By Imaginary Gardens Staff, Introduction by Heather Lee Schroeder, Faculty Mentor
I grew up in a culturally German family. Starting in late November, we feasted on perfect Stollen loaves, German potato pancakes (Reibekuchen) topped with my grandmother’s chunky applesauce, and buttery spritz cookies; however, the tree didn’t go up until Christmas Eve, and it could only come down on Twelfth Night and not a day sooner. And of course, we didn’t eat ham or turkey for Christmas dinner, only a roasted goose would do. I now have my own holiday traditions, formed with my husband, but my fondest memories from childhood center around the Christmas season spent with my family.
In a recent editorial meeting, the staff started talking about how they spend their winter holidays. We discussed the wide array of celebrations centered around light and the return of light (thank you, winter solstice, for entering the conversation), and folks started swapping holiday season stories. Everyone had a charming and heartwarming tradition to share, and we’ve collected them here for your enjoyment.
–Heather Lee Schroeder, Faculty Mentor
Anna Trevathan, Managing Editor
Midnight Mischief
Every year, women in my family swarm the kitchen and work on making tamales. This is a roughly twelve-hour process for us, from cooking the chicken to the salsa to the maseca to every tedious step in the cooking process. Then we burn our mouths on tamales fresh out of the pot, and sit in mismatched chairs talking about our years. At midnight, we unwrap presents and give each other hugs, celebrating Christmas morning. It’s messy, loud, glittery chaos- and it’s my favorite hour of the year.
Emma Harrison, Editor
Ornament Adventures
From the time each of my siblings and I was born, our parents have been getting us Christmas ornaments to add to our tree each year. These ornaments represent something that happened that year, such as a trip, a milestone, etc…The day after Thanksgiving, we began putting up our Christmas decorations, and by evening, we turn on our fireplace (we pretend it is a real one) and slowly pull out each ornament, pondering the years past. This is such a special moment for my family to be able to look at something that represents our growth as individuals and as a family. Every time we decorate, we give thanks for the years past and pray over the years to come. My parents began this tradition when they got married, getting each other ornaments each year. Through homeschooling and another tradition of getting books each year for Christmas, we learned the meaning behind the “Jessie Tree” or “Advent Tree,” adding more meaning to our little ornament traditions.
*If anyone wants to learn more about the “normal” Christmas traditions, I highly recommend the book The ADVENTure of Christmas” By Lisa Whelchel.
David Lavrinovich, Editor
Season’s Greetings
Due to a complicated history, Russian culture has four major winter holidays: New Christmas, New New Year’s, Old Christmas, and Old New Year’s. While we do exchange gifts, eat lavish meals, and decorate a tree, like our American counterparts, we also have some unique traditions. To prepare for the winter, my mom always arranges my siblings and me in an assembly line to make large batches of pelmeni (mini dumplings) to last until spring. And instead of Santa Claus, the kids are all visited by Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) or the Three Wisemen from the Nativity Scene. However, my favorite part of the holiday season is the goodie bags my parents make for us, filled with mandarins, tea, and Slavic candies. Since these four holidays are very similar, it just means that every winter I can expect quadruple the festivities that my friends get!
Heather Lee Schroeder, Faculty Mentor
Calling the Sun Home
The longest night of the year happens sometime between December 20 and 21, and as the year winds down and the days grow shorter, cultures throughout the world engage in many rituals to call the light back. In my family, we light candles in our spiral candle holder each night in December to remind the sun how to find its way home. Then, we exchange small thoughtful gifts with one another, a special candy, a useful item for everyday use, a pair of cuddly socks, or a small act of service. Each night, we cuddle on the couch under fluffy blankets and tell stories about winter and our days. Then, on winter solstice, after lighting all the candles on our spiral, we head outside and leave snacks and treats for passing animals, and we place a small offering beneath the tree we call Mother in our yard to remind her to wake up in the spring. I love our approach to the holiday season because it forces us to slow down and appreciate the magic of December on a slower schedule.
Draven Copeland, Editor-in-Chief
Pajama Party
My family doesn’t have many traditions outside of Santa Claus for the younger children and meeting up with extended family over the holidays, but we do have one that we do every Christmas Eve that I’ve always really enjoyed. Every year, my parents give my siblings and me a new set of pajamas to wear for the night. They’re usually super comfortable and feel like a special ‘fit that we all get to enjoy as an early Christmas present. It’s nothing much, but it’s something I look forward to every year!
