Christmas Traditions

Traditions are comforting cultural observances and activities, perhaps even more special because they tend to merge and evolve with successive generations. The traditions of the Christmas holiday season, like sending Christmas cards, fill our senses with colors, fragrances, sights, sounds, tastes and textures that evoke memories we want to hold in our hearts, share with our friends, and pass along to our children and grandchildren.

The scent of pine and other evergreens seems so essential to the season that, even if we’ve succumb to the convenience of an artificial tree in the house, we long to provide that scent from nature via potpourri and candles. We drape garlands, boughs and bunches of evergreens, berries and poinsettia most everywhere we can. We place decorative lights and glowing candles in our homes and workplaces, as we do at no other time of year.

Your holiday table may include the plum pudding from your father’s childhood, the baklava of your mother’s family, and the ginger cookies and cannoli from your spouse’s blended background. Perhaps you’ve added an all-American turkey to your traditional holiday bill of fare.

We’ve gone from sending Christmas cards to our closest circle of family and friends to sending Season’s Greetings that include our valued business associates. We not only send cards from ourselves, our families, and our homes; we also send business Christmas cards from our companies, our departments, and our service organizations. Perhaps nicest of all, we send cards not only to those who may share our religious beliefs, but also to acquaintances of all faiths. In this traditional way, we share our positive feelings of joy, thanks and goodwill with everyone.

So, put on that Holiday music you love, sit down with a plate of your favorite cookies and a mug of spiced apple cider, and address those cheerful Christmas cards expressing your hopes for peace on earth!