Ever wondered how porridge with hidden almonds landed on Finnish Christmas tables or why Germans fill stockings on December 6th? It's time to take off on a jolly trip around the world on the Brazen podcast, with your hosts, Callie Hughes and Valerie King-Mowler, as we uncover these unique holiday customs and look at reimagining your own traditions. We kick things off with a playful game of two truths and a lie and then it's all about sharing our favorite traditions, whether it's decking the tree on birthdays, or raising a toast on Christmas Eve.
Can the festive spirit of Christmas and New Year's be celebrated beyond parties and resolutions? We think so! In this episode, we discuss the beauty of different cultures and how they honor these holidays. We express our love for the cozy, festive atmosphere during winter and talk about adding a touch of significance to New Year's celebrations. We then make a pit stop in Finland, Germany, and Switzerland to uncover some unique practices. From hitting the sauna in Finland, molten lead future predictions in Germany, to homemade advent calendars in Switzerland, we explore a host of enticing global traditions. By the time you wrap up the episode, we hope you'll be inspired to blend some of these customs into your celebrations and make the holiday season even more merry and meaningful.
Ever wondered how porridge with hidden almonds landed on Finnish Christmas tables or why Germans fill stockings on December 6th? It's time to take off on a jolly trip around the world on the Brazen podcast, with your hosts, Callie Hughes and Valerie King-Mowler, as we uncover these unique holiday customs and look at reimagining your own traditions. We kick things off with a playful game of two truths and a lie and then it's all about sharing our favorite traditions, whether it's decking the tree on birthdays, or raising a toast on Christmas Eve.
Can the festive spirit of Christmas and New Year's be celebrated beyond parties and resolutions? We think so! In this episode, we discuss the beauty of different cultures and how they honor these holidays. We express our love for the cozy, festive atmosphere during winter and talk about adding a touch of significance to New Year's celebrations. We then make a pit stop in Finland, Germany, and Switzerland to uncover some unique practices. From hitting the sauna in Finland, molten lead future predictions in Germany, to homemade advent calendars in Switzerland, we explore a host of enticing global traditions. By the time you wrap up the episode, we hope you'll be inspired to blend some of these customs into your celebrations and make the holiday season even more merry and meaningful.
If you enjoyed this show, please share or leave a review. You can also email us directly at hello@brazenwomen.com or send us a message on Instagram.
If you’re interested in monthly group coaching with Calley for just a few dollars a month, check it out here.
If you’re interested in private business or career coaching with Valerie, visit valeriekingmallar.com.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to Brazen, a weekly podcast where we get down and dirty on how we can live a more bold, curious and vibrant life. We are your hosts Callie Hughes, a self-care coach and nurse practitioner, and Valerie King-Mowler, a business growth and mindset coach. In this podcast, we are helping women stop people pleasing and perfectionism, awaken their inner badass and discover what can happen when we take the lead in our own life. Join us as we explore everything available to us when we brazenly take accountability for our life and well-being. Let's get started.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Brazen podcast and since we are deep into holiday season in the US, we are going to talk about whether you should be rethinking any of your holiday traditions. So that will be today's topic. But with our new format, we are still playing two truths and a lie. So, Callie, are you ready to play? I am so ready.
Speaker 1:
All right, here we go.
Speaker 2:
In Australia, they set a few extra place settings around the table and make extra food on Christmas Day so that the souls of the dead can join in the festivities. Number two while not a traditional holiday in Japan, a new-ish Christmas trend is to eat buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day. Number three Festivus, introduced on an episode of Seinfeld and which included things like feats of strength and the airing of grievances, is now celebrated on December 23 by some people in the US.
Speaker 1:
Oh, this is kind of a tough one, I think I'm going to say the lie is the second one, the one about Japan and KFC.
Speaker 2:
It actually is true, oh my gosh, and this one is a little bit tricky, but yeah everyone should deep dive into this a little bit more. But apparently there was a marketing ploy that was like Kentucky for Christmas in Japan, and so it became a thing where they would reserve buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas. So that is actually true.
Speaker 1:
Man, that is wild.
Speaker 2:
I love that. So the actual lie and this was a little bit of a trick question because it was number one and I said in Australia and it's actually in Portugal, they do that.
Speaker 1:
So it is a true tradition.
Speaker 2:
In Australia the general trend is to do kind of like a barbecue and have like a light-hearted party. So it's actually in Portugal that they do that and I kind of thought it was like a sweet tradition, you know, like honoring the dead, and you know, I think that the holidays are particularly really hard for people like when you've lost someone. So being able to have that kind of little tradition I thought was really sweet.
Speaker 1:
So definitely, I love that. I love that, all of those, especially like the Festivus one. That's just, that's great.
