Christmas, Family, and Traditions

Christmas is still a magical time of year for me. While I have done my best at keeping Advent as prayerful as I can, I still needed to do some shopping and planning for the holidays. As I plan to visit my mother and the rest of my family, I look forward to the traditions and sometimes chaos that will take place.
As I am the member of my family who lives the furthest away, I am the one that has to do the packing and driving to get to Farrell, PA. However, once I get there, the magic begins. When I walk into my mother's home, there will be the familiar smell of cookies baking, the Christmas decorations around the living room, and my mother happy to see me.
Because our family is large and Mom's house is too small, we no longer have the holidays there, but go to one of my brothers' or sisters' homes. My brother, Vince, now has the traditional Christmas Eve celebration at his home. Mom and I will go there early in the afternoon so that she and my sister-in-law, Laura, can begin cooking. Our tradition is eating different kinds of fish which include smelts, squid, baccala, some type of filet, along with linguini and clam sauce. The rest of the family, as well as some friends, will come later in the afternoon. It is a wonderful time to catch up with each other. For me part of the magic is being with my neices and nephews, some who are adults, some who are teenagers, and some little ones. Talking with them, playing with them, and just being with them is so special.
When Mom and I get back to her house, we rest so that we can be ready to attend Midnight Mass. Going to mass at Saint Joseph in Sharon, PA is another homecoming where traditions continue. About fifteen minutes before mass, there is a sing-a-long. It is wonderful to see the familiar faces of the parishioners I remember. During Communion, we always sing, "Night of Silence/Silent Night". It is such a joyous time celebrating that Jesus, whose birth we remember, is still with us today.
The magic continues on Christmas Day when Mom and I, and the rest of the family, will gather at one of my sisters' homes for dinner. Eating, exchanging gifts, playing cards, sitting around talking, and playing other games continues the celebration.
Tradition and family at Christmas time is worth the packing and traveling I have to do. Since it is already after 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon the 23rd of December, I need to get going so I can finish packing.
May God gift you with many blessings this Christmas. I hope you enjoy your family and the traditions that you hold dear. Merry Christmas everybody!