Tradition. Tradition!

I can't utter that word, without breaking into song like old Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof.  Can anyone?  We've established a few traditions at our house, some gleaned from our own immediate families growing up, others we've picked up along the way, but they are all meaningful and bind us together like no other.

We eat our "big" Christmas meal on Christmas Eve.

Then we sing Christmas songs around the piano, read the story of the birth of Jesus in the gospel of Luke, and sing "Happy Birthday" to Him before cutting the traditional yule log cake.

Each year, we take the kids to the dollar store to pick out gifts for their sisters.  Sometimes they are sorely misguided in their attempts to choose a present that's perfect for a particular sibling.  And sometimes they hit the nail on the head.  Either way, it's pretty special to see them use their hard-earned cash for gifts for their sisters.  This year, some of them stepped it up and bought two presents (without any urging from mom, no less).  We have them open their gifts for one another on Christmas Eve before calling it a night.