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Sweet Christmas Traditions to Celebrate

There are pretty good reasons people are waiting for the holiday season to come soon, as it marks the end of the year. Plus, during the holiday season, people can actually get along with family and friends. Sharing gifts, enjoying savory meals, Christmas parties, midnight mass are a few common Christmas activities. This year, pandemic has affected so many things, including the Christmas plans. But you can definitely enjoy your holiday and can enjoy it without a big gathering. There are so many sweet Christmas traditions you can celebrate with your family, and most of these have an amazing history to share. So, get ready for a cozy sweet Christmas and hope for a jolly year to come.

Decorating Christmas tree

Decorating a Christmas tree with family is the most popular Christmas tradition. This beautiful tradition originated in Germany during the middle ages, where people loved to decorate their trees with red apples. But, you can fusion the tradition with your own decoration idea. This year, give each family member a mini tree for their bedroom and assign them to decorate in their own style.

Christmas cards

Christmas cards tradition first became popular in England. The cards, then, used to portray seasonal illustrations with greetings. In modern times, cards feature not only seasonal illustrations but also family photos.  This year, gather your family to craft holiday cards by yourself to cheer up your elders. You can also cheer up the doctors, nurses, police officers, and military, who are serving relentlessly even during the pandemic.

The above infographic was provided by Betway

Gingerbread houses

This is literally the sweetest tradition the whole family loves. The German actually started the tradition of decorating gingerbread cookies, and when the German Grimm brothers wrote “Hansel and Gretel,” a new holiday tradition was born. This year, bake gingerbread by yourself with the gingerbread house cookie cutters and let the kids decorate it as they want.

Advent calendars

This old Christmas tradition started in Germany in 1903, which offered children a way to countdown to Christmas by opening a door or window. Each door is used to reveal a Bible passage, poem, or a gift. This tradition is still very popular among the kids. With its popularity increasing day by day, the calendar evolved into a secular calendar that includes daily gifts—mini wine bottles or chocolates. You can come up with your own advent calendar ideas—it can be a garland, gingerbread home, stockings—anything you want.

A special brunch

This holiday, gather the whole family together for a special brunch. The menu can be anything you like—French toast, lox and bagels, egg casseroles, options are boundless. You can also follow some other holiday traditions— serve shrimp and ruby red pomegranate, which symbolizes abundance and life.

Make a Yule log

Making a Yule log is another sweet tradition during Christmas. The history is quite different from how it is celebrated now. In recent times, Yule log is a French confection, which is also known as Buche de Noel. This log-shaped cake is traditionally served after midnight mass on Christmas Eve.  You might not attend midnight mass this year due to the pandemic; still, you can make Yule log and enjoy it with your family.

Host a Cookie swap virtually

Christmas cookies are a holiday staple, and cookie swap is one of the favorite traditions during Christmas. This year it won’t be possible to arrange a neighborhood cookie swap party; instead, host a virtual cookie swap and arrange a doorstep drop-off on the big day. Then meet via Zoom or Google Meet to decide who won the ‘star baker’.

Find the Christmas pickle

The tradition, which was a marketing gimmick by an American business, is quite an interesting one. The tradition is all about hiding a green pickle-shaped ornament on the tree. According to the traditionalist, the first child to find the pickle gets the first gift, an extra gift, and good fortune in the coming year. Revive the tradition once again this year and make your Christmas merrier by playing such games with your kids.

Feast on seven fishes

This is one of the oldest traditions, found its origin in southern Italy. It’s still a popular Christmas tradition among the Italian-Americans. The feast, also known as La Vigilia, is usually arranged on Christmas Eve. It is a grand meal, including seven different types of seafood, such as shrimp, octopus, clams, cods, and others. As you cannot go outside, prepare such a grand meal, and enjoy a savory dinner with your family.

Christmas movie marathon

This Christmas, have a movie marathon with your family. This Christmas, you don’t need an excuse to binge-watch your favorite movie on your favorite streaming service as there are a plethora of holiday movies to watch on Netflix. In fact, you can try something extraordinary this year. Instead of watching the latest movies, watch the classics. Start your movie marathon with It’s a Wonderful Life. 

Holiday crafts

This Christmas, host a ‘family crafternoon,’ which is a fun way to get in a festive mood. This pandemic, instead of roaming to shop, craft DIY gifts, holiday cards, and festoon garlands. Come up with unique ideas for wreaths and paper snowflakes. Assemble a Christmas village or advent calendar houses. Pop up your mood with some classic Christmas music and a mug full of hot chocolate to enjoy your family crafternoon.

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