5 Christmas Traditions Which Make Me Eagerly Wait For This Day Every Year

It's the Christmas Eve tonight! It's the year-end treat for every person out there. The birthday of the Messiah in Christianity is celebrated with joy across the world, irrespective of religion. This is the festival of giving and sharing. Marking the zenith of the holiday season, Christmas is the time of pure bliss.

Unfortunately, the circumstances amid the pandemic allow us to celebrate the lovely day with limited festive splendour this year. Nevertheless, with the relaxations by the authorities and following safety protocols, one can still enjoy Christmas. If not more, then at least as delightfully as the pre COVID-19 times.

Also Read: 6 Christmas Season Gifts Ideas from Indian Small Business

Just like many other people, Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. Although this festival is not exclusively a part of the community I belong to, our family still followed a few of the rituals. This must be the case of many other families who live in a multicultural society like ours.

Bright lights twinkling all around --- the aura filled with holiday music and our tummies with delicious food, sweets and savouries. The beauty of Christmas has its own charm. Here are 5 custom traditions of Christmas which I can never get enough of:

Fairy Lights and Christmas Tree Decorations

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about Christmas is the Christmas tree and fairy light decorations. The ritual of getting a gorgeous tree home and decorating it with adornments and lights is symbolic to the festival. Although my family didn't have elaborate celebrations, we used to carry out a few of the festivities by giving putting up fairy lights and decorating a small artificial Christmas tree almost every year. Hence, this custom carries not only the essence and ethos of the festival, but also a lot of memories for me. Moreover, it also signifies hope and love for people. My mother used to also light up scented candles, just like the traditional custom before fairy lights became popular.

Festive Music, Christmas Carols and Hymns

I used to enjoy the carols and music back in the winter celebrations in my school. It used to be the time of merry-making for all my friends --- how we used to sing our hearts out and feel the warmth of the festive mood in the chilly winters. Jingle bells, Rudolph the red-nose reindeer, Silent night were few of the carols we loved to sing and hum. Carol singing reflects one of the tenets the festival signifies, spreading joy, laughter and brotherhood among people. And what else could be the best way to do so than by singing carols and grooving to the beats of the festive season with friends?

Assorted Variety of Delicious Food

Being a foodie, this tradition is undoubtedly the most favourite part of Christmas. The assorted sweet and savoury items which grace the dining table, waiting to get devoured, is what I have always looked forward to. From the classic Christmas plum cake and my mother's signature caramel pudding to roasted chicken and baked mashed potatoes, every item is still stuck in my lips' memory. Although I have turned vegetarian this year, my mother is still making sure that enjoy this tradition with her other lip-smacking vegetarian recipes. Furthermore, my family also enjoys drinking wine along too. This was my family's another way of celebrating the festival in a simple manner. If not at our own home, then we also used to have feasts at our friends and relatives' places too

Gift Exchange

This is a bygone practice in my family when I was a kid, nonetheless I have many memories attached to this tradition. As I used to be one of the many naïve kids who believed in Santa Claus, my family used to secretly bring gifts for me and keep them under the Christmas tree. I always jumped from my bed and headed straight towards the tree when I woke up every Christmas morning. I still get gifts directly from my family sometimes on this day, or they take me out for shopping.

Family and friends Get-togethers

As my families shared very close ties with a Christian family before they went abroad, half of our Christmas celebrations took place at their home. From accompanying them to the Church to whole-heartedly feasting at their place amidst bon-fire, we have shared a bunch of wholesome and indelible memories with the family. In the last seven years,  I have hung out with my friends and relatives in many of the occasions on this day. Moreover, I sometimes got gifts too from them. These gatherings also defined what Christmas is all about, that is sharing, caring, embracing and loving.

Sugandha Bora is an intern with SheThePeople, views expressed are author's own