Sacred Traditions

We were discussing holiday decorating tonight and my cousin talked about how for years their family had a rather sad looking angel at the top of their Christmas tree. From the impression I get, it wasn't the greatest tree topper on the world. Probably something purchased back in the early days of the marriage when my aunt and uncle didn't have a lot of money. After my cousins grew into adulthood, my aunt bought a new angel for the tree. This one was nice and expensive, lovely, hand crafted, and the kind of tree topper that could really be the star of a well decorated tree.

My cousins hated it. They all protested to my aunt about how they disliked the new angel and missed the old screwed up one. They wanted their inexpensive, broken old angel to top the tree. Not because she was the most beautiful thing and not because she was expensive. The old angel was the tradition. She was a large part of how they viewed Christmas. Without the old angel, Christmas just wasn't the same.

In the last year, I've really been embracing the idea of transformation. I'm trying to find new paths to having a better life. There are a lot of reasons, health and sanity being the main ones. However, as I make changes, I always keep in mind that change should come for a very well considered purpose. You should never change things just because you can.

My family's tree topper is a good example of this. My aunt had the means to replace the angel. She knew the old one wasn't all that great and really believed a new angel would be better. However, "new and more expensive" don't always equal better. Sometimes, we need to remember that what we have in the moment may hold more value than anything we could purchase as a replacement. What we have at the moment may serve as a touchstone with our past, a connection  to how we define ourselves or an event.

While this is true all year long, I think it holds a special significance during the holiday season. Winter holidays are about many things, but regardless of the philosophy behind why we may be celebrating, one thing that holds true for almost everyone is that winter holidays are an observance of traditions. Songs in connection with the holiday begin to be heard, and this is the only time of year that happens. Television specials are played year after year, and people, no matter what age, will skip other programming to watch these specials, even though they may have seen them many times before.

For many of us, the things we love about the holidays are the very simple things. The ornaments that are used year after year, even the old broken ones. The campy songs, many of which we make up our own lyrics. Stories told about bad gifts and fruitcakes. Discussions about people who've left us and what they added to the holiday.

For me, there are three things that mean the most to me during the holidays. I have a tradition with my bff of decorating her tree while we listen to seasonal music. I watch holiday specials with my roommate. We usually sing all the songs. I also love going over to my grandfather's house with my brother and his family. Gifts and meals aside, these three events are always my favorite part of the holiday. No matter what else happens, as long as these three things happen for me, I always feel like I've had a complete Christmas.

So tell me, oh readers of mine, what is important to you about this season? What events and rituals really create the true feeling of Holiday to you? Whatever they are, I hope you enjoy them this year and every year.