- Dec 1, 2012
- 22
- 1
- 35
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Libertarian
I always looked forward to Christmas when it came around. Even as a kid,I knew that the most important thing about Christmas after the birth of Christ our Savior was family, love, good will, and generosity. What I enjoyed the most was doing everything together with the family.
Pre-Christmas: I come from a big family (I'm number 3 out of 7 and the only son), so decorating was never a burden. We'd get assignments by selecting them out of a hat. My favorite thing to do as a kid was to climb up the ladder with my dad and hang up the lights outside. We would also try and buy or prepare something meaningful to each other as presents (in addition to material presents). When we were little, our parents would take us to see Santa in the mall of course. We would also do our tree selection twelve days before Christmas, decorate it with both bought and made ornaments and the youngest one of my siblings (the last one being my fourth youngest sister) would put the star on top. Then my dad would always do the initial lighting of the tree.
Christmas Eve: During the day, I'd help my mom cook Christmas dinner and put the presents under the tree. My dad works as a corrections officer and generally came home at 1900 or later but on Christmas Eve, he'd come home early. Most of the time, it was just the immediate family but sometimes we'd have family over and when we got older, we'd invite our significant others over. We'd go to church, the come home and have a light dinner and then go to the living room. Then we would all just spend a few hours talking, watching a movie, each giving our own view of what the Nativity meant for mankind, and ending it off with singing Christmas songs. When I was a kid, up to the age of seven, I'd sit with my second to oldest sister (who I was always closest with) on the couch by the fireplace looking for shapes in the flames. We'd both fall asleep on the couch so "'Santa' would see us". She'd fall asleep on my shoulder.
Christmas Day: 0800 we're all gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. Now for Christmas dinner, we'd always invite guests to join us. I can count on one hand the number of times our family was alone for Christmas dinner. My dad would lead us in prayer before eating. Most of the day, we'd just spend time together. It was always really nice. I really missed it when I was on my deployments or didn't get Christmas leave when I was in the Marine Corps.
This will be my first Christmas as a married man, closer to Christ than ever, in a new house and with a new job. My two little nieces are gonna stay with us for Christmas vacation while my oldest sister and her husband will be going to Israel. Keeping with the tradition of my family, I'm inviting my co-worker (who was my first CO in Iraq) and his family over for Christmas dinner.
Pre-Christmas: I come from a big family (I'm number 3 out of 7 and the only son), so decorating was never a burden. We'd get assignments by selecting them out of a hat. My favorite thing to do as a kid was to climb up the ladder with my dad and hang up the lights outside. We would also try and buy or prepare something meaningful to each other as presents (in addition to material presents). When we were little, our parents would take us to see Santa in the mall of course. We would also do our tree selection twelve days before Christmas, decorate it with both bought and made ornaments and the youngest one of my siblings (the last one being my fourth youngest sister) would put the star on top. Then my dad would always do the initial lighting of the tree.
Christmas Eve: During the day, I'd help my mom cook Christmas dinner and put the presents under the tree. My dad works as a corrections officer and generally came home at 1900 or later but on Christmas Eve, he'd come home early. Most of the time, it was just the immediate family but sometimes we'd have family over and when we got older, we'd invite our significant others over. We'd go to church, the come home and have a light dinner and then go to the living room. Then we would all just spend a few hours talking, watching a movie, each giving our own view of what the Nativity meant for mankind, and ending it off with singing Christmas songs. When I was a kid, up to the age of seven, I'd sit with my second to oldest sister (who I was always closest with) on the couch by the fireplace looking for shapes in the flames. We'd both fall asleep on the couch so "'Santa' would see us". She'd fall asleep on my shoulder.
Christmas Day: 0800 we're all gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. Now for Christmas dinner, we'd always invite guests to join us. I can count on one hand the number of times our family was alone for Christmas dinner. My dad would lead us in prayer before eating. Most of the day, we'd just spend time together. It was always really nice. I really missed it when I was on my deployments or didn't get Christmas leave when I was in the Marine Corps.
This will be my first Christmas as a married man, closer to Christ than ever, in a new house and with a new job. My two little nieces are gonna stay with us for Christmas vacation while my oldest sister and her husband will be going to Israel. Keeping with the tradition of my family, I'm inviting my co-worker (who was my first CO in Iraq) and his family over for Christmas dinner.
