My Holiday Traditions
a novel

(you'll need some time to read this!!)

I've always been interested in finding out other people's holiday traditions. Today, in the 2nd grade I'm teaching all week, I led a discussion on holiday celebrations and traditions. Most of the students celebrate Christmas, while a few others celebrate Hanukkah, while still others celebrate both. We made a web on the board to show each child's favorite holiday tradition. It was great to see all of them get excited in sharing their own story. It was also interesting to see whose Christmas Eve traditions compare and contrast to my own.

In my family, our Christmas Eve celebration holds more tradition than does Christmas Day. That is not to knock Christmas Day or anything, it's just that more preparation goes into the Eve than the rest of the holiday. For many years now, the tradition has been that my parents, sisters and I, along with my aunts, uncles, and cousins from my Mom's side, all gather at my Mom-Mom & Poppy's house (my Italian grandparents) for Christmas Eve. My Gram (my Dad's Irish mom) has been spending the Eve with us too ever since my Granddad passed away...after all, no one should be alone on Christmas! There, we eat food, food, and more food. The dinner tends to follow the more traditional Italian Christmas Eve...that means fish. Typically, it is called "The Feast of the Seven Fishes." However, we don't always have seven. According to my grandparents, it's not necessarily important that you have seven...you can have more or less than that if you wish. And there are not seven exact types that you must have...but there do seem to be some fish that are typically eaten at Italian Christmas Eve dinners.

At our Christmas Eve, the fish we eat is usually as follows: shrimp, eels, calamari (squid), smelts, whiting, and king crab...this year we are also having tilapia (for those of us a little squeamish over some of the above-listed fish---usually the kids). My Mom-Mom, with help from her sister--my Aunt Dolly, and my Mom's sister--Aunt Jo--spend much of the day frying the fish to get it ready for later.

The food doesn't stop there, though. My Mom-Mom also makes some sort of pasta, usually cappellini (very thin strands, also known as angel-hair pasta). The sauce is usually baby shrimp in a thinner red sauce. Yum.

We're not done yet. Most years we also have something called zeppole (we say ZEE-po-lee)...it is otherwise known as fried dough. This is one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve. Although, a little birdy told me we may not be having it this year...it is a lot of work for my Mom-Mom. She likes to make her own dough from scratch, and with frying all the fish...well, it takes up a lot of time. Anyway, back to the zeppole. There are many ways that Italian families eat it. Some eat it sweet, rolled in cinnamon and/or sugar...others eat it plain...others eat it filled with anchovies (as my Poppy likes it!). Still others may eat it with a tomato sauce or even jelly. Typically, my family eats it either sugared, with jelly, or plain...but we've also had it filled with tuna. We stay away from my Poppy's zeppole filled with anchovies! In addition to all the dinner food, we have too many desserts to count, which usually get passed on 'til Christmas Day.

Now, onto the rest of the night...for at least a week before Christmas Eve, it is common to hear "I can't wait until Christmas Eve" from my sisters, cousins, and me. Why? Well, because of polyannas. The torture (for the little ones) is that after eating dinner, they want to do pollyannas right away...however, the adults want to get the dishes cleaned up a bit. So, it's usually my job to keep them occupied with other activities, like karaoke or crafts. Don't be fooled though...every five minutes, you hear "Are we doing pollyannas yet?"

Here's how it works...Every year, just before Halloween, we pick names out of a hat (it is restricted currently to only the grandchildren...there are 7 of us). We keep the names a secret and buy a gift for the cousin whose name we receive. No one is supposed to find out who had who until that night...but, the tricksters sometimes find out. Anyway, the big joke is that we try to fake each other out...don't ask me how this started, but some of us go so far as to put the wrapped gift in another cousin's lap, and then yank it away to hand it to the person it was really meant for. But, don't worry...it's not just the grandchildren that receive presents that night...we all give gifts to our Godparents as well as Grandparents...so, pretty much everyone goes home with something! The whole while, we also listen up for the sirens blaring...'cause typically every year we get a visit from Santa Claus on the local fire department's fire truck. We all run outside and the kids receive candy canes from Santa.

When all of us finally go home...my family's tradition continues at my house. My parents, sisters, and me exchange some gifts that night. My sisters and I give our gifts to each other, and we also give our parents their gifts. My parents usually will give each of us one gift to open on Christmas Eve...we receive the rest on Christmas morning.

I'd love to hear about your traditions...feel free to share!