December 25, 2023
Section I
Christmas, Tradition and Holidays in General.
When I think about the holidays, I think about large family gatherings, fake birds chirping in the Christmas tree, my Babcia cooking pierogis in butter, bacon and onions and serving me a huge plate, my cousin tripping and falling into the tree trying to turn off the chirping bird.
I think of Christmas eve singing Polish and English carols. I remember the long table with 30 people sitting around the room celebrating togetherness. Life was pure as a child. Being the youngest of the generation, I seemed to see everything from the lowest viewpoint. I heard everything that was said that may or may not have been appropriate. Conversations were often in Polish and difficult to decipher. I heard deep conversations on politics from the viewpoint of Polish American Immigrants lamenting communism in Poland. I learned about people, religion and life. It was primarily an observational learning experience.
When I was young, Christmas for me was a time of thinking about family, togetherness and food. From the culinary side, celebrations were loaded with Polish staples that my family had enjoyed for generations. It was meat free for Wigilia (Christmas Eve) which was dysfunctional for a non fish fan kid. Believe it or not, I was actually a relatively picky eater. Truthfully, this was in the framework of a highly home cooked lifestyle that would have been very high quality by today's processed food standards. However, at Christmas time, I loved rye bread, butter, pierogis and beet soup. That was the sum total of my culinary desires on Christmas Eve. Year after year, repeat and live. The years have passed and now I love the fish dishes and all of the trimmings of the culinary celebration.
Christmas was also a time for learning to be, just be. I was a hyper kid. Sitting was not in my nature. Church and school in general were hard for a fidgety child. Christmas, especially for my father, held strong reverence. To be hyper in church was not accepted. Talking during mass was not accepted. Thus, I learned to be quiet, eventually. This was what Matthew McConaughay calls a green light. For me, the quiet ask from my father was a massive red light. It was a stop and listen and learn. I struggled to complete the ask. But, I learned to. Thus the red light became a green light for life.
Holidays for kids should be experiential. They should foster togetherness, love, learning, change despite tradition and so much more. The holiday matters not. The collective love and consciousness is the key. Provide what you deem appropriate for your children. Be present with them this holiday season. Ask them to put away the screens, play non screen games together, read books together, discuss politics, religion and the basic tenets of life. We are all in on a family game called Catan. Challenge the whole family to be 1% better every day. Even the youngest will learn through silent observation, trust me.
We have a tradition on Christmas eve where we take host and share it with each family member or guest while wishing them good tidings in the new year. As a young kid it is very uncomfortable to open up and feel while responding to elders in this way. As the years passed, the beauty of the experience became ever more obvious, easy and present as the tears of love and joy flowed between us as we got deeper in connection. The difficulty of these traditions as a child has a defined ending, the ability to feel, open up and be present with others, especially, elders.
What traditions do you all celebrate? If you are so inclined, please share your traditions with the readers. Send your missives to
Please enjoy today and everyday. Celebrate your traditions and hug those kids,
Dr. M
