Ringing in new holiday traditions for happiness and health

Merry Christmas, World!

Whether under a palm tree, an evergreen, or falling snow, I find it interesting how the holidays represent so much for us as individuals.

Some people go all-in, shopping and decorating and baking and celebrating… while others prefer to bah-humbug it, and stay under the covers.  Most of us, in my experience, prefer some combination of the two.

But why do the holidays mean so much?  Is it the marketing?  The spirituality?  The ancient history of celebrating at this time of year?  Earlier this week I discussed celebrating the "coming of the light." No doubt this history is part of what compels us to continue the celebrations, even if we are not religious or spiritual.  It is likely, in large part, what brought about the spirit of Santa Claus, of gift-giving, and of family dinners, among other deep-seeded societal traditions.

Our own histories play a part, too.  Memories of Christmas past are an immense part of why Christmas itself is more about our children (our our child-self) than anything. It's the child-like wonder of the holiday that keep us going amid the hustle and stress.  The magic surrounding Christmas is incredible, and by continuing our traditions we hope to regain the magic we once felt as children, too.

When a moment in our personal history sours that Christmas spirit, however, or when there is no one to help build that magic with, the bah-humbug kicks in. We feel lost, overwhelmed.  We forget why we're doing any of it at all.  We either succumb to it, or go through the motions, for hope, for our loved ones, because we aren't ready to throw in the towel on Christmas yet.

We're not all so lucky to have the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future on our side, encouraging us to see the magic in the holiday.  Most of us must create the magic ourselves, either through tradition of old, or by creating new ones.

Only in new traditions can we begin to dissolve the trauma of Christmases past… the ones where we lost a loved one, where we were alone—the ones where we became a little hardened deep down inside.

By finding something new to celebrate, we create new pathways for new traditions and invite more magic into our lives.  Even something as simple as having pancakes for breakfast, or standing outside for an after-dinner toast, can create new pathways of health and new memories that bring the magic of the season back.  The old traditions keep us tethered to our child-like magic, while the new ones are essential to regenerate and renew it. 

Kids or no, new traditions are what have saved the holiday for me and helped dissolve the pain of Christmases past.  I mention some of these in Charla's Christmas Eve blog.

Sans kids, sans husband, there are some traditions I would keep.  Wrapping presents alone on Christmas Eve with a glass of something warm and a Christmas movie on TV is something I've done ever since I can remember and still continues to bring me joy, as is listening to the golden-oldie carols whenever I'm just not feeling Christmasy. I've added a new alone-traditions as well: making my own Irish Creme to sip with cookies, and making gifts of my favorite herbal remedies and treats I've discovered throughout the year. Being alone doesn't always mean Christmas doom if you're willing to be flexible on what the season means to you.

How are you celebrating today?

Holiday traditions through the (your) ages

Its interesting how Holiday traditions morph as we move through the stages of life.

When I was a kid, we ate chili and opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas day was just Santa stuff.  None of the Santa stuff was wrapped.  I'd spend New Year's weekend with my dad's family and do Christmas with them then.  My husband's family opened one gift on Christmas Eve (always new pajamas) and then the rest of their gifts  on Christmas day and I think they wrapped their Santa gifts and they were under the tree in the morning.  

When he and I got married, we realized that you have to somehow meld traditions.  So, while my mom was alive, we'd go over to my mom's on Christmas Eve and open all of her gifts and eat chili.  Then we'd come home and every other year we'd alternately unwrap one gift or open everything.  On Christmas Day, we'd have Santa stuff (unwrapped) and then unwrap everything else (if we didn't the night before) and all of my husband's family would come over.  

Now that my mom's gone, we needed a new tradition.  I didn't want to sit around the house and be sad, missing my mom (she was such a MONSTER part of Christmas for me) so now we go out for sushi and see a movie Christmas Eve.  We have still continued the trading of one or all presents Christmas Eve.


