The Holiday season is a special time of the year, for a multitude of reasons. Family and friends travel far and wide to spend quality time, break bread together, and create brand new memories that last a lifetime. In this month’s Ask JohnHart I asked our staff and agents for their favorite Holiday memories and traditions. From movie nights with the kids to annual family trips and everything in between, here is a sampling of their traditions and memories, in no particular order.
1. Watching Christmas movies
Tessy Thomas
December is our favorite month of the year! We curl up on the couch and watch Christmas movies beginning December 1st. It’s one of the few times no one is whining or complaining. Pure bliss!
2. Gifts “from Dad”
Dorian Zuleta
My favorite Holiday tradition & memory is opening gifts. Back in the day, I’d open gifts labeled “From: Dad.” I loved it because my Dad was just as surprised to see what was inside as I was!
3. The 12 Lucky Grapes (Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte)
Sara Alcami
In Spain (and I think maybe other places in Latin America) we traditionally eat 12 grapes at midnight on December 31st. After New Year’s dinner, we gather around the TV, waiting for the 12 chimes of Madrid’s town hall clock at La Puerta del Sol. Many people gather there, similar to Times Square in NYC! We eat one grape per chime. After that, we kiss and hug everyone (“Happy New Year!”), some of us still swallowing the 12 grapes — it’s extremely funny when there is a family laugh attack by the 6th grape.
One of the craziest years was 1997: a mistake caused the bells to chime too fast…12 grapes had to be eaten in 18 seconds!
You’re supposed to ask for a wish with every grape…and if you don’t finish on time…it’s bad luck!
4. Kufta, Blinchik, and Baklava
Alice Ananyan
On the 30th of December, with the help of my mother-in-law, I make traditional dishes such as Kufta and Blinchik to serve to guests in the upcoming week. For New Year’s Eve, my husband cooks a whole piglet, along with roast beef. We also bake Baklava from scratch (a must-have!)
5. A Secret Santa for the Ages
Ovsanna Khacheryan
My family and I have a recent tradition: we’ve traveled to Mammoth every year for the last 4 years, where we play Secret Santa. One year we ended up not going and had New Year’s celebration at my house — we organized a Secret Santa with about 50 people. We wrote down everyone’s names and traveled to their houses to let them draw a name. The game took nearly 3 hours to finish! (The good news? All the drunks had sobered up by the time we finished)
6. Armenian Christmas + An Exciting New Perspective
Raffi Dakessian
Now that the family/extended family continues to grow larger, we started a Secret Santa that’s grown to about 15 people now. As far as past traditions, being Orthodox Christians, we celebrate the Armenian Christmas on Jan 7th with church services and family dinner. My best memories happened as a kid growing up in Boston: I loved seeing the city blanketed by snow, knowing I wouldn’t have school — a time when I believed in Santa. But now, reflecting on that, an even better memory was becoming a Dad and seeing that same excitement, the twinkle in my kids’ eyes as I relive that memory.
7. International Santa Service
Nairy Bruer
If there’s one interesting tidbit about my dad that’s sure to wow people at a dinner party, it’s that he speaks 7 languages. When my brother and I were children, we were visited by Santa on Christmas morning while with our dad conveniently out to work (He’s a pediatrician and helps deliver babies, so his occasional absence made sense). Our Christmas experience was unique as we were often visited by Santas from different countries. One year, we had a French Santa come through the chimney (who was greeted by croissants rather than the usual cookies and milk). The next year, Santa from Mexico paid us a visit. We were often very confused about what he was saying, but he was so pleasant (and brought us presents!) that we never really questioned it. One year Santa from Armenia came, speaking a different dialect than our own, telling us to say “baneer” instead of “cheese” during our photo. It was at that moment that I really wished my dad was around to meet Armenian Santa.
8. World’s Tallest Live Christmas Tree
Robbyn Battles
I’m a Christmas junkie! Every year I search for the next coolest place to visit with my family. This year it is the Citadel Shopping Center. Home to the world’s tallest live Christmas Tree. Standing 115 feet tall, it takes three months to transport and set up. The tree is cut down in September and they replant 12 trees in its place. This massive pine is then turned into mulch when taken down. I think this is pretty cool. Plus the visit is free, unless you are like me and go Christmas Shopping — then it can become a very expensive sightseeing venture.
