Tradition Tradition

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do you have any *fun* traditions your family keeps during this time of the year? Today starts Advent and it is my birthday. We have kept a tradition of going out and cutting down our Christmas Tree on my birthday, it is something fun the kids look forward to every year. It is getting less fun for my poor beloved husband though who's body aches terrible. Back in the early years of our marriage we lived in upstate NY, in the snow belt. It was inevitable that the snow would be falling during our trek through the woods. It was always such a lovely thing! DH would lay in the snow sawing away at the base of the perfect tree, the air crisp and fresh, the snow tickling our noses.... we looked forward to the thermos of hot cocoa after we got the tree hauled down to the car and loaded on top snug and safe.... later on we moved to the southwest, here there was rarely any sort of snow on the ground especially in early December, but the wind whipped wildly and it was cold... we had to go to a tree farm to choose our tree, and dh would lay on the pine needled earth and saw away... when he was done cutting the tree down the kids would pile up on top of it for a Tree ride (dh dragging it from the tip end to the car) that was great fun for dh and the kids. We are now in the midwest wishing that someone hadn't stolen our dog... he was so strong!!!! we could have tied him to the tree and let him pull it to the car with the kids straddled for the ride, I am afraid that dh won't be able to do it anymore and the 5 yo just won't have that precious memory... we will have to come up with something else... maybe the 18 yo would do it for her, surely he does not have an inkling to ride on the prickly tree anymore. another tradition we have is to have the children place straw into the manger for each of their good deeds, they also have to remove straw for each of their bad deeds.... depending on how good they have been they have made the Infant Christ more comfortable or less. It is a good lesson on how their behaviour affects others especially how it affects Christ. We do not lay the Infant into the manger crib until Christmas Day (midnight if we are home)