Christmas Eve

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

What?? I do get that most people concentrate Christmas into those two days. I also get that people don't want to do the whole "12 days of Christmas," but the idea that people don't want Christmas music on the 2nd day of the traditional Christmas stymies me.

I can't speak for the poster whose comment prompted this thread but it could depend on how early one hears Christmas music in one's own area.

I was hearing Christmas music before Halloween in Walmart shopping so yeah I love Christmas music but have to sorta temper that with the frequency of it. I do love having the music on when we're looking at Christmas lights around town though.

I'm pretty sure though that many radio stations stop their Christmas music once Christmas Day is over so I don't think it's necessarily the PP's opinion is so out there either.

12 Days of Christmas is steeped in religion so it's completely understandable to understand why there are people who don't even consider the 2nd day of traditional Christmas much less "do the whole 12 days". Frankly even the most religious of people I know don't really celebrate it like that much so even within the religious community it varies. This doesn't surprise me.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Christmas Eve is for church service, Christmas Day is for family.

We don't have any one tradition on Christmas Eve besides church service. Sometimes we cook dinner before church, sometimes we cook dinner or eat out after church. It just all depends. This year we are going to our daughter's place for a movie marathon and baked ziti, then it's off to church for service.

Christmas Day we will have a leisurely breakfast and open presents, and will have family over for brunch or lunch or dinner or whatever depending on the year. Then everybody goes home and I lie on the couch and look at the lights and read or take a nap or something.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We haven't lived near or traveled to family in years so it's just my immediate family for Christmas.

I work at a church and Christmas Eve is an exhausting workday. Pre-kids, we always had reservations at a nice restaurant soon after the last service ended. Now we have a two year old so we're still finding the balance of Christmas Eve traditions while working. Plan this year is ordering in a few platters from Publix and pulling out super easy appetizer-type spread as soon as we walk in the door from church. He doesn't really know what is going on so depending on how "over it" he is by the time we get home, we hope to do a few traditions like reading the Christmas story, opening a couple gifts, and putting out the platter for Santa. I'm keeping my expectations low!

Christmas Day is very chill. Leisurely breakfast, open gifts when we feel like it, Thai takeout for lunch, and we usually hit the beach for a few hours.

Everything stays up until Epiphany at our house.

 

[Praying Colonel]

When our kids were still living at home with us, Christmas Eve was a day we'd play board games and eat snacks, then go to Christmas Eve service in the evening. We'd come back, watch a movie, then read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and off to bed. In a lot of ways it was more enjoyable than Christmas Day itself.

 

[slo]

Up until this year Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were celebrated equally. In-laws came over Christmas Eve for dinner, Mass and gifts and my parents came over Christmas Day for dinner and gifts.

This year we are only celebrating Christmas Eve with DD18’s BF with dinner, Mass and gifts and the in-laws are coming Christmas Day to be with my parents for dinner and gifts.

No traditions now that my children are adults (we had our Santa traditions).

 

[Babs Johnson]

Italian here. The 24th night is the start of the celebrations with a big meal based on fish midnight mass and the opening of the presents. The 25 big lunch meat based which lasts throughout the evening with bingo games and the lot. 26th is St Stephen's first martyr, more food on the way generally a roosters broth with tortellini and left overs and we keep going till the 6th of Jan, the epiphany when the three Kings arrive and we have an old lady called Befana she brings stockings full of goodies. This is the last day and then the Christmas tree goes down and the Christmas songs finish and we start the diet!!,,,

My wife’s parents were born in Italy and immigrated to the US in the early 1950s. Even before I married my wife, we’d go to her parents’ house on Christmas Eve for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Most of it was good but I didn’t like the eel or fried smelts.

My wife only has one sister, and only a few other relatives stopped by, so it wasn’t a chaotic event with 38 people all talking at once and taking an hour to say goodbye.

My in-laws did the La Befana thing for the kids on January 6 while they were growing up, and the house remained decorated until then.

We’ve gradually reduced all of it once the kids were high school age and beyond. Maybe only 3 or 4 seafood dishes on Christmas Eve and decorations come down sooner after the New Year.

 

[toodycat]

Christmas Eve was always the big day for the Polish side of my family (dad's side). Nobody else took it on after my grandmother died, though. Lately it's been low key at home, then "midnight" mass (our church moved it to 10pm a while ago, which is annoying).
Christmas Day is the big day with my mom's side.

Same! My mom’s side of the family is Polish and we always had the wigilia—-dinner when the youngest person sees the first star, meatless meal with pierogi, fish, kluski and a total of 13 dishes for Christ and the disciples. There’s a seat for the dear departed. We share optatek, a Communion type of wafer, and wish everyone a good year. Then, we open presents from family members. Christmas Day, we just chill and watch the Disney parades and have a big dinner.

 

[mom2rb]

My parents were divorced and remarried so my brother and I had to go to 6 houses over Christmas Eve and Christmas(4 sets of grandparents and both parents’ houses.) There were years where we lived in Dallas and our dad and most of the grandparents were in Houston so we would fly on Christmas Day. It was always a stressful two days. It was all we knew so we kept doing it even in our 20’s. My DH did it with us the first year that we were married and was in shock. That let us realize that we could stop.

Now we go to my dad’s on Christmas Eve, have Christmas morning at my house and Christmas Day at my mother-in-law’s house. So both days are equal just with different family members.