Bert Nash staff share holiday traditions

My mother came from Russia and my grandfather from Greece. The family history is seriously steeped in traditions. Most of my family has passed away now, but the traditions remain.

Christmas and its traditions have a deep significance in the lives of many – all across the world. Christmas signs on the front porch, starlit trees and the gifts beneath them, there is nothing to not like about the holiday season! And let us not forget the delicacies that we get to savor throughout the time! With steaming hot chocolate and warm toasts coming out of those commercial toasters and the smell of the freshly baked cinnamon buns filling restaurants and homes alike! It is an olfactory delight indeed! 

Also, I am a baking buff. I have spent years creating and perfecting outrageous muffin combinations. My therapy routine for wellness revolves around creating new baking recipes. I am very proud of my Elvis muffin with tons of bananas and peanut butter in the middle. Baking with a huge pot of cinnamon-vanilla brew on the stove for the aromatherapy is a must the entire holiday season as well. Family time is essential with putting salt on the windowsills and jingle bells for the reindeer with anticipation of the most special night to come; a plate of cookies and milk waiting, too, for our gift-giver. I try to stick with traditional Russian recipes for the meals, which revolve around hearty, healthy and simple foods for the family. We then have to watch Charlie Brown on cable TV, mix up a batch of homemade hot chocolate and make sure we have as much family time as possible. I decorate the same way as my mother and grandmother with fresh pine and the scents of the season. I put up lights and tons of candles for warmth as well as to pay tribute to all of my family that has passed on. – Tamara Jefferies

A long time ago, all BNC staff used to gather, bring and share their favorite food for the holidays. It was lot of fun. I remember someone bringing peanut butter and jelly. The story was, it was one of their favorite foods to eat for Christmas Eve. – Toots Schultz

A favorite holiday tradition of mine is stuffing my family members’ shoes with candy on the morning of Dec. 6, the day of St. Nick. The story I was told is that when children put their shoes outside their door on the eve of the 5th, St. Nick will fill all the good children’s shoes with candy. Apparently, it’s big in Europe, and Wisconsin (my native state). I love the idea of traditions! – Lydia Lequesne 

Making hot chocolate and watching “The Polar Express.” – Carson Catalano

The Ruttinger family and friends love to do puzzles during the holiday time, starting at Thanksgiving. Five-hundred- to 1,000-piece Christmas/winter puzzles are our favorites. We use a heavy-duty coffee table in the living room where our daughter Lilly used to play when she was little. Everyone gets into the spirit, including our kitties that sometimes run off with the puzzle pieces! They are found sometimes with little tooth marks on them – we use them anyway! – Eunice Ruttinger

My favorite holiday tradition is watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” the night of the first big snowstorm with my family. – Jordan Wade

For Christmas Eve we all get together because a lot of my family seems to have to work on Christmas Day. We have firefighters, city workers, nurses, etc., so we got where we had Christmas Eve together. We have stew or taco soup and then for dessert we have homemade cinnamon rolls. While we are all sitting around after we have eaten we sing Christmas carols and my dad will play his guitar (my grandmother was a concert pianist, but she has passed) and whoever has else wants to play whatever they play. One of our favorite songs to sing is “The 12 days of Christmas.” The thing is each person is responsible for whichever day they picked and they have to sing the day when it is supposed to be sung. It gets quite confusing and quite funny, especially when you have someone who does not sing very well do the Five Golden Rings. We used to have my ex-husband sing that because he could not carry a tune, but he loved to sing and he would just sing it with such joy. It makes me smile to think of how much fun we have on that one evening and we don’t even open presents then. That is still for Christmas morning. – Staci Rodriguez

My mom, or as I refer to her, Mamacita, and I watch “White Christmas” ever year together. I can literally recite the entire movie without having to watch it – I’m talking about knowing exactly where the actors are standing, how they are dressed and every singsong lyric. It’s a classic. – Emily Farley

This is a hard one – my family has always been rich with tradition, especially around the Christmas/Thanksgiving/ New Year holiday season. Among all the holiday traditions, old and new, there are a few that stand out among the others. First, instead of making another turkey, or ham for Christmas, my family comes together to cook a few different chili recipes. My grandfather’s “old-time chili” recipe, my mother’s gluten-free chili recipe, and my cousin Cody’s “firehouse” chili all share a burner on my mom’s stove, while the table is crowded with fixings. It might not be literally bottomless, but it sure feels like it. The closer it gets to Christmas Eve, the hungrier I seem to get for chili.

The second is an older tradition. My grandmother Lawellin used to collect snowmen; all shapes and sizes, all functionalities. If it were a snowman something-or-other, she’d buy it and make room for it among the others. When I was little, my mother and I would go to her house for Christmas Eve, and while all my aunts, uncles and cousins were visiting or watching television, I used to run around her house and count all the snowmen I could find. One year I got up to 86, even though I’m sure there were more that went uncounted. My favorite, though, of all the snowmen she owned, were these three snowman figures; one dressed as a gentleman, one dressed as a lady, and the other smaller snowman dressed as a young child. These three snowman figures would light up with all different colors, in varying patterns and speeds. I have warm, fuzzy memories of lying on the floor and watching them change from blue to purple to red to green. When my grandmother passed, those snowman figures went to my mom, so I still get to watch them change from blue to purple to red to green every year.

Someday they will be mine, but no matter whom they belong too, it’s impossible not to think of my grandmother when I see them. – Lydia Shontz

Our tradition is that we make the same foods the exact same way as my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mom, and then myself. One woman from each generation prepares the meal – Christmas or Thanksgiving or New Year’s – usually all three. Each recipe has been handed down verbally, and each “mother” was trained by the last so that the meal is just right. I am the oddball of the family; I made notes and wrote down cards so I wouldn’t forget the “pinch of this and that.” Then, we set the holiday table with plates and bowls handed down from before, some of the bowls and table settings are 100 years old. Each mom eventually retires to just bringing a dessert. So for now, and the next 15 years or so, I get to host. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but we all love the fact we are doing the same things our grandmothers did. It’s like sending love and respect back through time. Then we eat until stuffed, play table games and watch TV. While everyone is distracted, I clean up the kitchen. When my daughter gets out of the Air Force, it’s her turn. – Dana Hayes

While having a family sitting in our drawing-room, if we ever feel bored, we often take inspiration from web articles and blogs about the various fun and entertaining activities for tackling our boredom. Our Christmas tradition started haphazardly. We were eating at a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. There was a beautiful older woman eating alone. We discussed inviting her over to our table. We discussed just giving her a gift card. Finally, we secretly decided to pay for her meal. My children were 5, 6 and 7. We spoke with the hostess and the servers and just paid for her meal. We said we didn’t want her to know who paid. My children could barely contain themselves. She cried when she got the paid bill. She walked to every table and thanked them, not knowing who paid. My children were so excited about being “like Santa” that this became a yearly event. We would go to dinner for years, and they would basically scope out the restaurant to see whom we could surprise. I didn’t get to spend last Christmas with my children last year because lives and things change and they were with their dad. However, my three children went out and bought breakfast for an unsuspecting person. Our Christmas tradition is giving secretly, and though my children are grown, they carry it on in their own way. – Wendy Karpowitz