Speaker 2:
I was like, oh boy, that's cool and it has its own day and everything. So so, diving into our main topic, as I mentioned in the beginning, we're deep into holiday season in the US. We have Thanksgiving, we have if you celebrate it, we have Christmas, or we also have Hanukkah and then also just like New Year. So there's kind of a lot happening at the end of the year, and so we kind of were just talking about, like you know, do you start to create your own traditions in your life when you become an adult and obviously you carry on a lot of stuff from your past. But this is like an opportunity to also rethink, like what you do want to include and kind of your own personal things you might want to add to it. So what are some of your favorite traditions in your family?
Speaker 1:
Well, in my family we kind of celebrate a lot on Christmas Eve. This is something that started when I was a kid and I think it was kind of just like it started as more of a convenience thing because my parents had to split holidays between two different families. And so, you know, we kind of just started doing a really big thing with my mom's family on Christmas Eve and we've kind of carried that tradition forward and we just love having like a really big celebration on Christmas Eve. So that's one thing that we do. We do a few other things, but what about you, val? Let's kind of go back and forth here.
Speaker 2:
So I feel like the traditions we have are kind of typical traditions. I think that one thing we do kind of have like Christmas Eve, christmas Day, and then we usually have like a family party, like an extended family party like one of the weekends before. So we do kind of celebrate Christmas like throughout the month. My birthday is on December 15th, so when I lived with my parents we used to decorate the tree on my birthday, which was kind of fun.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
But yeah, there isn't anything sort of in particular. As we become adults we've sort of switched between doing more stuff on Christmas Eve. We always do Christmas morning at my parents' house, but like sometimes we've been doing like a nice dinner on Christmas Eve. I have to say I'm a Christmas Eve person. I don't know if it's just like the anticipation of Christmas morning or something, but I think there's something so like I don't know atmospheric and like really nice about like the nighttime, kind of like all the Christmas lights and the tree looks really pretty, and the morning I'm just kind of like groggy and tired.
Speaker 2:
But I mean, I love Christmas morning too, but I had a friend that used to open all of their, like their family would open all their gifts on Christmas Eve and I used to be like, so like scandalized by that. I can see that.
Speaker 2:
I thought that was like really cute. Yeah. So you know, in thinking about like traditions, are there things that you kind of wish that you could like adopt and we can also talk like New Year's too, because I think that's something that's a little bit more loose. But what are some ways that you could reimagine your like traditional things during the holiday season?
Speaker 1:
So one of the things that we personally do in my household is we have an advent wreath that we do, and so, for those who might be unfamiliar with that tradition, honestly I hadn't really been exposed to it or heard of it until, you know, relatively recently, like in the last 10 years.
Speaker 1:
But basically it is this evergreen wreath that you know is set flat on like a tabletop surface and it has either four or five candles around the edge and they all represent one for each week of the advent season, which is the four Sundays prior to Christmas, and each week you light another candle.
Speaker 1:
So the first candle symbolizes hope, the second symbolizes peace, the third joy and the fourth love, and then, for the ones that do have like a fifth candle that's usually lit on Christmas Eve and it's just like a, it's a way that we kind of keep more of like a spirituality about Christmas in our household and kind of, you know, remind ourselves of, you know, the things that are really important about this season, like we are Christians and so you know that's like a part where we've really kind of we've tried to pull in more of the spirituality, you know, in addition to all of the other fun things with the Christmas season, like Santa and sleigh rides and cookies and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, that's one of the things that we do. What about you, val? Do you have any like specific things that you?
Speaker 2:
guys do Not in particular. But I really like, when you talked about that event calendar, that was something that appeared in a lot of sort of cultural. You know traditions throughout the world and I should make the caveat that we are talking a lot in generalizations, like we know that not everybody in every country does things exactly the same, so if we get it wrong, please let us know. But I did notice that a lot of countries did something that kind of Prolonged the Christmas season like the advent calendar, so you're essentially like celebrating it like weekly as opposed to just that short holiday.
Speaker 2:
Hey, you know right or you know, christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I really liked that Kind of preservation of that Christmas spirit for the whole month. And you know, I think for me, because I've always been in jobs where we've been really busy during the holidays and like there's so little time between Thanksgiving and Christmas that Even though we have like Christmas parties and stuff, I haven't really thought about the holiday until literally like Christmas Eve.
Speaker 2:
So, I love that idea of just like really embracing like the coziness of the season and they'd like Graciousness and the gift giving and the like love and all of this stuff that you were talking about, with the advent calendar and hope and everything, and In particular, because it's winter and it's getting colder and I think just having that sort of festivity is really sweet and you know, they're just I think that a lot of cultures do really embrace that kind of whole month ration.
Speaker 1:
So, yeah, and honestly, like there's something about this time of year that just is so nice for me, like this is my favorite time of the whole year, besides that one week in October when Foliage is like at its peak yeah, because I live in Vermont and our foliage is phenomenal like Around indigenous people's day, like that's usually peak weekend but besides that weekend, this time between like November 1st and New Year's, it's my absolute favorite time of the year.
