Essay About Christmas Day

Our Christmas Day Rituals

Christmas Day - a day my entire family looks forward to every year. To our family, it is not so much a religious celebration, but rather a celebration of family culture and togetherness. Our consumption rituals over the course of many years, has shaped our interpretation and understanding of this holiday. Although there are factors that have changed our celebration, in general, Christmas Day is a day where we get up early, dress nicely, exchange gifts, and spend the rest of the day hanging around the house together, and eat together. What makes this holiday so special to us is that my mother’s birthday falls on the same day and so, we do not only celebrate togetherness, but also the love and admiration we have for

First of all, we indulgence ourselves in the time we get to spend together as a family. All of the children would come to our parents’ house on Christmas Eve and spend the night there, so that we wake up together on Christmas Day. During the day, we would do activities such as playing board games, exchanging gifts, and watching home videos together. These are all things that we do not typically do, but enjoy on Christmas Day, because it brings us together and allows us to appreciate each other’s presence. Besides our time spent together, we indulgence ourselves in the act of giving and receiving goods. Prior to Christmas, each year, we do a Secret Santa drawing for which everyone makes their wish list. We anticipate finding out who our Secret Santa is, while there is a simultaneous excitement to unwrap those goods that we wished for. In terms of food, indulgence can be found in the amount of food that is consumed on Christmas Day, as well as the type of food that is served. Quantity wise, there is an abundance of food and snacks available throughout the day. As mentioned before, the day starts off with an extensive brunch. After brunch, there are a variety of snacks put out on the coffee table, such as chocolates, crackers and cheese, fruits, etc. Around 4PM, we would start preparing the food for dinner, which is typically Thai hotpot. This dish requires many ingredients and a reasonable amount of time goes into cooking the

As my siblings and I have become older, it has been increasingly difficult to get everyone together on Christmas Eve. My older brother and sister for example, now have children, and in-laws that they need to spend time with as well. As a result of that, our Christmas celebrations would sometimes be postponed until brunch time. The focus on Christmas Day has also shifted towards my siblings’ children, as our parents would care most about spoiling their grandchildren on Christmas Day. Sadly enough, but as can be expected, the passing of both our parents a few years ago has influenced our way of Christmas celebration in numerous ways. We no longer have our parental home to gather at and would therefore, alternate between celebrating Christmas at my brother and sister’s house each year. The formality of our clothing has changed as well. Whereas previously we would wear formal wear such as dresses, skirts, and dress shirts, we have now switched to wearing comfortable, “ugly” Christmas sweaters. This has become a new tradition, catering to the children’s needs to be comfortable and making it a more fun experience for them. As said, they have become the center of attention on Christmas Day and partly the reason, why we still put a lot of thought and effort into this holiday celebration. Although the whole idea of Christmas has become less festive to my siblings and I, we have decided to continue