Do you remember the magic of your family's holiday traditions and the joy of waking up on Christmas morning? Join me, in this episode of Holly's Highlights, as I take you on a journey through the heart of Christmas, sharing my treasured family customs, from holiday smorgasbords to candlelight services. But that's not all! We're exploring unique traditions from around the world, like Finland's hidden almond in porridge and the Netherlands' amusing potato gifts for naughty kids.
Change is inevitable, especially as our loved ones grow and start their own families. So, how do we keep our traditions alive and meaningful? This episode is packed with practical tips and inspiring ideas on how to adapt and evolve your family rituals during these transitions. Whether it's finding ways to include those who don't have family nearby in your celebrations or creating new traditions while still honoring the old ones, we've got you covered. And let's not forget, Christmas is a season of giving. So, let's explore the importance of service and community engagement during this festive period too. Join me for an episode filled with holiday warmth, reflection, and inspiration, because traditions, after all, are about love, joy, and intentional togetherness.
This episode is sponsored by the book Face-Lift: Purchase your copy of Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches through your local bookstore or through online retailers such as Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. A portion of all proceeds will benefit Huntsman Cancer Institute Foundation.
Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
Do you remember the magic of your family's holiday traditions and the joy of waking up on Christmas morning? Join me, in this episode of Holly's Highlights, as I take you on a journey through the heart of Christmas, sharing my treasured family customs, from holiday smorgasbords to candlelight services. But that's not all! We're exploring unique traditions from around the world, like Finland's hidden almond in porridge and the Netherlands' amusing potato gifts for naughty kids.
Change is inevitable, especially as our loved ones grow and start their own families. So, how do we keep our traditions alive and meaningful? This episode is packed with practical tips and inspiring ideas on how to adapt and evolve your family rituals during these transitions. Whether it's finding ways to include those who don't have family nearby in your celebrations or creating new traditions while still honoring the old ones, we've got you covered. And let's not forget, Christmas is a season of giving. So, let's explore the importance of service and community engagement during this festive period too. Join me for an episode filled with holiday warmth, reflection, and inspiration, because traditions, after all, are about love, joy, and intentional togetherness.
This episode is sponsored by the book Face-Lift: Purchase your copy of Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches through your local bookstore or through online retailers such as Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. A portion of all proceeds will benefit Huntsman Cancer Institute Foundation.
Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
Speaker 1:
Hi friends, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast designed to encourage, inspire and equip you to intentionally live your life full of purpose. I'm your host, holly Kirby, motivational speaker, leadership cultivator, marketing strategist and personal cheerleader. Let's check out today's highlight.
Speaker 2:
Do you need more Christmas gift ideas? After all, don't forget the kids', teachers, the neighbor gifts, the gifts for your girlfriends, the book club, maybe your favorite checker at the grocery store, or the mailman who has delivered their fair share of packages to you this season, or your siblings, your parents, your grandparents, basically anyone in your life. Well, make it easy. Order copies of facelift, embracing hope through your heartaches. Whether using as a quick read, a personal application for self-development, or even discussing as a group, everyone will be able to identify and take away something from facelift, Challenging our use of social media, reminding us we aren't alone on our journey and encouraging us with inspiration while equipping us along the way. Readers are sure to have a lifting of their face. Facelift is available through your local bookstores as well as online retailers. So a simple click to order on Target, walmart, barnes, noble and everyone's favorite, amazon. Order your copies of facelift today and remember a portion of all facelift purchases are donated to Huntsman Cancer Foundation. Happy shopping, happy December. Everyone by now majority have their Christmas tree in decor up and are in the thick of their holiday traditions. Growing up, we'd turn on Christmas music and Mom would prepare a smorgasbord of holiday favorite appetizers, and we'd just graze as we decorated the tree and the house, and that's something still I've carried on with my kids. My parents would also host an open house for our entire church congregation and once I owned my first home that is the first Christmas tradition I carried on an annual open house. I love loving on others and hearing the laughter and the fellowship amongst the aroma of the freshly baked goods and the hot cocoa. I just love it. Then, once I had kids, I think I started tradition overload. We do the nativity set and the Christmas countdown, but our Christmas countdown is one that I've actually made. It's not just the one with the chocolates, but each day has a Bible verse or a question we all discuss or an activity, and those activities range from playing a board game or watching a Christmas movie as we like to have 20 that we like to watch every year you know those favorite go-tos that you have or maybe it's getting hot chocolate and driving around to see Christmas lights on the houses. We also like to take a night to meet up with my sister and her family to go to a nice restaurant downtown and then we see the holiday lights around the city and since my mom's passing, my dad likes to decorate cookies with my kids and, of course, on Christmas Eve we still all gather as a whole herd. So my sister and her family, brother and his family, my dad and me and my kids, and we do a Christmas Eve candlelight service at one of our churches and then we head back to one of our homes for a huge spread with some of our favorite appetizers and desserts and we have a family sleepover. We always look forward to that and, of course, with a sleepover, of course you have to have those Christmas Eve PJs right and a tradition for well over four decades in our house.
