Christmas Traditions

When I was a child, Christmas morning was the big time of celebration.
Getting up and gathering around the tree and exchanging gifts.
Then on Christmas afternoon came the big Christmas dinner.

My current husband's family had their big Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve.
First they had a big Christmas eve dinner,
after dinner the family gathered around the tree and exchanged gifts.

When the two of us became a family, each of us brought our own ideas
about the timing of the big meal and the exchange of gifts.
Our compromise turned out to be opening the gifts on Christmas eve,
and a big dinner around 1 p.m. on Christmas Day.

So for us, Christmas begins the morning of Christmas Eve,
and ends at bedtime Christmas Day.
Two days of extended eating….snacking all day Christmas eve
….and snacking and overeating all day on Christmas.
Because to me….FOOD….is celebration.

There are many esoteric arguments about WHY this shouldn't be the case,
and HOW this needn't be the case,
but on this point, raw instinct prevails,
and in FACT, it IS the case.

So….it is up to me to deal with it.

Again

Today is December 23.
Tomorrow is December 24.
The day after is December 25.

So…..it goes.