Making Lasting Traditions

When the holidays come around, people may have many traditions within their family that they want to keep going. Whether it be traveling many miles to find the perfect Christmas tree to cut down, to the baking of Christmas cookies in mass, to the singing of Christmas carols to shut-ins, everyone seems to have their own traditions.

In our family one of the traditions was that no matter where we were, we had to have Grandma's creamed pearl onions for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I remember watching her carefully peel each little pearl onion until it was ready to by put into the pot with the cream sauce. Gradually we could all smell the lovely and comforting aroma of Grandma's onions. Yum! But the best part was being able to sit down together with family and friends to enjoy the feast.

Another tradition was cutting down the Christmas tree. We would take a long time to carefully choose which tree would be the best for our home. Usually we would decorate the tree a week after we cut it down. Mom always said that we had to let the tree sit in a bucket of water for a week so it could get a nice long drink. Then came the fun of decorating the tree. All of the ornaments, new and old would be pulled out of the attic and gently put up on the tree, while Christmas music played in the background. Afterward, we would sit on the couch exhausted but satisfied in knowing that we had a fun time completing our task. Usually there would be tea or hot chocolate to drink too.

Now that the holidays are upon us, be sure to slow down and take time to keep with old traditions and maybe start new ones. I would recommend incorporating tea into a new tradition. Maybe add tea to your tree decorating time. Try using some Christmas Star, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, or Up North! tea during this time. You could even start a small tea party tradition with a few of your family or friends. Keep it simple. Each person could be asked to bring a dish of food to share with everyone. Someone could bring scones, another chocolates, another sandwiches, while yet another brings shortbread. However you plan it, it will work.