Welcome Wednesday – Holiday Traditions
Welcome to this week’s edition of Welcome Wednesdays!
since we’re now officially in the midst of the holiday season, let’s talk about that. Today’s question is to tell us about a holiday tradition that shows up in your books. Do any of your characters have a special Christmas tradition in their families? Give us an excerpt! Or, if there aren’t any examples in your books, tell us about one of your own holiday traditions…
(and be sure to leave a link so we can follow you and learn about your books!)
I’ll begin…
This is a little excerpt from the first Dream Series book, DREAM STUDENT, and it shows Christmas Eve for Sara’s family…
At eight o’clock, Dad calls everyone into the living room. He’s got the fire going nicely. The pizza he ordered got here a couple of minutes ago. And the VCR is warmed up with the annual triple-feature: Charlie Brown, the Grinch and then Year Without a Santa Claus. This is one thing Bob and I do agree 100% on–it wouldn’t be Christmas without them.
It’s a perfect evening. We watch Charlie Brown pick out his sad, scrawny little tree and learn the true meaning of Christmas; we watch the Grinch plot and scheme and then have his epiphany; we watch Heat Miser and Snow Miser do their big musical numbers, which is my favorite part from any of the shows.
Afterwards, we all drink hot chocolate and, following longstanding family tradition, we each open one small present. Dad makes out the best; his gift is from Mom, and it’s a book-on-tape for the car. It’s one of those Robert Ludlum spy novels he likes so much. Bob’s is the most oddly appropriate, from me: a Crewe University t-shirt. Mom’s isn’t too bad, a woolen hat that Bob picked out for her. And I think mine is the most sentimental: Mom had a great picture of Beth and me at the beach last summer that she put into a cute little frame for me.
We won’t open the rest of the gifts until Christmas morning, but it’s nice to get just the one early. And now that we’ve done everything according to tradition, it’s time for bed. It’s going to be a big day tomorrow.
Now it’s your turn!
by 
4 Replies to “Welcome Wednesday – Holiday Traditions”
Night fell over BWH as my second brain surgery was about to begin…
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Makes a great birthday/holiday/stocking stuffer gift!
I have a tradition that often happen close to Christmas. It’s cooking, baking cinnamon buns. I love homemade desserts and when the first snow falls, I find myself in the kitchen baking. The house is warm, sometimes decorated, and the smell of cinnamon and sugar wafting through the air is mouthwatering. I can almost smelled them now. It doesn’t matter how many I make, they don’t last. My family eats them warm from the oven, dripping with a white sugar icing.
My story, A CHRISTMAS LIST, doesn’t use this tradition, but I hope you enjoy the traditions they have and the magic of the season. Below is an excerpt:
Allie’s hand shook when she looked down at the year old paper. Her mouth went dry as she stared at the list she’d begun two years ago. Uncalled for emotions sped into her like a fast moving train. Her free hand went to her heart, trying to control the sudden beating that she could feel all the way to her head.
The note’s title was clear, but the year had been obliterated by water damage. She didn’t need to see it. She knew exactly when she’d written it. It was during her before period. Before the accident. Before her world collided with a drunk driver. Before life as she knew it and the promising future her friends and family knew was hers, was snatched away in a blinding few seconds that crushed her life, limbs, and career into a space too small for a woman her size.
Here’s a link for the full story: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00A1US5HY/shirleyhailstofb-20
A holiday tradition at our house when the extended family gathered was to bring the picnic table and benches into the kitchen. There wasn’t enough space for the 20+ people, so children younger than teenage shared bench space at the :”childrens'” table under the guidance of the oldest non-adult of the househousehold. This traditiont turned into the short story, “A Place at the Table” in the Yuletide wish anthology. Now years later the children’s table is use by another generation. But a word of advice, don’t be late to dinner or you’ll find yourself sitting in the last available place–at the children’s table.
A Yuletide Wish can be found here https://www.amazon.com/dp/0986640646
As far as the one who is no longer in charge of the childrens’ table? I write fantasy, romance. To learn more, visit my blog http://helenhenderson-author.blogspot.com.or follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/history2write or facebook.
Hi, James! I’m a new visitor to your blog, coming a bit late to the party and sharing a snippet from my Christmas Regency romance, The Marquess and the Midwife.
The Regency period in England comes after the era of Cromwell, when Christmas celebrations were outlawed, and the grand Victorian Christmases we read about in Dickens. Mistletoe, yule logs, and of course food were part of the Regency celebration. Here’s a bit from my story.
…the door opened, bringing in servants with trays of food—biscuits and cakes, plum pudding and sweetmeats—sending the three smaller children squealing.
“Well. It’s not just Christmas,” Lady Hackwell said. “Today Dee and Em turn three years old. We must celebrate. I so wanted to have a grand dinner with roasted goose, but there now, we’ll pretend the fire is a Yule log, and we’ll make do with Christmas pudding, and sweets, and lemon syllabub.
The Marquess and the Midwife is specially priced at 99 cents through December 31st. Find out more at http://alinakfield.com/book/the-marquess-and-the-midwife/