Christmas : the season to be jolly, spend time with family and create memories.

I asked a few mothers what their holiday traditions have been like with their daughters, and they all ranged from cooking and baking together, setting up the Christmas tree, decorating their houses, buying and wrapping gifts for their families. In most cases, the fathers and the sons helped as well. However, as someone who is not a Christian living in a country where Christmas is celebrated, I have a different perspective because, in my family, we do not celebrate Christmas.

I spoke to my aunt who immigrated to the US with her family to know what she did during the holidays. What she told me has since stayed with me. She said that both she and her husband educated themselves about the customs and traditions of the land that welcomed them and integrated those to educate their children. They ensured their children participated in all school-related festivities and recreated the same at home. Now that my cousins have children of their own, they have passed on the traditions of the holidays to their children. One of my cousins also had an au pair from Germany who taught her daughters German holiday traditions. We live in a diverse cultural world now, and it is heartwarming to see everyone get along during the holidays.

It is interesting to see how the women have kept their traditions and transmitted knowledge from a generation to another with the hopes that one day they will pass them on to their children. My friends and I also decorated our houses and put-up Christmas trees and sometimes also exchange gifts and cards to keep up with the merry spirit.

Post by Ranak