I talked last year about how enchanting I find Christmas Eve services and celebrations. A year on, we’re sitting in a different world, indeed.
I had a rather maudlin post drafted up, but it felt greedy to rope you in on my odd mood. If you’re going through it, please don’t think you’re alone in feeling less than cheerful. I’ve heard echoes of it from almost all of my friends. You’re a part of a community of weirdness right now, for whatever that’s worth.
All that said, how about some silly thoughts on…
Christmas Eve Traditions
In North America, we leave milk and cookies out tonight. Sherry and mince pies are popular treats for Saint Nick in Britain and Australia while Ireland might leave a pint of Guinness. In Nordic countries, they might leave rice porridge. Some children might leave carrots for the reindeer.
We also hang our stockings (with care) by the fireplace, but the Dutch custom is to set shoes out, filled with hay and carrots. Some households open a gift on Christmas Eve (before Santa arrives, even!) while others open ‘em all.
The Feast of Seven fishes (a tradition I am incredibly jealous of) is held on Christmas Eve in some Italian-American households. Other homes order takeout or enjoy “easy” foods because they plan on having a fancier Christmas Day dinner (in my family, we sometimes made pizza.) In a stroke of marketing genius, KFC is a Christmas meal in Japan. In Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, 12 dishes is customary. For some people, Christmas Eve is a day of fasting in religious observance.
Midnight mass is a lovely tradition (there’s a playlist for that), where Christians gather at church to usher in the day of the birth of Christ (which Christmas actually is not). In recent years, a lot of churches have moved their “midnight” mass a little earlier. Some churches hold their Christmas pageants on this night. Some people believe that animals get to talk at midnight because of the nativity story (???)
The story you’ve probably heard about the NORAD Santa tracker is a myth, but it was a great PR move. A reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” is traditional for a lot of folks. For people who don’t celebrate Christmas, it can be a weird time: most businesses close early and it seems like every person and place is in Christmas-mode.
Christmas Eve This Year
What does yours look like?
Ours was quiet. There was a little winter storm here, so there was ice on the roads. It felt like a good excuse not to be doing anything, anyway. We ate “easy” food and celebrated Toy Day in New Horizons. We put on the Jim Carrey version of A Christmas Carol, mostly to torture ourselves with the uncanny valley. And now I’m writing to you.
Wherever you are, however you’re celebrating or not celebrating… I hope you’re well, I hope you’re warm and I hope you’re able to find laughter in whatever you do. Sending lots of love, and maybe a weird orange or two.