9. Braving the Cold
Catherine Grigorian
I love to always be cozy. I despise the cold. Around Christmas time, when my brothers and I were young, my mom would take us to this one house known for having the craziest Christmas decorations — every year people would go to admire it. We were so infatuated by all the lights. But, it was always too cold to stand outside and watch. So just before bedtime, we’d get into our PJs, while my mom would warm up the car for us. She’d make us homemade hot chocolate and drive us to the house. We would park, play Christmas music and just marvel at all the Christmas lights. It would “light” up my entire day.
10. 5 Generations Deep
Audra Lorenzo
A home-cooked meal has brought my family together for generations. We celebrate Christmas Eve with a seafood dinner prepared by my mom. After dinner, we head north to Grandma & Grandpa’s house in Pittsburg, CA to continue our celebration. My family is five generations deep and scattered across the globe, which makes the holidays a very fun time when we can all spend time together.
11. Hot Chocolate, Cupcakes, and Family
Patricia Birdtail
My favorite memories of the holidays are enjoying music and food with my family on Christmas Eve and waiting until midnight to open gifts. Every year I make hot chocolate and cupcakes on Christmas Day with my kids (Eriana, Bria, and Aiden) and spend the day watching movies. 🙂
12. Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum-ing with Family
Chrissy Rodriguez
The Philippines holds the record for celebrating the longest Christmas season starting in the “ber” months (Sept.-Dec.). Yep, you read that right. Four months of gleaming displays on the streets and in homes, brightly lit Christmas trees, and the sound of timeless holiday classics sung by carolers in shopping malls and even the airport! I witnessed this firsthand when I visited my homeland this year and I’ll admit, it was a little overwhelming at first. But by the end of two weeks, I was pa-rum-pa-pum-pum-ing with my family, through TSA security, and to my Lyft drivers. Happy holidays everyone! 🙂
13. Cousins Dinner & White Elephant
Melissa Urena
Every year at this time I meet up with my maternal cousins for dinner, game night, and a white elephant exchange. The white elephant gift exchange typically includes 10 cousins (plus wives & husbands) trading gifts worth $50 or fewer. On busy years we’ve met at a restaurant, but other years one us hosts and we all enjoy some homemade tamales. We always play games too, and Juan (my husband) and I always win taboo and charades.
On Christmas Eve we drive up to Santa Clarita to spend time with Juan’s family. During the commute, we always listen to Juan Gabriel and Javier Solis (our parents’ favorite artists).
14. The Gift of Giving
Marc Gross
I was young, maybe 7-years-old, and I believe it was the first holiday season after the divorce. We were still living in the first house my parents bought, the only one they bought together (it was the last year we’d live there). There was a surrealness to that time as my world was crashing.
Sometime before the holidays our house was robbed — everything valuable was stolen, including the appliance that brought American households together at the time: the TV. I remember vividly because it was our only color set.
On Christmas Eve my Uncle Gary insisted my mother (his sister) bring the boys over to see the tree and open presents. My family is Jewish and I’d seen Christmas trees before, but never in a house. This was new, exciting, and a little confusing. I remember driving to his house that night: it was snowing hard. It looked like warp speed in the Millenium Falcon as the snow whizzed by us.
After dinner we sat under what looked like a 20-foot tree to open gifts. With wrapping paper and boxes strewn about, we reached a big box addressed to Adam, Marc & Josh, from “Santa.” We’d been playing my uncle’s Atari all night, which made us crave one of our own. We ripped open the box to reveal the Atari 2600 machine! I didn’t know Santa hooked up little Jewish boys, and I couldn’t wait to tell my friends at Hebrew Day School! This was pretty cool to me and my brothers. I then had an aha moment, “How are we gonna play with no TV?”
In that moment my Uncle Gary started yelling for my mother. His dogs made a mess of the food in the kitchen, which spilled out onto the front porch.
He called my Mom out to help him clean up the mess. That’s when I heard her scream. We ran outside and spotted a giant red box: inside was a brand new Sylvania color TV! We were stunned. Remember, this was circa 1981. A new color TV wasn’t bought on a whim. Families would save up for a year to buy one –so this was huge!
I remember being the first one out there upon hearing my Mom scream. She had tears running down her face. I saw the big box and wrapped my little arms around my Mom’s waist and looked up at my Uncle Gary. He was smiling from ear to ear. It was a smile you only get from giving. I’d never seen anyone smile that way. It was pure. At the time I didn’t know what it meant, but it changed me. I saw how good giving could make you feel. Better than receiving. That realization, that moment, has stuck with me ever since.
That night, the holiday spirit ingrained itself into my being and I’ve never been the same. Thank you, Uncle Gary, for showing me the real gift is the ones we give, not the ones we get.
Contributor, designer & admin for JohnHart Gazette.
