Christmas Traditions?

What are your Christmas traditions? Christmas is a MASSIVE event for us every year... and I love it! In fact, it's massive in some ways directly because of me. We always had traditions growing up. Christmas Eve at my Grandmother's house (Mom's side) with all the aunts, uncles and cousins... Christmas morning with my parents and brother... then a Christmas get-together at some point in the next couple days with my Dad's side of the family. However, as cousins started having families and in-laws, some traditions have gone by the wayside. Family still gets together, but in smaller portions and even different locations.

This would NEVER fly with my wife's family. Tradition is kinda like oxygen... it has to exist in order for life to be sustained... and any variance from it just makes life really uncomfortable. Actually, it is an extremely fuzzy line between the Bible and the way Grandma George and Aunt Sally did things. Just tonight a discussion took place referring to the fact that a tradition has been lost because macaroni salad is being made with mayonnaise rather than the Miracle Whip used by Aunt Sally. Can you even imagine?

I brought attention to how hysterical that sounded and there was much laughter. I get the point, though. Tradition is a powerful and comforting thing. I totally get it. I appreciate their persistence in keeping those traditions in place... especially the sisters... and mother! You know exactly what to expect and exactly what to look forward to: fighting over who gets their wish fulfilled this meal to hit their favorite Buffalo heart-stopping dive - Duff's, Swiss Chalet, Mighty Taco, Labella's, Pizza Works, Santora's, Sheridan Family Restaurant, Sorrentino's... playing games and/or just talking until 2:00 in the morning... Christmas Eve service... dinner after with the cousins... Christmas morning with immediate family including the Christmas story read from Luke 2 by Poppy (or Grampie) in his Santa hat and pajama pants whose "closure" displayed a constant tug-of-war between the button and button-hole that were put there to protect us... then Christmas night the Grandparents come over for dinner. Tradition. It really is a beautiful thing... usually.