Christmas In Our Hearts: 5 Moms and their Christmas Traditions

 

Mommy Nadia De Leon, researcher for an NGO, mom to Rio, 2.5 years old:

"We stopped decorating our family's home (except for a roll of Christmas lights on our gate) when we were already adults. My husband and I continued my family's 'no-decor tradition' at home until our precious son Rio was born almost three years ago. Only then did our home have a Christmas tree again!

"We pledged to make our Christmas tree reflect the best parts of our year as a family. During Rio's first Christmas, we made a DIY tree out of cardboard and reused Rio's baptism decorations, since we considered his baptism as the highlight of our year.

Last year, we had a white tree covered with red, gold and alphabet blocks as decorations because it was the year when we introduced letters to our boy. This year, we are working on our book-themed Christmas tree! Throughout the year, we worked hard as a family to teach Rio to love books. We patiently collected books and made sure we had reading time with him every day.

"We plan to make this a yearly family tradition until Rio thinks of a new and better one. I can't wait for the time when he can join us in our yearly brainstorming and in the actual setting up of the tree.

"Christmas is a time for thanksgiving and we want to remember the things we should be grateful for through our very special family Christmas tree."

 

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Mommy Karen Manahan-Singson, stay-at-home mom to Vitto, 5, and Maggie, 3:

"Each family is unique, made up of distinct individuals thrown together in a unique way, by a shared history all their own. Having a Christmas tradition/s that's uniquely theirs takes the celebration of Christmas away from commercialized practices and makes it a truly personal one of hope and joy in the arrival of Christ, our savior.

"A Christmas tradition that we've had ever since I could remember was attending the Misa de Gallo with my family, then having Noche Buena. It used to be at my maternal grandparents' house, where all of my family members on my mother's side would assemble for Noche Buena and gift-giving at the stroke of midnight. Since my grandparents passed away, we've continued it at my parents' house, sans the extended family of aunts and uncles and their families (although we have a separate Christmas reunion with them)."

Mommy May De Jesus-Palacpac, offshore marketing assistant for Choc Chip Digital, mom to Pablo, 8, Lukas, 4, and Judah, 2:

"I believe that it's important to have family traditions as a whole; I just make a much bigger deal of Christmas because it's an opportunity to plant seeds of faith, salvation, thankfulness, joy and purpose.

"I realized when I was an adult that during the many times that I felt lost and lonely growing up, it was the memories of my family that served as my assurance that I belonged. I have a family to go home to — people who love me and accept me in my victories and in my failures.

"With Christmas, I have basically the same thought-process. These Christmas traditions, I feel, define who we are as a family and what we are called to be. It helps build the foundations of Christ into our lives, reminds us Who we belong to, and reveals our character and how it all fits into God's purpose for us as a family.

"My hopes are that when my boys turn into men and we have already taken a step back, our Christmas traditions will help them remember that they belong, that they have a specific purpose, and that we belong to Christ.

"One Christmas tradition we make a point to keep through the years is the storytelling night of the birth of Christ. We do a crafts activity then my husband Jay reads the story of the birth of Christ. Then we discuss it with our children and allow them to ask questions."

 

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Mommy Trish Baron Abeleda, writer/researcher/SEO analyst/entrepreneur, mom to Lucco, 2 years old

 

"Family traditions are a reflection of who you are, your lineage and culture. They bring our families together every Christmas, contributing greatly to the festive spirit where you are among your own kin. 

"Traditions are important because they are a part of our heritage and a custom that's repeated year by year as a family. They're what you learn at a very young age, before you even understand what traditions are, and they're what you teach your own kids as you get older. These Christmas traditions are always a trip down memory lane.

"On Christmas day, we attend a family reunion on my mom's side, the Baron side of the family. My grandfather has 11 siblings. So you can imagine what that's like. I have more than a hundred aunts and uncles. I can't even count how many second cousins I have. The best part is everyone knows everyone like family should, no matter how many we are.

"Usually we start off by greeting everyone, going table to table to kiss or 'bless' our elders. Dinner ensues right after. And then the fun part begins. All of us second cousins have to fall in line to get our Christmas aguinaldo from all our lolos, lolas, titos and titas. Once this is over, we have games like Bingo and some other form of entertainment.

"It's really a tradition. Something I will treasure with all my heart and something I want my son to treasure too. It's that sense of family bonding for such a big clan."

Mommy Martine De Luna, blog consultant and coach for work-at-home moms, owner of DaintyMom.com

"Our family always commemorates Advent with prayers around the Advent wreath. This began with my parents, who'd pray the Advent prayers with us as kids every day, starting on the first Sunday of Advent. We had an Advent calendar, too, which would count down the days to Christmas.

"These days, now that my brothers and I have our own children, we still have the Sunday Advent prayers at our parents' house every Sunday, before the weekly clan lunch.

"Our children are all present as my father leads us in singing 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,' after which he leads us to reflect on the theme for that particular Sunday of Advent. We take turns praying for the intentions of others, and pray for our families, too.

"I believe that commemorating Advent is essential to keeping Christ in Christmas, as it teaches our children about 'waiting in joyful hope' for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Since Christmas is so full of symbolism, it's important that children grow up with the Christian associations of the season."

Whatever traditions your family has for the Christmas season, we hope that they will lead you to much joy, hope and gratitude.

What about you, what is your family's favorite Christmas tradition? Tell us by leaving a comment below!

Image from visualphoto.com