Christmas is an interesting time of the year when the worst and best can be brought out in a person. People are hustling and bustling to take part in all the holiday activities: ranking up the credit card bills, finding that perfect present, or booking the whole day out with holiday activities. It can be a chaotic time, but it can also be rewarding to spend time with family, friends, or those we enjoy. Despite the chaos, people can take encouragement not only in seasonal elements like cookies, holiday parties, and snow but also in holiday traditions.
Holiday traditions are a special concept because it takes the right individuals and variables to create an event and sustain it, turning it into a tradition. Traditions can include customs, beliefs, or concepts that are passed on. The Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree tradition is a unique custom that has been continued since the first tree was placed in the center during the 1930s. Workers at the center pooled their money together to buy a 20-foot balsam fir tree and decorated it with their families. Since then, more and more people have become a part of this event, making it a tradition year after year. Today, the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center continues because of the individuals who first inspired the idea and the people who maintain the tradition through expressions of love.
Christmas brings many traditions like sledding, decorating cookies, and making delicious food passed down by individuals and families. As traditions evolve, some modern ones are considered unusual or unique. Conversations with members of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB) community reveal several uncommon traditions celebrated by students and staff.
Sophomore student Jackie Solum celebrates many traditions with her family during Christmas. “On Christmas Eve, before we open all our gifts, we take them all and make a sculpture or something fun out of them,” she says. “Some fun ones we have done were a boat, a person, a city, and a castle.” Jackie also takes part in some fun holiday foods the night before Christmas. “We always have soups on Christmas Eve because my dad’s mom always made oyster soup when he was younger,” she says.
Morgan Sleaford, a senior at UWGB, also takes part in a different Christmas Eve food tradition. “We eat burritos for dinner every Christmas Eve, and we make the meat before we go to mass, and then when we come home, we change into our pajamas and eat burritos.” Another UWGB student, Maddie Martinez, also strays away from the typical Christmas ham and turkey dinner. Her family eats ribs with all kinds of sauces.
Christmas traditions also bring out the most distinctive cultural and heritage foods. Rachel Faessler says that her grandmother makes Spitzbuebe, which is like a Swiss sugar cookie that is wafery. Sleaford’s grandmother is from England, and so her family celebrates every Christmas meal with poppers, paper crowns, and a toy or joke.
Sister Laura Zelton, a Catholic Sister who advises the Phoenix Catholic Organization on campus, celebrates many cultural traditions around Christmas time. Sister Laura states that when she was younger, she and her sisters would make a special breakfast after midnight mass. They made Christmas Stolen, which is a German bread with grapefruit and other dried fruits. She also participates in a tradition that starts in the summer and, with time, is ready to consume in the winter. “One of the things my family does is we make cherry bounces in July when the cherries are ready, and then it sits until Christmas Eve, and we all have a shot of cherry bounce.”
Sister Laura is also from a Dutch background, where her family eats pickled herring, dried beef, and tartar. Tartar is raw ground sirloin that is eaten on rye bread with onion, salt, and pepper. She says, “It was a real treat or custom to have these foods.” Sister Laura continues these food traditions today with the rest of her family.
Not only is food a great way to create traditions around, but people also create holiday celebrations around clothing. Faessler says that her family celebrates Christmas pajamas. “My mom would always get matching Christmas pajamas every year,” she says. “When I was little, we would wear matching Christmas Onesies; as we got bigger, it became harder to find them, so she transitioned into something matching.” Sister Laura also takes part in pajamas on the night before Christmas. “My grandmother would make us all flannel nightgowns that we would wear for Christmas Eve, and then watch Rudolph when it was new then, and after,r we would go to bed.”
Food and clothing are two ways to spark unique Christmas traditions; however, there are more ways to participate in traditions. Junior student Mark Wanek says that his grandmother has shared a few unique traditions with the rest of his family. “My grandma would always buy the sad-looking trees because she would feel bad,” he says. “My aunts would be like, that’s so ugly, and she would be like, hey, that’s my Charlie Brown tree.” Mark’s grandma also introduced him to the pickle tree concept. Many Germans celebrate Christmas trees by placing a real pickle or an ornament on the tree. “There would be a pickle in the tree somewhere, and when we go to our grandma’s house, you would have to find it,” he says. “The first one to find it would get a certain gift.”
Sister Laura Zelton also partakes in unique Christmas traditions with Christmas trees. Since she is a Catholic Sister, her convent would not decorate the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve night. She says that she also partook in this tradition with her family when she was a child. Sister Laura is filled with Christmas tree traditions, as her grandma would make an edible Christmas tree. “My grandma would make an edible Christmas tree in the basement where it was a live tree, decorated with candy and cookies,” she says. “You could just eat off the tree the whole day.”
Another uncommon Christmas tradition is celebrated by UWGB senior student Emma Maas. When she was younger, her family would open presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, like most individuals. She says it was always fun because she would go to mass, come home, and see presents under the tree from Santa. On Christmas Day, her family would spend time with one another and play with the gifts.
Traditions form because special individuals inspire ideas tailored to their own family, friends, and groups’ preferences. These traditions make the holidays memorable and create something to anticipate each year. Sister Laura says, “I think it is important that people have traditions. However, they come about, whether with your family, culture, or heritage, but it is also important to start new traditions.”
As Christmas approaches, so does New Year’s Eve. For those still seeking a fun way to celebrate or adopt a tradition, consider eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve. Martinez says, “For New Year we eat 12 grapes, whoever eats the grapes the fastest completes their New Year’s resolution first before everyone else.” Martinez describes this custom as being one that kicks off your resolution for the next year to come.
These unique traditions may not be typical for everyone during the holiday season, which makes them even more special. Consider creating unique or odd traditions for the upcoming holiday season or adopting traditions like these with loved ones. These traditions create memorable moments, just as many individuals have shared here.
References
Today Show. (2023, November 17). The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition began in 1931. take a look back in time. TODAY.com. https://www.today.com/popculture/news/rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-history-rcna125664.
