Thank you for the generous gifts and kind words you and your children have given to me this holiday season.

 

Wishing all of you the happiest of holidays. One of the most beautiful things about teaching English as a second language is that I get the benefit of interacting with so many beautiful children from places all around the world.  Holidays tell a lot about a persons history, culture, and family life. Students often share with me the special ways in which they celebrate holidays with their family. 

 

Here are some of the traditions my family holds:

 

Christmas Eve: Attend a candlelight service at church were we sing carols, hear the story of the first Christmas from the scriptures, and each hold a candle, carefully lighting our neighbor's until the entire church is filled with the soft glow of candlelight.   It's beautiful.

 

My mother always gets us a new pair of pajamas to wear to bed on Christmas Eve (even though all her children are grown, she continues this tradition).

 

Christmas Morning: Ringing Christmas bells to welcome Christmas day.  My parents keep bells in their china cabinet and my two sisters, our children, and I each choose a bell to ring joyfully on Christmas morning. The bell I always choose is made of silver and was passed down through generations in my father's family.  After the bells are rung we spend time exchanging gifts around the tree.  My father has given one ornament to me every year since my birth.  When I got married, those ornaments were the first to decorate my tree.  My husband and I carry on this tradition with our own children.

 

Christmas Night:  My husband's family and my family have Christmas dinner together.  Our meal is often shared with those who are far away from family and need a place to feel at home.  My husband's father says a Christmas prayer of gratitude for our faith, family, and abundance. Food, conversation, laughter, and fun fill the home until late into the night.  

 

What winter holidays do you celebrate and how do you celebrate them?