Addison Chrivia, Editor
Extreme Decorating
As a family, we don’t have a lot of traditions that are outside of the norm. However, when it comes to decorating, we go all out. Of course, we decorate the living room with stockings and a tree with the whole family’s ornaments. But we also have another tree decorated with a woodland theme in the dining room, the library has a huge Christmas village set up, and the kitchen is covered in nutcrackers, the tops of the cabinets overflowing with garland and little scenes themed around candy or toys. Not to mention our front yard; every year, my Dad climbs a dangerously rickety ladder and puts a gigantic wreath on our house, and we spend a day making a forest of 9 ft. trees out of string lights.
Evelyn Hawkey, Lead Cartoonist
Hawkey/Armstrong Traditions
We do have a few Hawkey Family traditions that we like to do on Christmas. Some would be from my mom’s side, or it would be on my dad’s side. First would be participating in the local Nutcracker on Ice Show, then would be driving to see Shadrack’s Light Show in Sevierville, and then leaving hints on Christmas presents. My local ice skating rink would host this annual Christmas show called “Nutcracker on Ice.” Essentially, it’s the ballet, but on ice skates. For over ten years, my sister, Corinne, and I have had different roles in the show. The most memorable roles for me were the Rat King and the Sugarplum Princess. This next tradition started long before Corinne and I were born. The Hawkey family would drive up to the cold mountains of Sevierville to see the dazzling spectacle of Shadrack’s lights. Christmas decorations would come alight as the Trans Siberian Orchestra plays over the radio (I would not advise anyone to go if they have severe light sensitivity and a risk of seizures). This last tradition came from my mom’s side of the family. Before anyone opens a present, they have to read the clue that was scribbled on the name tag. It could be a riddle, a quote, or a play on words. For example, if the gift was Aloe scented fuzzy socks, the clue would be “Aloe-ways love you.” These traditions from different families are blended to create holiday magic and special memories that will warm our hearts for years to come. And I hope when I have my own family, I can carry these traditions with me and be open to creating new ones.
Patrick Dobyns, Editor
Yule
My family tends to celebrate Christmas much like any other– presents, stockings, the tree, the whole nine yards. While I still participate in these traditions, I have a small personal celebration a few days earlier. On the day of the Winter Solstice, December 21, many ancient people celebrated the coming of the New Year with the holiday of Yule. Gifts were given to the gods, who were thanked for the abundance of the previous year and asked for prosperity in the year to come. I’ve chosen to follow these same traditions, though obviously on a much smaller scale. I’ve left out a portion of whatever meal we have on the solstice out for the past five years now, thanking all who would listen for the year’s bounty, whatever form that had taken. I give a gift in thanks and pray for the reciprocity to continue through the following year.
Em Powell, Lead Graphic Designer
Holiday Treats
Since I was little, every year my mom makes cookies called pizzelles. They’re a type of sugar cookie that is cooked in a press with intricate designs. It’s a recipe she got from a ‘90s cookbook, and it ended up becoming a holiday tradition for us. She’ll make enough to not only give to family members, but friends and co-workers as well. In recent years, she’s had me and my sister help her pass along the tradition to whoever is in our lives in the future.
Bean Gast, Staff Writer
Wine Glass Charms
For every Christmas I can remember, my Grandma would host the entire family at her grand house upon the hill. We would gather and drink her warm apple cider, but amongst the chaos, our cider mugs would get displaced throughout the house. The solution to that was an assortment of wine glass charms; my cousins and I would sort through them in an attempt to find our perfect match. Year after year, I was drawn to the magenta charm that was shaped like a light bulb. As loved ones passed away and family members split up, I found comfort in the wine glass charms that never changed.
Mary Arsenault, Staff Writer
Couch Stack: Stocking Style
I come from a large family, and since before I was born, my mom has been having all the kids sit on the couch and hold our stockings for a Christmas picture. As more kids were born, the couch overflowed; there are now 9 kids in the family, and this has been going on for decades. As the years passed, some of our stockings got pretty worn out; if salvageable, my mom would sew the childhood stocking onto a new, sturdy stocking and bring it back to life. I am the baby in the first picture, and I still have the same stocking, now attached to a bigger, stronger one, symbolizing the growth and strength within our family over the years.
