Asklemmy

Before Christmas occurs, I must listen to this several times.

It's not only a tradition, it's the law in Canada. If you don't any presents will be forcibly confiscated the day after Christmas. Some people try to fight this, which is why it's called Boxing Day.

Putting on the tree on th 8th and dismounting it at March

whats your address?

Playing the complete "Carpenters Christmas" album at least once.

the tradition of atheist diaspora jews celebrating secular christmas instead of any of the jewish holidays...

I listen to Bach's "Weihnachtsoratorium"/Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) every year. I play it specifically on December 24th when my kids, my wife and I do the decorations. I don't even like the Christmas Oratorio that much. But at least my wife knows why I excuse myself at times.

When I was little, on the evening of Dec 24th, we used do decorate the Christmas tree and my parents were adamant on playing the Christmas Oratorio at full volume when we did so. None of us are/were religious in any way, quite the contrary, but both of them were huge classical music fans. Especially my father used to be a massive Bach fanboy.

As a child who grew up learning to sing and to play several instruments, I hated this thing of theirs with a passion. I couldn't stand this music genre. It was so far removed from what I liked and what life entailed for me; it was the sound of getting me the fuck away from home. I couldn't deny it was a part of me, but it was a part that I despised.

Then, when I was in my early 20s, my Dad came down with aggressive cancer. After his last Christmas, we tried one last therapy which the doctors admitted was kind of experimental because the medication hadn't been tried on patients with cancer of that type or that far advanced.

We don't know what exactly happened. But this dear man, who had collected several dozen CDs of his favorite versions of Bach's pieces, who had been searching and saving for rare editions just to get all the "right" recordings, he suddenly… didn't understand his favorite music. And if you know baroque music - it takes some understanding to fully appreciate it.

He just didn't get it anymore. Something in his brain got rewired during those last few months. "They're playing it wrong!" he shouted angrily. It didn't matter that this was the same CD he had listened to for ten years. My sister tried singing folk songs with him - which he used to enjoy - and while he himself sang pitch-perfect, he was perfectly sure that "nothing was right". Have you ever seen a bed-ridden person go beserk? He winced when he turned, but he was infuriated. Eventually, we all gave up. There was no saving his love for music, it just… up and left him. One of the things which used to define him as a person was simply gone. All joy for any of it, evaporated, poof, without a trace. Cancer finally broke him, broke us. We buried him a few weeks later.

This one, minuscule, thing that he had saved to enjoy when he was old… he couldn't. A part of what my father was, in the matter of a few days, just vanished. There was little left for and left of him. I can't blame him for leaving before saying goodbye.

But I will never forgive the god I had never believed in for taking that last bit of joy away from a dying man.

Verily: "Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage! Rühmet, was heute der Höchste getan!"

I'm old fashioned I get myself an eight ball on Christmas Eve and one tall hooker dressed like Mrs. Claus and one short one dressed like an elf.

Orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning.

Forgetting to get groceries in time for when shops are closed for several days in a row.

I never get Christmas gifts either, not even cards.

I buy myself the same snacks and treats every Christmas, and cook a nice Christmas dinner. I then zone out in front of the TV.

It's a nice tradition, very peaceful, unlike past Christmases with the now estranged family.

We do the fun parts taken from Yule (trees/greenery/lights) and Saturnalia (feasting). I think at this point it's more a celebration of managing to make it through another year than anything else.

Listening to the Snoopy vs. the Red Baron tape by The Royal Guardsmen while decorating the tree.

We've got young kids and go all in with decorations. Another tradition, weirdly, is eggs Benedict and bucks fizz for breakfast. No idea why, but I'm down.

Make my own gluhwein alike drink. On 1dec i take a jar, and put in

• 3 star anis
• 7 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• grated orange peel
• 3 crushed peppercorns
• vodka till everything is fully submerged

Close lid, store dark and shake once a day. On christmas eve: filter out the solids an mix the vodka with a bottle of red wine. Serve warm

Posting all over social media about the pagan origins of modern Xmas and wishing I knew enough people that were cool to have a proper Saturnalia feast. Because that's what cool people do.

Also a funny Photoshop holiday card.

I refuse to engage with other people’s holiday shit until I have visual confirmation of Hans Grueber falling from the Nakatomi Plaza building.

That one started when I was like 10 and usually happens within a week of thanksgiving. I try to avoid other Xmas stuff whenever I can. It’s a rough holiday (season) for me, kinda always has been even as a kid, and I don’t have anyone to spend it with anyway.

I ignore Christmas and celebrate Shreksgiving. We invite friends over to get high, eat green tinted food, and watch the Shrek movies

Although this year I might switch to Ratatouille

We decorate our house. My wife really does an incredible job of it and each year she changes it up and it always blows my mind what she does.

Opening presents after midnight on the 24th

Christmas tree and lights. Though the LED ones have ruined it for me, I can see the half wave rectified 60hz and it gives me a headache. That pisses me off so much because I was once super excited about LED Christmas lights consuming a fraction of the energy, but every company seems to think they can get away with literally just replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs without the proper circuitry to drive them which would have cost, what? A dollar more? Hell a full bridge rectifier probably costs literally a penny when bought in bulk and though it's still not a "proper" LED driver, it would have doubled the frequency and most people wouldn't see it anymore.

Does anyone know any Christmas lights with a proper power supply that drives them at low voltage DC? I imagine it would be a lot safer too wrapped around a flammable plastic tree.

I always get my kid a gift my wife will hate. She’s still genuinely annoyed about the fart gun I got last year.

That and getting drunk.

Well, I have kids so getting them gifts, and a nice dinner with them and their mom (she and I are still friends and good co-parents, just not good spouses to each other.)

only one I really care to do every year is watching The Hogfather. best christmas movie 10/10 no notes.

I only use black santas for decoration. I don't buy into religion, but if I'm going to decorate my house with images of a saint I'm not going to let them white wash him. He was probably middle eastern, but it's more likely he was black than he was a white dude.

Nothing really. We appreciate the neighbors and sales.

Celebrating on the 24th. It's not even a long historical tradition in my own family or local culture, we adopted it after my grandparents celebrated a few Christmases with a Central European immigrant family in the neighborhood who start celebrating at midday 24th December and realized it enabled those of us who were married/etc to celebrate the next day with our other families. It's much more relaxing like that, I've heard my friends complain after trying to fit in a breakfast, lunch and dinner at three different Christmas parties in one day to avoid offending anyone.

Not really big tradition, but gifting is on the eve 24th. And its from baby Jesus or / and from the Angels and no santa included.

Getting very drunk in front of the television.

I don’t really follow any holiday traditions anymore. My friends don’t get me stuff and I don’t get them stuff.

I even stay home for Thanksgiving and don’t go to watch fireworks on the 4th.

It’s not that I don’t get out, but more so that I avoid the calamity everyone else is in on those days. To me, it’s a day off work and some time to catch up on chores or projects.