BRANCHES December 2015

christmas family traditions
by Nicole Lucas and Barbie Sumner, sisters
The Lucas Family
The Czura Family
The Sumner Family
Christmas is the most wonderful time
of the year; somehow mom and dad
made sure we knew it. The season
began after thanksgiving with the
ceremonious decorating of the
Christmas tree. We used the same
5’ tree every year, the same passed
down ornaments we made in grade school, the same wooden
stars that mom bought in a flower shop in Germany. We laughed
at our clothespin reindeers and glittered self-portraits, poking fun
is one thing we sisters did best. The Beach Boys and Alvin and
the Chipmunks played on loop until the whole house was covered
in our version of Christmas joy. Mom had a handmade advent
calendar that was stuffed with three chocolate kisses for each day,
one for each of us. On December 5, we each would put one boot
on the front porch for St Nicholas’ visit. If we had been good,
we got candy and gifts in our boot! The house would smell like
cookies, the three of us would help mom make a ton of different
kinds in different shapes. We would give them to neighbors,
teachers, friends, and even Santa Claus! We went to church on
Christmas Eve; watched where Santa was on the evening news.
We put out cookies and milk for Santa, with a couple of carrots
for Rudolph. Then my sisters and I would all sleep in the same
bed that night; giggling, singing carols, and talking until dad
had enough. Our family was always quite close. Yet there was
something about Christmas that made us even closer.
At the Lucas home, we have traditions, too, that are starting to
emerge. Although we cut down our own tree at a Christmas
tree farm, we too do it the day after Thanksgiving. Some of my
childhood ornaments are on our tree now. And even though
we have homemade ornaments, each of our four kids choose a
new ornament to add to the tree every year. We celebrate St.
Nicholas day too, and anyone who knows me will tell you I love
to bake! We have two little mischievous elves that Santa sends
to ensure good behavior at the Lucas house. We have Friday
family movie nights in December, where we all watch a Christmas
movie together. We have a Jesse tree that goes through the
Bible, relating it to the season, each
story has an ornament we place on
the tree together. We go to church
on Christmas Eve, and we always
have homemade cookies for Santa.
At the Sumner home, we were
blessed with our son Joshua a little over a year ago. It’s been
fun to dream about what traditions we would carry on when we
started a family. We are just now starting to carry those out. Each
year just after Thanksgiving, we pack up the family and drive to
a Christmas tree farm to pick out our very own Christmas tree.
It was something special that Jonathan always did growing up.
Each year we purchase an ornament to go on that tree that
symbolizes a special moment that happened during the year.
We always attend service on Christmas Eve. After, we cuddle up
and watch the best Christmas Movie of all time—“Home Alone.”
We are looking forward to new traditions that we plan to start by
baking Christmas cookies for Santa and celebrating the season
with mom’s German Advent Windmill. Most of all, I’m looking
forward to reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to Joshua
for his second year.
It’s funny how a tradition is. How a smell of a cookie or a glimpse
of a wooden star ornament could recreate a memory. Our mom
passed away this year. Normally those things wouldn’t have
stood out as much. It isn’t the tradition that really matters; it isn’t
whether you have an elf on the shelf or you bake cookies. It’s
about the feeling behind it, the love you feel from those moments.
For our family, we won’t get to do those special traditions with
our mom. Those memories that we still laugh about, we now
adore as treasures we won’t experience again this side of heaven.
We feel this awesome responsibility to pass them down to our
children, so they will always remember how much they are loved,
just by seeing a wooden Christmas tree ornament. After all, isn’t
that the same way we feel when we see the cross? Christmas is
about showing each other how much you are loved, because our
Father loves us.