By Tina Chadwick
As far back as recorded history takes us, there have been celebrations around winter. There were mid-winter festivals for the season and fertility festivals and celebrations honoring all types of deities, planets and religions. No matter what the cause for these events, they all carried specific traditions relating to behavior, food, dress and gift giving.
Serious commercialization of the holiday (arguably) got rolling with the publication of minister Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” The holiday was then defined to include children’s wishes of sweets and gifts that sparked, over decades, the slow overshadowing of the original intent of the season’s celebrations.
Then, during the Industrial Age, when money started to clearly divide and therefore, shape life vastly differently for working class vs. the rich, Charles Dickens gave us the first notable pause to reevaluate what the season means when he published, A Christmas Carol.
Now, as we enter this holiday season, more and more of us seem to be searching for bigger meaning and richer experiences than can be gift-wrapped. While there is nothing wrong with a little swapping of presents, finding balance between a wish list, family time and true giving of self, time and resources is more the goal.
So, in the spirit of the season, here is how some Intown families build holiday traditions that would make Dickens proud.
The Lynch Family/Morningside
Tom Lynch: “The first Saturday in December we go up to the mountains to do the Dahlonega Christmas Parade, and get the glass blower there to make an ornament for our tree that reflects our past year. Just us three, just the holidays, and thinking about what good fortune we’ve had that year.”
The Burns Family/Clarkston
David Burns: “We love the holidays, and we love getting deep into celebrating them. We spoil each other appropriately. We have mimosas when we first wake up, we give each other presents, and we just love every second of watching the other open their gifts. To me, it’s what we manage to make it through the year for. To give, and receive and celebrate. It is, after all, why we live. If not for that, then for what?”
The Kellams Family/Atlanta
Ragan Kellams: “Every year we buy a rocking horse ornament for the tree and write the year on it. We’ve been doing that since 1982 and we still have them all.”
The Albert Family/Morningside
BA Albert: “We used to put the top down on my old Chevy, no matter how cold, pile in with friends and dogs and a flask of brandy (not for the driver of course) and go get the Christmas tree and stick it out the back seat. My friend would wear the wreath on top of his head like a halo.”
The Swaney Family/Atlanta
Katie Swaney: “Church on Christmas Eve and then we come home and drink eggnog, watch a cheesy Christmas movie and open one gift from under the tree. In the middle of the night, Santa sneaks in our rooms and leaves one of those plastic candy canes full of M&Ms in our bed while we’re sleeping. We always have the same meal Christmas morning – egg casserole, cinnamon rolls and eggnog.”
The Mansfield Family/Buckhead
Wendy Mansfield: “We have a gingerbread house-building contest. The boys against the girls. My husband and son against me and our daughter. It is hilarious. And we do Elf on The Shelf. His name is Shankadoodle.”
The Driver Family/Winona Park:
Stefanay Driver: “We buy a special ornament every year to remind us how long we’ve been together and how lucky we are to have each other. We also get our tree the day after Thanksgiving and we mix cocktails and decorate it while we watch football. It’s my favorite day of the year.”
