A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. - Garrison Keillor
My family minus me who is taking the picture of course. As Christmas & the New Year draw near, we all get nostalgic, recalling and anticipating (or in some cases not so much) celebration of family traditions. In my family the traditions have morphed over the years due to death, divorce, & just shear survival. We started out trying to be like a Martha Stewart version of the Walton's but ended up more like a southern version of A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out). Now in 2011 with the loss of parents & grand-parents, the addition of new spouses & babies into the family, & the logistical issues of sibling distance our Christmas has settled into new traditions. My mother (who lives with me now) loves Christmas & has always gone all out to make it special for me & my siblings. One change in Christmas tradition started about 25 years ago when my mom & dad became full-time pastors ministering to the kids in the migrant camps o...