Speaker 2:
Yes, christmas, the season of traditions. Now, I think it's fun to learn about different traditions of others, as it helps us keep an open mind and kind of broaden our perspectives too. It also helps us show respect for other cultures or family beliefs. I think getting to experience other cultural celebrations or traditions can be fun too. As I was researching different cultures around the world, I came across some unusual traditions, so maybe you think you have some odd things that go on in your family for traditions. We'll check out these. So in the Netherlands, dutch children place their shoes by the fire for center claws to put gifts and treats in them the night prior to December 25. But just as in the United States how we joke around about giving naughty kids coal in their stocking, well, naughty kids in the Netherlands are given potatoes. Now I don't know about you, but that just makes me want to assemble a Mr Potato Head.
Speaker 2:
In Germany, every year they hide a pickle somewhere in the Christmas tree and then they give a gift to the child who finds it. Now I actually have one child who would love this, because they love pickles. So they would really like this tradition, as long as they got to eat the pickle, or maybe a gift a pickle at the end. And then in New Zealand you won't find a traditional pine Christmas tree featured there. Instead it's the Po Hutukawa tree and it's their tree of choice for New Zealand. It's a bright red tree and it's featured on decorations and Christmas cards and even in their Christmas songs In South Africa.
Speaker 2:
For those of you who like a good ham or turkey for Christmas, I'm still a little flustered over our family switching from turkey to ham this past Thanksgiving that whole process. Well, you won't find either of those at their Christmas table. Instead, in South Africa they like to do fried caterpillars, which they think brings extra luck in the year ahead. Now, I don't know about you, but just the thought of having to eat a caterpillar. It doesn't really seem to coincide with the term lucky.
Speaker 2:
In Finland, on Christmas morning, they eat porridge. But caution, this is not one for those who are allergic to nuts, as in this one. Whoever finds the hidden almond in the porridge wins. Now I could go for their other tradition, though, of warming up in a sauna together, especially here in Utah where it's cold. A hot tub is definitely on my wish list. And then in Italy, it's not December 25th that's celebrated, but the eve of January 25th, where, according to folklore, an old woman named Belfana fills children's stockings with candy and presents. And, as it is with the United States, santa Belfana comes through the chimney. However, instead of milk and cookies, it's wine and local delicacies that are left for Belfana. Hmm, well, why do we even have traditions?
Speaker 2:
According to Frank Sonnenberg, author of Follow your Conscience, make a Difference in your Life and the Lives of Others, he says that traditions represent a critical piece of our culture. They help form the structure and foundation of our families and our society, and they basically remind us that we're part of a history that defines our past, shapes who we are today and who we are likely to become tomorrow. Now, according to an article in UNC Health Talk, there are actually three benefits of traditions too. The first one they mention are the holiday traditions that help ground us, according to Dr Schiller, a UNC Health Clinical Psychologist, says, traditions specifically bring up positive emotions associated with memories from our childhood, past times that were meaningful, or loved ones who were no longer with us. The second benefit is performing rituals gives us a sense of purpose. According to Dr Targuia, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine, when we lean into things that are familiar and reliable, then anxiety, worry and stress just tend to melt away. And the third benefit is the holiday traditions encourage connection and community. Now, I think those who watch the Hallmark Channel, especially during Christmas, would agree with this one. Now, traditions are like a structure of sorts. Our children and us too, if we're being honest, crave structure, and, whether any of us will admit it, it can often provide a sense of comfort and security. Now, it's important to note, though, that not everyone has some happy thoughts at Christmas, but good news is, you can start anytime making new traditions with family and or with friends.
Speaker 2:
But what about as seasons change? Now some of those traditions are going to fade, and that's okay for the transition of those traditions. For example, growing up, my family would always go after Thanksgiving and we'd take a carriage ride around downtown and then we'd eat at a nice restaurant. Well, throughout the years, the carriage rides got discontinued and so not as many people in the whole herd wanted to go. So this tradition has now become just me and my kids and my sister and her family, and we've seen the downtown light so many times I don't think they've really changed in four decades that we basically just go for the nice dinner. But that's fine. It's a tradition that's morphed a bit. But as traditions bring a sense of unity and belonging and bonding, it's still important to find what works for the season that we're in. So, for example, are children away at college? Well, have the conversations about what they'd like to keep when they come home. So include them in the decisions as well as make sure to communicate by sharing with them which ones are most important to you. So those non-negotiables.
