Family Christmas traditions - the good and the bad

Being part of a family is both fantastic and difficult. Not because it is hard to become part of a family, you can often be included in the outer throng of several families whether you like it or not, but because the idiosyncrasies and traditions that make a family the organism that it is, are both difficult to stand and fantastic.

Every family will have their traditions, some that are chosen, some that are not. Most revolve around the holidays. My family has a tradition of having a live native tree for Christmas, (we’re very proud that it isn’t a plastic pine one) and no fault to my Mum, but some years it is decorated before Christmas, some years it isn’t. Every Christmas after presents and breakfast we all go down to the beach for a swim, a surf and a sunbake under the hot Australian sun. The beaches are empty, the water is warm and clear and there are smiles and laughs all around.
Unfortunately we also have a tradition that by midnight on Christmas at least half of the family will have cried. The latter we don’t choose, but it happens nevertheless – We’re an emotional family.

Last Christmas I spent it abroad with my extended family. Although I Skyped my family (yes, they were sitting around a sparsely decorated gumtree crying intermittently,) it didn’t feel like Christmas. It should have - The pine tree was decorated with lights and tinsel, it was snowing lightly outside, the kids were showing off their gifts from Santa and the adults were full of fantastic food and Christmas cheer. My sister-in-law had even bought candles scented with mint and cinnamon so it even SMELT like Christmas. It was like being in a Christmas card. It was fantastic family fun, we went carolling and built snowmen in the yard, but without the chirp of cicadas and the smell of eucalyptus it didn’t feel like Christmas, except for one thing.

My extended family opened their arms and welcomed me into their home. They included me in their family Christmas traditions and although different to my own, being part of the inner workings of a family felt a lot like Christmas.