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Splitting Xmas: Heritage and Tradition for the Eve and Day of Christmas

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Age: 24

Text: MF – “Christmas in my family is different because we split it into two days to represent both sides of my grandparents’ culture. Since my grandparents come from different backgrounds, they made it work so they could both spend time with their families while still being together. Because of that, Christmas Eve is centered around Mexican culture, and Christmas Day is more traditional American.”

MF – “On Christmas Eve, everything is focused on Mexican food and traditions. We usually have dishes like tamales, chili relleno, enchiladas, rice, beans, and other homemade foods that take time to prepare. A lot of the cooking starts earlier in the day, especially with tamales since those require prepping the masa, making the filling, wrapping them in corn husks, and steaming them. Chili rellenos involve roasting and peeling the peppers, stuffing them, battering, and frying them. Our enchiladas are a little different too. Instead of making them individually, my grandmother makes them in a big pan so there is more for everyone, which makes it feel even more like a shared family meal. It is more of a warm, cultural, family-centered night where everyone is eating, talking, and enjoying being together. Christmas Eve is also when the whole family exchanges gifts with each other, so it feels more like a big group celebration.”

MF – “Then Christmas morning is completely different. It shifts into a more traditional American-style Christmas. That is when it becomes more personal, where my parents give us our gifts (Under the tree for us when we wake up). We also have foods like ham, mashed potatoes, and other classic dishes. It feels more like what you would typically see in movies, with everyone gathered together, opening presents, and relaxing. The most important part of this holiday for me is definitely the food and being around family. The food brings everyone together, but it is the time spent with family that really makes it meaningful for me.”

Context: MF and their family each year break up Christmas into two separate days, where Christmas Eve is used to represent and celebrate their Mexican heritage and culture, and the latter day, Christmas Day proper, is to celebrate Americanized Christmas as is shown in pop culture and around the United States. The largest distinction between these two days would be the food that is made and consumed on the respective days, as well as the aura around the celebration itself.

Analysis: While being centered around a calendrical holiday, MF and their family made this truly their own ritual by the deviation of form, now having this repetition annually for them and their family. Taking a pre-existing holiday and molding it by one’s own community or folk group to align more with their vision, whether it be to express shared gift giving and family time, honoring the traditions of their Hispanic heritage with the food and style of family time but also celebrating the holiday as is done traditionally on the day itself. Within MF’s family, there really isn’t a Christmas Eve, but two separate holidays to treasure and cherish each side of their family. Through the communal act of making and eating food together, giving gifts throughout the whole family, or the traditional “ham, mashed potatoes, and other classic dishes,” lend the power of one’s own folk group, the rituals, traditions, holidays, and the foodways that fuel them to create something truly beautiful and unique.

Santa Claus

Age: 22

Text:
“I started to really believe in Santa Claus, and I was very adamant about finding him when he came down my chimney. So I brought out my sleeping bag and put it under the tree and tried sleeping the night under my Christmas tree. My parents got really mad at me and told me that he wouldn’t come if I did that. So I reluctantly went back into my room, and just before I fell asleep, I heard a clomping on the shingles of my roof. To this day, I will never forget the sound of the hoofs, and knowing that Santa was about to come down my chimney. I had so many butterflies.”

Context:
A girl from Phoenix discussing a core childhood Christmas memory that she knows is fake but swears is real.

Analysis:
This is a demonstration of myths serving to keep children well behaved. She believed in Santa and wanted to see him so badly in real life, so she brought her sleeping bag under the tree. Since this is a naughty act, what Santa Claus monitors, her parents were able to use that as a ploy to get her to sleep in her bedroom, saying that he would not come at all if she did not sleep in her room. This served to keep the Christmas magic alive and also to maintain good behavior. I wonder what caused the “hooves on the roof” noise.

Catholic School Christmas Tradition

Age: 22

Text:
“When I was in grade school, I went to a Catholic School, so they taught us about the history and the tradition of Saint Nicholas. Around Christmas time, we would all have a set time where we would put our shoes outside, and then we’d have classes normal. All of a sudden, the teacher would say, ‘Oh! Saint Nicholas was just here. He left you guys gifts.’ We’d go back to the hallway, and our shoes would be filled with candy and gifts.

Context:
A boy from Kansas City, Missouri discussing a Christmas tradition/legend he experienced in his Catholic elementary school, celebrating the holiday through Saint Nicholas.

Analysis:
It is interesting to see that rather than discussing Santa Claus, the more commercial version, the Catholic school was pushing forward Saint Nicholas. It also reminds me of a holiday/tradition that I used to celebrate (a Latina girl from LA), called Dia de Los Reyes Magos, otherwise known as The Three Kings Day, which is celebrated on January 6th, commemorating their long journey to baby Jesus. You place your shoes outside, overnight, and the Kings fill them with candy and gifts. Christmas is typically celebrated with family, so this Catholic school adapted and combined the tradition of Santa bringing gifts and The Three Kings filling shoes with gifts to create a new Christmas tradition each year at this Catholic school.

Christmas Ritual

Age: 23

informant: “For Christmas, we read ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ and we used to like, throw, what was it? There was a thingy we would put in a bag and mash up and throw in the yard. We would call it Reindeer Food, and then [my siblings and I] would act out the story of Jesus being born.”

context: My roommate is from Rome, Georgia, and has a lot of holiday rituals that they celebrate with their family. The reenactment of Jesus’ birth was done with a nativity scene; they did not actually physically act out Jesus’ birth. My roommate, unfortunately, could not remember what they put in the bag they called reindeer food for Christmas, but did recall that they did this ritual every year when they were a child.

Analysis: This is a ritual performance, performed by both parents and children for a holiday. This is also religious folklore, since the stories of the Bible, specifically Jesus birth, is acted out and turned into a live performance using a Nativity scene. It reinforces spiritual identity, because the informant’s family is very religious, and identify as Christian. Although it is very widely socially accepted, I still think it’s interesting how intertwined this holiday and religion are, even with folkloric figures like Jesus and Santa Claus. The meaning of Christmas can change based on the folk lens you’re looking through, for example, people who are not religious may celebrate Santa more on the holiday, and more religious families may celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Tamales at Christmas

Text: Making tamales every Christmas in an assembly-line style with family.

Context: The informant, who is Mexican American and grew up in Texas near the border, participates in a yearly Christmas tradition where family members gather to prepare tamales together. Each person takes on a specific role in the process (spreading masa, adding filling, wrapping), creating a collaborative, assembly-line system.

Analysis: This is a strong example of foodways folklore, specifically a holiday-based family tradition rooted in Mexican and Mexican American cultural practices. Tamale-making at Christmas is a tradition, but the assembly-line method highlights its communal nature, turning food preparation into a ritualized family activity. The repetition of this practice each year reinforces cultural identity and the intergenerational nature of the practice. Knowledge and roles of the activity are passed down within the family.