Speaker 1:
And, honestly, like the first year that we moved into our house that we live in now, it was kind of like a bittersweet move for me because it was a move out of necessity, because we needed a bigger house, you know, because kids require Like exponentially more space than they actually physically take up, which is crazy. But I was feeling like I Really missed our old home and we moved into our current home in May and so it was like almost nine months of me just like being kind of depressed and like not really super happy about the move. But there was something that happened, like when I Decorated the house for Christmas and I put up all of the little you know battery-operated candles and then kind of just like Higgied my house out completely like there was something that kind of like Flipped in my brain. I was like oh no, this is home now. So it kind of just makes me remember, you know, that time when I kind of was not in my best Mindspace and then Christmas just switched it all up for me, which was like super nice.
Speaker 2:
I totally envy People who are big decorators, like I am not, and if you've been listening to this podcast, it probably does not surprise you that I'm the utilitarian In this conversation, but my husband. I don't think I've ever had a Christmas tree and that like is so hard to admit and every time I tell people that they look like, they Are so sad.
Speaker 2:
But we travel so much like around to different link activities that we just and we always had dogs that we figured we're gonna kind of destroy the tree anyway, while we weren't home.
Speaker 2:
So we've just like, I think, just by out of necessity we never did a tree and then now we're just kind of out of the habit of it and I have like literally been on, you know, the IKEA website and a couple different things like Amazon, trying to find like Christmas decorations, because I'm like desperate to like Make my house cozy and festive. And then I just like get so bogged down and like work or whatever, and then I don't do it.
Speaker 2:
So I like that is my like resolution is to become someone that decorates for the seasons and it was just talking to someone recently, though, and I've been talking about like trying to really embrace the seasons for what they are, and like in the past, I like loved fall and summer, and then winter I was just like, well, I could like take it or leave it, but I'm really trying to embrace like that coziness and all of that, so I think part of it is just also embracing the holiday and Really throwing myself into it a little bit more.
Speaker 2:
So yeah yeah, we talked a lot about Christmas, but like, what about New Year's? Like? What is that like for you each year?
Speaker 1:
So, honestly, new Year's hasn't really been like a huge tradition for me when I was younger, you know, back like before kids and everything and needing to be able to wake up and be functional early in the morning. I would go out and, you know, party and drink and ring in the New Year and, honestly, there's a lot of reasons why I don't do that anymore.
Speaker 1:
But yeah, that's kind of one of the things that I would love to start adopting, like some different, fun, more significant, I guess, way of celebrating the New Year, because I know that there's so many really cool traditions all over the world and so it's actually super interesting to, you know, hear how other countries and cultures celebrate it. Because, honestly, like I feel, like here in the US it's I mean, I hope I don't offend anybody by saying this but I feel like it's a little bit lame, like it really is just like focusing, in my experience anyway, on Times Square and the ball dropping and you know, just like having a big party and then everybody's hungover on New Year's Day.
Speaker 2:
Well, they're trying to make resolutions and yeah.
Speaker 1:
I am never drinking again, yeah.
Speaker 2:
I feel like I've really struggled to kind of create some excitement around that and actually for the first time this year, izzy and I are hosting a family late brunch on New Year's Day and just like getting our families together, kind of after the pressure of all the holidays are done and like you know.
Speaker 2:
So that will be really fun, but I think that I got really excited about the idea of like looking at new traditions for myself, because in my early 20s I spent New Year's Eve in Florence, italy, and it was like really cool. It was like they did a huge, I think, like 12 course dinner and then after that we like went outside with all the patrons of the restaurant and the restaurant owners and they lit up like fireworks, and then they were like city fireworks and I did find out you're supposed to wear red underwear. I don't think I did that, but like that's part of it too.
Speaker 2:
But also they like throw out you know, an old plate or I think for a long time. They don't do it like I think as much anymore, but you would throw a plate from your kitchen out the window to kind of symbolize throwing out the old and like embracing the new and so I just I think that those like kind of symbolic things.
Speaker 2:
I mean I think probably if we dug into US tradition on New Year's there's a lot of symbolic stuff, like with the kissing at midnight and all of that. But I just there was something like refreshing about like like observing another culture is way of celebrating and it just it felt like Also because I was in a different country, but it felt really cool to kind of like embrace that experience and that like feeling of a new year with a bunch of like strangers in a different culture.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's really cool, I think you know I definitely encourage everyone to spend like new years in a new country, if you can.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's super cool. So in preparation for this episode, we did a little bit of research on different traditions for Christmas or for New Year's around the world, and so we just wanted to kind of run through, you know, a few different descriptions of some neat traditions that you know. If they sound interesting to you, definitely look into them and learn more about them, because I know with some of them I am going to personally. So one Finnish tradition which is fun, because that is my heritage, is porridge with hidden almonds and hitting the sauna. So that's really interesting.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and I think that the person that finds a hidden almond gets a little present, which I love too, like. So I think that's a really fun tradition. That's super cool.
