subject: Traditional Christmas - No Longer Due To Finances [print this page] Traditions were started by families over the years and carried on through each generation of families. One tradition that is familiar is on Christmas Eve at 6:00PM Mountain Time a family would light a candle and have a few minutes of peace and prayer. At 5:00PM Pacific Time, 7:00PM Central Time and 8:00PM Eastern Time families would do the same thing as they were not all together as a family and the lighting of the candle all at the same time seemed to bring them closer as a family. This is because there was no money for long distance calls to call all the family and was started back in the 40's when family members were moving all over the country. It was also done during the war and where ever the soldiers were they lit the candle by 6:00PM Mountain Time bringing them closer into the family folds and was a tradition that had the cost of a candle but did millions for the families.
Other traditions that were broken were families who went through a divorce. The children were severely affected, but some parents came up with the wonderful idea of starting new traditions with the mother and then with the father. Allow the children to help decide when they will spend a holiday with who and let them help plan a wonderful time with each parent. If the child lives with the mother, then allow them to say when they want to spend the holiday with the father and how they want the holiday to be, where they want to go to eat since more than likely the father won't cook a nice meal.
Another thing that is important to a child is to buy Christmas gifts for both sides of the family, mom and dad or stepparents, so take them shopping with the limited funds available for the person they want to buy for. Help them with the gifts and don't do a guilt trip on the little people because you're still hurt over the divorce and don't put them in the middle of the divorce but do things together with the children, taking turns, and help them make tree decorations for both trees.
Finances are bad on both sides of the family, but don't make that the child's problem and especially at Christmas and New Years instead make the holidays especially happy and double the fun. Don't buy the child with anything they want or giving them money so that you're the better parent because you're not the better parent by doing that. Children can have such a wonderful holiday spending it with each parent and actually making new traditions with each parent that will be carried out each year.
The holidays are a special time to recognize the birth of Christ and to help the children to celebrate the season and make it memorable for all. Create a tradition if you don't have one or create a new one as you get older and watch it go down the family line as the children get older and have children of their own and they use the regular tradition of the family or they start a new one.
by: Tom de Zeeuw
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