Does your family have any special holiday traditions? Did you ever wonder how they began or why we have traditions? My family had several interesting traditions when I was growing up. One Christmas tradition that we still abide by is "you can't open any presents but your stocking until you eat something and everyone else is in the room." I set the dining room table the night before with "good glassware" for orange juice. No one eats much for breakfast on Christmas - toast or a quick bowl of cereal. We make pots of hot tea and then decide who will be the "mailman" this year, to look at the tags and pass out the presents.

OH…That reminds me of another tradition we've kept from my childhood. All tags go on the bottom of the package, so you can't see who the gift is for by just a casual glance. We operate on the honor system and NOBODY looks at the bottom of packages or shakes them or otherwise disturbs them once they are under the tree. The "mailman" who passes out the presents has no idea until he/she turns the boxes over who the gifts are for. Sure, we make a lot of guesses. I have been known to wrap things in such a way as to totally confuse anyone trying to guess what on earth is in that box!

Some families open presents on Christmas Eve. Nothing wrong with that, if it's their tradition! I have friends who celebrate the Greek Orthodox Christmas and they open their gifts in January on their Christmas Day. Jewish friends have presents for Hanukkah. I know a family that is a mix of the former two and they celebrate both holidays. Still another family that I know thinks Christmas has become too commercial, so they don't give gifts at all.

Webster's dictionary defines tradition as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction. (Uh, oh! Does that mean if I write about it, it become something else? I hope not!)

When I was growing up, my brother and I were not permitted to ask for anything for Christmas before Thanksgiving Day. Once we were old enough, we prepared our Christmas lists and posted them on our refrigerator before Thanksgiving dinner. My parents kept that tradition all their lives and my children also posted lists on my parents' refrigerator. Our lists were never very long, but often quite imaginative. Sometimes someone would cut out pictures from a magazine or catalog. Once I wrote "I think this year I would like gold and silver." I did it as a joke, never dreaming that two of my children would decide to fulfill my wish! From one son, I received an ounce of silver! From another, a gold coin! My father once asked for a winning lottery ticket. He ended up with eleven instant lottery tickets. When he rubbed off the tickets, he discovered he was a grand total of eleven dollars richer.

Some traditions seem to last for generations and seem to be followed by a lot of people. Look at the number of turkeys sold for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, for example. Christmas trees have been around since the days of Martin Luther (1500's). Santa Claus has been around in some

form or other for centuries, as well. The jolly old elf we call Santa is an American invention, but St. Nicholas filled the shoes of European children with gifts for centuries. Somehow, red and green became the traditional "Christmas colors."

The traditional school year once was "Labor Day to Memorial Day". Most schools still operate basically on that schedule. Nine to five is a "traditional" work day. Many businesses still operate on that schedule, as well. An interesting lesson for children: how many traditions can you think of? Do you have any idea how they may have begun or why?