Holidays in my family are some of the best memories I have. We didn’t have many traditions, but one thing my aunt did every year was celebrate Christmas from another country that our ancestors were from. We would study the traditions of other countries and bring them to our Christmas to honor.
My aunt would also make Barbie doll clothes for us and we would have a Barbie fashion show.
I have a lot of memories from spending Christmas with my aunt and uncle and appreciation for the ideas and culture she brought to my child-like mind. I remember feeling in awe of the many traditions that our ancestors either left behind or abandoned for new traditions.
Cultural traditions mean so much to me now and I honor them at other times of the year besides Christmas. In my ancestry I have European, German, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Jewish, Sweden & Denmark, Norway, Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russian, needless to say, there are a lot of traditions for me to learn about. But I stick to the ones that call to me and incorporate them into my life as I can.
My dive into Druidry has helped me connect to my European Celtic roots, and although there is more to the Celtic traditions than Druidry I learn every year something new with my studies.
~Candice C Carver
My dad’s family is Italian and every Christmas he would make lasagna. I have since taken that tradition forward with my family and use his recipe which is not special except that it is what I learned from him. I also now have gathered the Italian cookie recipes through years of trial and error as those recipes were rarely shared unless a matriarch passed. Theses practices sustain me. The memories are healing and now my children have the stories in their childhood also. Thank you for sharing these bits of who you are.