Speaker 2:
Perhaps you're newly married? Well, what traditions will you keep from each of your families and what new traditions will you start as a new family unit? When I got married I knew it was important to my former husband's parents the tradition of attending their Christmas morning open house, so I made sure every Christmas morning that we were there. By the same token, christmas Eve candlelight service was very important to my side of the family, so we kept that tradition going as part of my side. And a new tradition that we started just for us was collecting an ornament to hang on our tree that represented that year we were concluding. So what will you bring from each home and what will you start anew Then?
Speaker 2:
As you have children and as those children age, what traditions will fade and how can you branch out to make new traditions? So, for example, we used to do breakfast with Santa when my kids were younger and they have made that clear to me that they have outgrown that. So we now have replaced going and having breakfast with Santa with going to a hotel for a night stay during the month of December. Now it might just be to go swimming or maybe to visit a local town's Christmas festivities. It could be taking friends with us or just time alone with the three of us, but we've said goodbye to some traditions and we've been able to embrace new.
Speaker 2:
Or perhaps parents, perhaps your parents are like those with the movie of Christmas with the cranks, and they've decided to book a selling to the Caribbean for the holiday getaway, leaving you wondering who's going to carry on the tradition that they had set. Or perhaps, as they age, where they're just no longer able or even around, to carry on a tradition that they're known for ensuring is still done? So is that tradition that was anchored by that certain family member going to end and just have those memories treasured, which is fine, or will one of the other family members step up and pick it up in their honor? Now, it's important to note that traditions don't have to stop at Christmas. Okay, traditions strengthen relationships throughout the year, creating those memories and imparting the family values through such activities. So by doing so, you actually preserve your family culture and you strengthen the bond of your family. Especially as a family grows, such traditions can help connect those generations and, of course, just give everyone something to look forward to which we all could use, right?
Speaker 2:
And then there are many types of traditions that we need to look at. Some are going to be the ones that have been inherited from generations, which you tend to keep in honor and remember the past, so such as my decorating for Christmas with Christmas music on and food spread out on the kitchen counter. That's in memory of my mom. Others are going to be in part of our culture, so such as fireworks on the 4th of July. Perfect example, right, if you're here in the US, you expect to have some type of 4th of July fireworks. Others are going to be that impact by showing care to others or being involved in our community. So that service Now I think our secret Santa and secret Cupid would apply here, where every year, my kids and I choose those who need some extra love and on, whether it be with Christmas gifts or a Valentine card with flowers and chocolates, and then we take that and we doorbell ditch them to leave the goodies so that we can still remain anonymous.
Speaker 2:
Other traditions will be religious. I guess you could say Christmas Eve or Easter service would fit here. Others might teach a practical skill or a lesson, such as when my brother's now wife started joining us for Easter, she would bring birdhouses for us all to paint. Now, we loved this, but there were so many practical skills beyond just painting right. There's patience, there's sharing of the resources, there's not comparing, there's making sure that you encourage others and finishing what you start. So many things went into painting those birdhouses. And then, although all of these things can be fun, some traditions are just for that the sake of fun, like leaving a path of green footprints around the house and many other shenanigans that my children wake up to on St Patrick's Day.
Speaker 2:
So ask yourself some of those questions what traditions do you have throughout the year and why do you have them? Are there any traditions that have seen their season and it's okay to fade or transition from Any new traditions that should be started? And who might you be able to invite in to enjoy some of these traditions? Think of those who don't have family nearby or not able to get home for the holidays, those who live alone or might not have grandchildren but would enjoy being around yours for some of those activities. Maybe those who are housebound. Think of the college student, the widow, the widower, the single parent. How might you be able to reach out and involve them in your traditions? Now, I realize that not everyone wants to get together with their family or doesn't have family nearby to be able to have traditions with. Well, go ahead and invite those neighbors to start a tradition. Or perhaps that church group or your friends or co-workers, or even your networking group that you're a part of, just get involved in starting some traditions. That would be fun for your group. Now I'd love to hear about one of your favorite, or even craziest, holiday traditions. Connect with me on Instagram at Holly Kirby that's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y or on Facebook at Holly's Highlights.
Speaker 2:
Whether old or new, may we remember it's not so much the tradition itself that needs to be perfectly executed, but the time spent with those we hold dear which matters most. As other Tanya Dalton said, traditions aren't about adding more to your busy schedule. They're about filling your time intentionally Well. May the traditions we create and implement today be the memories our children and loved ones cherish in the future. Merry Christmas, my friends. Thank you for joining me on this journey of life. I hope that today's highlight has been encouraging, inspiring and equipping so you can go out and live your life full of purpose. I'd be honored if you'd take a moment to leave a review or, better yet, subscribe. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at HollyKirbycom that's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Ycom.
Speaker 1:
Until next time, make it a great day for a great day.
