Local Christmas traditions, just curious!

Ok, this is me being nostalgic and at the same time, admiring other people's Christmas decorations. I got to wondering today, is there one type of decoration that's definitive of the region you live in? In my case, up until I was in my late teens the concept of Christmas tree-lots was silly. I mean, really rich people did that, but around here, we'd go cut our tree out of the forest. It's not like that now, but spindly, cut-from-deep-in-the-woods trees really mean Christmas to me. DH, a California boy a few years older than me, gets nostalgic about shiny metal trees. And I know that back East, pineapples are big. But I really don't know about Arizona, or Texas, or anything. Any thoughts?

 

Our family tradition is very much like other Norwegian families' traditions, I think. The tree is spruce, and decorated on Dec. 23 with lights, a star on top, glass balls, paper hearts, tinsel straight down and flags. Christmas eve dinner is ready at 17.00. After eating we gather round the tree, sing carols and then we start unwrapping presents. We also do them one by one, and it takes hours! When we're done, it's coffee and Christmas cookies.

Christmas dinner is the same every year; pork ribs, sheep ribs, different kinds of sausages, potatoes, sauerkraut, red sauerkraut, sauce, tyttebær jam. Red wine for adults, red soda for the children. For afters, rice porridge cream with thick, red sauce. We put an almond in, and whoever finds it wins a price.

For Christmas day we have fish, preferably halibut, with sour cream, cucumber in Iceland dressing and potatoes. Salmon or trout is also used. For dessert, cloudberry (?) cream and krumkake, a thin, flat cake rolled up, it's crunchy when cold. Is it cloudberry? Yellow berries that look like they're glued together from lots of smaller berries, growing on marshland.

 

The traditions up here are almost simular to droopys but a tad different.

dec 23 the tree goes up, with all the same kinds of ornaments, hearts, flags, lights, balls. then the 24 at 1:00 i make rice porridge as our pre-dinner. the big dinner is a whole cod (tørsk) an gravlaks or basically rotted fish. but ohh so good, made from aquavite. (a potato based liquor) roasted potato, kalarabi(rutabega for americans) onions and butter, raw grated carrots, an then a green veggie of somekind usually brussel sprouts (rosenkål) plus there is alot of other things put out.. tyttebær jam ect. then we have the rice porridge mixed with fresh whipped creme an also an almond is put in, an the one who gets the almond wins a christmas prize, usually a marzipan pig. an over that is a cloudberry (multe, molte, depends on dialect here) sauce that i make an also some cloudberries that i save whole. I pick these in late june an freeze just for christmas. then we open gifts, one at a time also. and sing an talk about the past an future. then we have my ginger cake an coffee. porridge is set out for the nisse.

25th is a dinner towards evening with turkey an all the trimmings that i can find here. On this day we do a tradition that i have carried over from my childhood which is Saa'mi. We set a place at the table just a small plate, an fill it with a spoonful of everything, this represents all those who have pasted an all those to come as a way of saying we won't forget an welcome to the new. then we have dessert later that night which is cakes, mørslefse, krumkake (pizzels? spelling, for the americans but thinner) filled with creme an berries. usually the cloudberry or blueberries, and apple cake with carmel an vanilla sauce over it an whipped creme. Then the small plate from dinner is taken outside an set there.

 

Sounds like Norway has some great, solid traditions. Must be awfully nice for kids growing up there, knowing that this will happen as it has for so long.
I love reindeer! A zoo here has some, big ol' feet... they are really the cutest! I passionately hate seeing old traditions that I treasured as a child, dropped by the wayside. People here are into lawsuits for anything that "offends" them. Very shortsighted.
We do that one-at-a-time opening too. I think it helps the kids be a little less self-focussed.
I don't do tinsel either. Since I live in the country, we take our spent tree and add it to the composting brush pile. Sometimes I tie on mesh bags of birdseed and stand it upright in the pile until the wind blows it over.

 

Here in Land O' Lakes, a town of several hundred, we have a town airport. Just a small one, and mostly used by folks at our biggest resort hotel, The Kings Gateway. The gateway is an older place, built in a north woods style, and much like other such places, has a wall of fame, where such faces as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Old blue eyes Frank Senatra among many others, hang and look out on the guests as they pass. Well Santa is no exception, as a matter of fact, he makes an appearance every year. He arrives in a small private air plain, and is met by a hay wagon full of kids, pulled by two splendid Percheron horses. They parade the length of town to the town hall grounds, where Santa takes a seat upon his throne, and the kids come and sit on his lap and explain why and what they want for Christmas. After all the kids, and possibly a few adults, effected by the hot apple cider served to adults only, if you know what I mean, have spoken with Santa, he and Mrs. Clause walk down the street and stop in and visit most of the little shops and business's and wish a Merry Christmas to those that couldn't get to the park to see him. Then That evening there is a Christmas party and dance at The Kings Gateway. More of the hot cider is served, not to mention the many other beverages, keeping everyone warm and happy.

Tom

 

Mmm, warms me up just reading about it, Tom.

 

Adult cider sounds really good,,

i forgot in the post also we have lots of Aquavite, Gammel Dansk (old danish) wine an beer, mixed drinks an coffee with whiskey an brown sugar. We all smile for a few days.....an don't feel the cold at all.....

 

No traditions here for the holidays. I started the cookie bake with my kids so we would have a bit of tradition but not with decorations.

 

Maryland Crab Decoration

As I am sure you know Maryland is known for crabs. Every Christmas tree in our family has at least one crab ornament! But...these ornaments are actually made out of the real shell of a crab. You take one side of the shell: paint it, stuff it with cotton on the bottom and glue small figures to the "snow." The outsides can also be painted very beautifully!

http://www.craftycrab.com/

It is very cute and provides a use for all of those shells we have around here!

 

Crabs!?!! See, now, that's something I've never heard of. Too fun!
Tsk, I guess it wouldn't be too nice to stuff a salmon to hang on the tree...Hmm, wonder if I could do something with a geoduck shell....(go ahead, ask me what a geoduck is!)
I like the website, never seen crab shell painting. Lots of folks paint on clamshells but I bet the crab ones are nice and delicate for ornaments.

 

What's a geoduck? *being obedient and curious*

 

Crab

They are indeed very beautiful! But, I tired to find a picture of the ones that are stuffed as those are my favorites. Much to my dismay, I could not find one anywhere! I am starting to think that this is just a family tradition instead of a Maryland one. Ole well.

I will take a picture of one on my tree for you to see in the next few days.

 

So glad you asked Droopy! A geoduck is very much in appearance like an enormous clam. And they are beastly critters to dig for as they can dig through the sand at appalling speeds. They don't taste as good as a clam, and are tougher, but people still dig them- I think mostly because it takes very few to make a huge geoduck chowder. Ok, so maybe only Washington old-timers dig them.
They are the official mascot of a large college up in the city, this link has pictures of both the mullosk and the fancy team mascot
http://www.evergreen.edu/athletics/geoduck.htm
I really look forward to seeing a pic of your stuffed crab, that sounds so fun!!