
We´d have a chrismas tree, a few decorations and a lot of food.
No presents though; we always did that on the 5th of december at Saint Nicolas day ( or whatever you´d call that in English ).
This year, due to the long distance between me and my family, it´s just going to be me and the boyfriend, no tree, no decorations and chinese take away. :p

[VP]

I personally make a Gingerbread house and train
Booring. How about a Gingerbread Ark of the Covenant:

http://indyville.fi/kuvat/fani/taide/piparkakkuarkki.jpg

[metalinvader]

I'd be more impressed if you made a gingerbread Grail Temple...:p

Anywho,That Gingerbread Ark is damn impressive!

[Violet Indy]

Wow. :eek: That's impressive. Would do it but my family are not Indyfans so I don't think they'd appreciate the thought. :rolleyes: How come the angels look like birds???

A grail temple would indeed be more difficult. ;)

[Kingsley]

Bill Murray and Chevy Chase christmas movies run here too!

But we have summer now, so fresh food and a lot of drinking for everyone.
We receive presents too, but I guess Santa uses shorts down here :eek:

[Billy Ray]

We start off with the kids waking us up, 30 minutes after we finally get to sleep after assembling toys and playing Santa. After opening gifts, my wife always bakes a big batch of blueberry muffins...mmmm. Then it's up in the air. We used to have to spread ourselves between three families for th erest of the day, but for the last couple of years we have had to put the foot down and just do our own thing Christmas day and visit the day after or on Christmas eve.

This year will be quite different for me. I will be working a 12 hour shift Christmas day, same as every other day over here:( It will probably be pretty lax though, we will probably watch a movie or something at work...ther ehas been talk of "It's a Wonderful Life":eek: I suggested an Indy marathon, but no one bought off on it. They should at least have a decnet meal at the chow hall...they did for Thanksgiving...but probably no blueberry muffins:(

[xfkirsten]

Wow, they have a WDW parade? Cool. Sometimes they show the Canadian Rose Parade thing, always delayed by a couple of years.

Yup! They've been doing it for years now. I think it's in its 24th year now. Great little parade, although it's very different from the day-to-day Christmas parade that runs during the holidays in the parks, and more like a 2-hour ad for WDW. ;) They do a great job, though, of showcasing the parks. I really love the numbers from the various shows. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Giselle (from 'Enchanted') make her debut this year! :D (Just bummed that Amy Adams and/or Patrick Dempsey won't be there, but I'll live :p)

[IndySeven]

On Christmas I usually open presents, watch the WDW Parade and other stuff on TV, play video games, and of course enjoy Christmas dinner!:up:

[Violet Indy]

Here's a pic of my Gingerbread house on my new and first digital camera!

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff195/wmina1/EnhancedGingerhouse.jpg

I'll take a photo of the train later. ;)

[No Ticket]

Booring. How about a Gingerbread Ark of the Covenant:

http://indyville.fi/kuvat/fani/taide/piparkakkuarkki.jpg

That's pretty much the most awesome thing I've seen all day. I have never even EATEN gingerbread. How crazy is that?

.. anyway ...

One half of my family comes over on Christmas Eve for presents and the other on Christmas day. And that's about all we do that is a tradition or whatever you want to call it.

[torao]

We (my two brothers and me) all meet at our parents' house (tonight). Everyone puts his gift under the fir tree (with real candles)... Then someone reads the christmas story from the bible. We may (try to) sing something. After that the gift exchange, which we call Bescherung starts.
When everyone has unpacked his gifts ...we start preparing the food...which is usually Raclette. We eat stuffed Turkey hen with red cabbage and potatoes at the 25th and 26th...

After dinner we go to church.

Uh...yeah...and in the middle of all the gift unpacking and CD listening and eating there's usually some kind of argument... but that's the way it is. Every time.

In whatever way you celebrate these days...I wish you a good time.
And to those who believe in the incarnation of god ...may the fact that god became one of us give you hope, love, peace and joy (oh...it's tough to phrase things like that in English ;) )

btw: cool idea for a thread, Violet! It's interesting to read about the different holiday traditions and practices.

[Violet Indy]

Since it's that time again people, this thread comes bumping back....

Well, this year, I have given up on the gingerbread. It's too damn fiddley in the summer heat. And the credit crunch has more than certainly slowed things down. Last year, we did get a real tree, however this year, I guess we're just going to have to go with the more tradition tree for Australia.... the Plastic tree.:p We've been waiting for them to be on special. Trees are pretty damn expensive this year...

So we just went to my Dad's Work's Family Christmas party at White Water World (it's a fairly new water park). Had heaps of fun there.

Will not be posting pics of VI in a bikini....:p

[Niteshade007]

We do the Griswald thing. Christmas we get together with my dad's side of the family. Nice clothes, nice meal, and one relative dresses up as Santa and hands out presents to my cousins. They are all much younger than me (me being 20, the closest in age being my sister, who is 16, followed by my cousin who just turned 13. They are also all girls), so for awhile they all enjoyed it. I think this may be the last year for it though, they are getting older. Christmas day we get together my mom's side of the family.

I suppose the one weird thing is that my mom's dad always invites his loser friends who have no family over for Christmas (and Thanksgiving, for that matter), so since I was a little kid I've had to open my presents in front of a group of people I can't stand. Fortunately, last Christmas was so unbearable that my grandfather said that he would not invite that group of misfits to another holiday function again as long as my family was attending.

[Goonie]

I'm going to celebrate Life Day by:
1) burning a copy of The Star Wars Holiday Special
2) taking George's advice and smashing that copy with a hammer.

then, I'm going to celebrate Festivus. Festivus yes! Bagels no!

:up:

Hey, you got to come up with cheap entertainment when you're laid-off and every major country in the world is in a recession. :hat:

[Indy Black]

This year my boyfriend and I are heading to southern CA to see his grandmother and my godfather a week before Christmas; meet, greet and go swimming. We celebrate our own Christmas just the two of us, wake up eat cinnamon rolls and watch tv.
Haven't decorated yet though I am going to make a gingerbread adobe, pictures next week.

Love the ark and gingerbread house:gun:

[Violet Indy]

Thanks.

Speaking of Christmas Traditions. In case, anyone wants to know what Christmas is like in Australia....

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[Goonie]

^lol good ole SNL! I remember when that sketch aired:up:

[The Magic Rat]

Booring. How about a Gingerbread Ark of the Covenant:

http://indyville.fi/kuvat/fani/taide/piparkakkuarkki.jpg

THAT. IS. *******. FANTASTIC.

[indifan101]

My family christmas is actually combined with new years. My family is located mainly in Akron Ohio but my aunt lives in Seattle Washington so we all wait till she comes home on december 30 to celebrate our christmas and exchange gifts. Also I go to Canada every new years eve and me and my father party it up in downtown Toronto lol:D