Danielle Rose shares her changing traditions, too:

When my husband and I got together, he was usually working Christmas Day, so we started a tradition of pancakes for breakfast before work, but I kept the tradition of going to my mom's to open presents from Santa.  Because the day was so hectic with him working and us traveling from my family to his, we started a new tradition of opening our stockings in the evening after we arrived home and settled in for the night.

Now that I have kids it's even harder to keep the traditions of Christmases of old.  I don't open presents from Santa at my mother's—instead that happens at our house.  My husband and I can no longer open our stockings before bedtime on Christmas Day, but now after the kids are in bed, we enjoy a drink and watch a Christmas flick. Then there are a zillion new traditions built with our kids—cookies in the stockings, French toast for breakfast, seeing Santa for photos… singing carols while wrapping gifts… and of course, making time to bake cookies together. 

  

Like Danielle, I enjoy our new tradition, even though it makes me sad that my mom's not around to enjoy Christmases with us any more. Instead, I look forward to all the changes to come!  I expect one day to visit our children's homes for the holidays and to play with grandbabies.  One day.  Not soon guys (in case you're reading this.)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's special Christmas Day blog on how changing traditions keep the magic alive, and fight away the bah humbugs of the season.

Bring on Star Wars (again)!  Merry Christmas everybody!

Healthy splurging.... a tradition of self-love

Dictionary.com  defines "diet" as the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor.  This definition is rapidly followed by entry number 2: a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease.  And entry number 3: such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight.

We're almost halfway through December, and I'm thinking that all of the above are probably the last things on my mind at the moment.  I'm surrounded by Thanksgiving leftovers (luckily they're all gone now… but the sweets lingered for a frighteningly long time), gingerbread houses (it's amazing how much icing I unwittingly licked off my fingers), Christmas cookies (the time has come to start making dough), and holiday parties serving more food than I could possibly try (but I promise you I will!).

The good news is those high carb, “fattening,” and treat foods, when eaten in moderation, can be as important to a healthy diet as eating the “good stuff.”

Even cookies homemade from scratch can provide emotional nutrition in the right circumstances.

As much as we’d like to think there’s some magic equation, what’s healthy for one person is not necessarily healthy for the next. Some people swear by eggs for breakfast, and others avoid cholesterol completely. Homemade cookies from scratch can provide emotional nutrition in the right circumstances. Although the jury is still out on the health benefits of coffee, there are many healthy people cannot start their day without a cup.

Health counselor, Robert Garner said, “The things that feed our soul are the things that propel us out of bed in the morning.”

I feel it’s important to remember that the food we eat is intended to fortify, sustain, and enrich our bodies.  Chances are a chocolate chip cookie won’t do that.  When it comes from Grandma’s cookie jar, however, it may just sustain our soul.


For example, if you choose to eat a rather large slice of your mother’s Christmas apple pie, you are engaging in a holiday tradition of honoring your mother’s recipe and hard work while bonding with family. This example of emotional eating is a far cry from eating a bag of chips or cookies without thinking about it.

Garner shared a story about a woman who had good sugar levels and ate healthy throughout the day, but indulged in a slice of cake each night.  Garner learned that the nightly slice of cake was a tradition she and her mother had shared together since she was a little girl.  Garner suggested that she continue the nightly ritual—her body was obviously processing this emotional splurge quite well—probably because she ate the cake slowly with intention and meaningful attachment… and because she ate well the rest of the time.

Eating well isn’t as much about restriction as it is about mindfulness.  When we choose to eat a cookie because it is part of our Christmas tradition, our bodies will process that cookie differently than if scarfed at our desk without really thinking about it. 

Because each body works differently, in order to maintain balance between eating healthy and eating for emotion or tradition, we must remain mindful of what we’re putting in our bodies and why.  Surrounding these traditions with fear, or mindlessness, on the other hand, is likely to make them more detrimental to our physical and spiritual health than the indulgences alone.  Neglecting your spirit at a party or holiday gathering because you've sworn off sugar can bring in more weight (both figuratively and literally) than if you allowed yourself to enjoy the moment by nibbling on your favorite treat.

How will you celebrate this holiday? With an overly strict diet, or with enough self-love and confidence to make good choices in every moment?