Tag Archives: Christmas Eve

Tradition

Nationality: Italian
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Chicago, Il
Performance Date: February 16, 2007

Ever since I was little I have heard about this strange tradition that my dad’s side of the family used to do.  I talked with my grandmother in detail amount what the tradition entailed, and why they carried on this tradition.

My dad’s side of the family is from a small town in central Italy called Pelena. My great grandmother, Carmela Massmile immigrated to the United States when she was very young, around the time of 1912.  Despite being a female she is the one that enforced the tradition.  Often, in large Italian families it is the mother figure that is the head of the house.

My grandmother explained to me that this particular tradition of eating eel every Christmas eve was very important and special to them.  I asked why eel? She explained that on Christmas Eve the Catholic Church does not eat meat, and only fish is eaten.  It is unclear why eel was chosen besides the fact that my great grandmother liked that fish best.  On the morning of Christmas Eve the whole family would go to the fish market together.  They would buy the entire live eel.  At home my great grandmother would begin to prepare it.  First she would slice the eel as if is were a sausage, is round pieces.  Then she would put it in a pan with butter and bake it.  Despite that the eel was the main dish for the night, some other foods that were served were ricotta stuffed ravioli, and fried eggplant.

I asked whether any prayers different from normal everyday grace were said with the eating of the eel and my grandmother responded no.  She said that the day was about the whole family being together the day before the birth of Christ and enjoying a huge feast of foods that during the rest of the year they never ate.

Tradition

Age: 25
Occupation: Commercial Producer
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: March 2007
Primary Language: English

On Christmas Eve, Erin and her family and friends gather at her parent’s house for a feast.  The have served Mexican food from a local restaurant for approximately the past ten years.

Erin explained to me that this is a very peculiar new tradition her family is starting up.  The interesting facet about it is that no one in her extended family is of Mexican decent.  She explains that is all started when her mother accidentally overcooked the turkey she was to serve to twenty guests.  Her mother, who Erin said was always ready to adapt to setbacks, sent her and her brother out to get some food to serve.  After looking all over town, the only restaurant they found open that could serve such a large amount of people was a Mexican restaurant.  They served their guests tamales, taquitos, and enchiladas.  It was such a hit with their guests that they decided to make it a tradition.  Now their family and friends look forward to their annual Christmas Eve “Fiesta” (party in Spanish.)

Erin says this has become a very significant part of their holiday festivities.  Erin and her siblings look forward to that meal year round as it turns into quite a feast.  Erin says her mother has since adapted the occasion a little by contributing a large pot of tortilla soup to the already abundant Mexican feast.

I find this a very peculiar yet interesting tradition.  It all began simply because of a cooking malfunction and some guests’ love for Mexican food.  I would hope that they continue this tradition and Erin and her siblings pass it on to their children.

Tradition – American

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

Every Christmas season, Joshua’s family decorates a Christmas tree with ornaments.  On Christmas Eve, his mother hides a pickle ornament somewhere on the tree.  Then, on Christmas morning, Joshua and his sister look for the pickle in the tree.  The first person to find it receives a special gift, which is usually money, and supposedly a year of good luck.

Joshua says his family has been partaking in this tradition for as long as he can remember.  He says that as children, he and his sister would get very into it and would wrestle to try to get to the pickle first.  Ever since they each entered high school, the race has been less heated, with the two of them having a much more laid back attitude.

Joshua says he does not know the true meaning of this tradition, but knows that his mother did the same thing while she was a child.  While he originally thought it came from Germany, he informed me that he read an article which stated that its origins are unknown, and this tradition is widely unknown in Germany.

My informant says this tradition is very important to him.  Although it does not have a greater meaning behind it that he knows of, he says it is important to him because it helps give his family an identity with which they can pass on traditions to their ancestors.

Through research I conducted after the interview, I found out that in fact the origins are truly unknown for this tradition.  Many in the past believed it came from Germany, but few people in Germany know about this tradition.  I think it is important for families to have their own traditions they can pass down to their ancestors as it helps keep the family more together during the holiday season.

I found this tradition at:

http://www.sabineworld.com/12062002.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_ornament

Ritual

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 50
Occupation: Instructor
Residence: Chandler, AZ
Performance Date: March 27, 2007
Primary Language: English

“The And Game”—a game on Christmas Eve where everyone gets in a circle and passes little gifts around every time the word “and” is mentioned from the book The Night Before Christmas

Notes:

The informant told me that every Christmas Eve, his family gets together with his wife’s side of the family at one of the relative’s house. After they eat dinner, but before they open presents they play what they call “The And Game.” Basically the host of the party buys an array of little gifts (like $5 dollar Best Buy gift certificates or boxes of chocolate) and wraps them up and gives one to each individual. They sit in a circle and pass the gifts around every time the word “and” is mentioned in the story The Night Before Christmas. One of the kids reads the story, making sure to emphasize each and, so that the passing goes at the right pace. There are enough “ands” in the story so that you don’t end up with the original gift you started with. He mentioned that they have been doing it for over 20 years now, and that he isn’t sure how it exactly started, but that every year they would read the book, and the game evolved out of it. He also said that it has become a pretty funny game because the children are getting older and the men like to try and unwrap the gifts before the game is over, so that you can peek at the gift. The men were unwrapping the gifts so much, that the informant’s wife decided to double wrap the and gifts one year, with packaging paper (virtually un-breakable) as the first layer and wrapping paper on top. When they attempted to unwrap the gifts, all they saw was brown paper.

I think that this ritual represents the many different customs people have around the holidays. The holiday season is full of different traditions families participate in, whether it be dealing with presents, Christmas decorations, or Christmas dinner. I think this particular ritual was born out of a tradition of reading the book, but when people got bored of the book or little kids got antsy to open the presents, the family adapted the tradition to a more interactive experience while keeping the tradition alive. This custom seems unique, as there is no real tie to it in anything online, however it does have similar elements to Hot Potato, in which a hot potato is passed around the group with the last person holding the potato when the music is turned off being out of the game.

Tradition – Peru

Nationality: Peruvian
Age: 55
Occupation: Laboratory Technician
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: MArch 24, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“En todas las casas donde habian ninos, el 24 de Diciembre en la noche antes de que se vayan a dormir ponian sus zapatos en la ventana o en el balcon para que PAPA NOEL les deje sus regalos. Al dia siguiente los ninos se levantaban muy temprano y iban muy contentos a abrir y ver sus regalos y comenzar el DIA DE NAVIDAD jugando con todos sus juguetes nuevos.”

“In all the houses where they were kids, the 24 of December at night before they are going to sleep, they put their shoes in the window or the balcony so that POPE NOEL will leave gifts on top of them. The following day the kids would rise very early, excited to open their gifts and to begin the DAY of CHRISTMAS by playing with all their new toys.”

Analysis:

Norma never had a Christmas tree growing up. In fact, the first Christmas tree she purchased was years after she came to America. It was during her first year of her marriage (to an American) that she put presents under a Christmas tree. She quickly reminded me that there were never any trees in Peru because December was summer. No Christmas trees grew in summer. This is the reason they put their shoes out. However, this ritual is limited to children ages five years and below since “they’re the really innocent ones and have not discovered that there is no Santa.” Children older five get their presents with the adults after midnight on Christmas Eve.

This is one of many variation of present giving around this time. In Greece, people look under their beds for presents. Yet, one aspect they all share, even with the American culture, is that the young children are always eager to wake up early and play with their new toys.