How We Celebrate the Holidays
We asked Oprah.com users: What holiday traditions, including celebrations, events and activities, are unique to your family and friends? From football to fruitcake, get creative ideas to celebrate the holidays from people just like you!
Melissa L.
When my firstborn was just beginning to understand what Christmas was all about, I wanted to find a beautiful, nature-inspired way to celebrate the Advent season. I found the inspiration I was looking for in the book
All Year Round by Ann Druitt. I began an advent table based on the idea of Mary on the Star Path. I made wooden dolls to represent Mary and Joseph. They "walk" the stars, one per day, to count down to Christmas evening. A few years into this tradition, I came across the book
The Light in the Lantern by George Dreissig, which gave us a story-a-day to complete the tradition. Each week has a theme the stories revolve around, and the table is built, day by day, on the themes. Week 1: minerals; week 2: plants; week 3: animals; and week 4: humans. I could give up everything else Christmas has come to be about, as long as the advent table remains.
What traditions do you enjoy during the holiday season?
Published 12/07/2000
