Christmas Tradition

Every year I start getting ready for Christmas by hanging the decorations on the tree (or what passes for it). After that point it is a steady downhill jog to Christmas day and the big dinner. There are presents to be shared and treats to be baked. Food to be eaten and pots to be washed. I wonder what the traditions in your home are? Do you open one gift on Christmas Eve or do you wait till early Christmas morning? Does Santa still fill your stockings hung with care on the mantle? Do you always make a Christmas cake or a Turkey dinner? I have a friend who is making Prime Rib this year. I want to be at her Christmas dinner!

In the town of Gavle, Sweden they build a 14' straw goat every year and wait for Tomte to come and visit the family bringing a large sack of gifts. In Iceland they wish each other a Gleðileg Jól and watch for the Jólasveinar (little playful imps) to bring them gifts or steal their shoes. Yesterday for example the Bjúgnakrækir (sausage stealer) visited Icelandic homes. Today the Gluggagægir (or window peeper) comes. Children have to be on their guard to catch one of these imps. Some historians feel that the nordic cultures actually are the origins of the Santa myth. One thing is certain for me and that is that my people (Icelanders) are deeply spiritual and take Christmas very seriously. No one works around Christmas and it is a time for families to come together and celebrate our Lords birth. My favorite Christmas toast comes from the Icelanders. In english it says; "Today even the humblest of homes is a grand palace because the Lord himself is the guest of honour."