Speaker 1:
Norway has a little Christmas celebration on December 23rd with their own personal traditions. You know probably, according to family, whether that be decorating the tree, doing a gingerbread house, something else. In Germany, one of their Christmas traditions is doing stockings on December 6th, opening them on the 7th. And it's interesting because this is actually something that my daughter learned about in her first grade class because one of her teachers is German. You still live in Germany and so that is in honor of St Nicholas and what she did. She was so cute. I just have to tell this story real quick. She brought up a little shoe of hers and her brothers and put them outside their door because apparently that's the tradition, and then St Nicholas comes and puts a little treat in your shoe, and so that was a really cute tradition that they kind of learned about and practiced, and they had little construction paper shoes that they made in their classroom.
Speaker 1:
And they got like little clementines in them, so that was really neat. In Switzerland they make homemade advent calendars, which is, I think, probably a really cool family tradition to kind of do as a group.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I really love. I was just talking to a couple of friends about advent calendars and I really want to get into them, I think next year, because I didn't get my shit together this year. But, we were talking about how there's like cheese advent calendars and there's these like really beautiful, like you know, just homemade versions, or yeah there's just like so much you can do with that, and I just love that.
Speaker 1:
That's so awesome. In Germany for New Year's Eve, they have a practice of doing molten lead. Future predictions.
Speaker 2:
I kind of researched this, because part of our research that Kelly and I did were our own heritage and I am part German, and so I was like I'm going to take a look at what they do in Germany. And one thing is you can buy a kit where you actually like warm up lead, like melt it down, and then you put it in a container of water and it like solidifies, and then there's like a book that comes with it that tells you what that shape kind of signifies for your future. So you can like do a little, you know, tell your future for the next upcoming year, which I thought was really cool.
Speaker 1:
That's very interesting. I would be interested to learn more about that. So those are just a few of the various Christmas and New Year's traditions from different countries around the world. I encourage you, if you heard something that sounds interesting to you, to look into it. And, you know, it's a really good opportunity to kind of learn about different cultures and different traditions from around the world. And, you know, figure out if it's something that you want to incorporate. You know, figure out a way that you can really honor that culture while you celebrate your holiday.
Speaker 2:
So, to wrap it up, where you're going to do our final segment, which is the question of the day, and I have a little deck that's called mine to mine, and I'm going to pick out a card randomly and we will both answer it. So the question of the day is oh, this is perfect. Right on theme. What is the? Best gift you've ever received.
Speaker 1:
I would say the best gift I've ever received.
Speaker 1:
the thing that comes straight to my mind is several years ago my parents got me a gift, for I think it was for my birthday, and it was one of those paint by numbers canvases, but it was a picture of my two kids like a really super cute picture of them, and so I just thought that was such a sweet gift and really thoughtful, and I can honestly say it is one of the few projects that I've actually been able to finish in the last few years, and it is hanging up in my hallway upstairs and I just love. Every time I look at it.
Speaker 2:
It's just like it warms my heart. I was just talking to someone about paint by number and I was like I kinda wanna get back into that. That was so fun when I was little. I feel like it'd be really relaxing and like yeah, it's super fun.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it was something that I kind of lost track of time doing because you just get so in the zone with it. It was fun yeah that's super cool.
Speaker 2:
My favorite gift and I've mentioned this because I've had other people ask me this question before but I had a friend who recorded a video for my birthday and it was a bunch of people saying what they loved about me and it was really sweet. It was a lot of my employees and coworkers and just friends and it was just a really cute video. It's one that I still watch back and it was just really sweet to kind of hear other people describe you, and so it's always a good thing to go back to when you're like, oh, I don't feel great about myself right now. So it was such a great gift.
Speaker 1:
So that is such a great gift. Yeah, oh my gosh, that is so thoughtful. I love that.
Speaker 2:
It was great. So that wraps up this episode on rethinking holiday traditions and, as always, we encourage you to be brazen and really rethink what your traditions are in your life and whether you still like them, and there's no shame in sort of changing up whatever. You need to kind of feel like you are able to celebrate in a way that feels most comfortable and most exciting to you. So take some time to look around and see what you might want to adopt, particularly from your own culture, and just have fun with it. But until next time, keep being brazen and we'll see you next Tuesday. Bye, thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Brazen podcast. We'd love to hear more about your parenthood or a child-free journey, so please feel free to email us at hello at brazenwomencom. If you liked this episode. Please rate, review and share the episode so we can get the word out there. We'll be back here next Tuesday, but in the meantime, keep being brazen.