Tradition

The house smells heavenly! I just got back from picking up our Christmas tamales at Adelita. Because this is such a tiny house, the wonderful smells of pork and chicken tamales are spilling out of the kitchen, permeating every little nook and cranny... and it's A-MAZING!!

Tamales and chili has been our family's Christmas Eve tradition ever since I can remember. Now that we have two church workers in the family, our celebration has to slide somewhat to accommodate their need to be with their church families on Christmas, but the traditions surrounding our gathering remain firmly intact.

I couldn't help thinking about all those sweet Christmases past as I walked through those doors at Adelita on Fresno. They've been in business in that location since 1938, same family as far as I know! I thought about my grandmother all those years ago... standing there in that same line, just like I was, preparing her own feast for us when we'd gather in her tiny house on Christmas Eve.

My cousins and I all attended Concordia Lutheran together when we were in elementary school. The children's program would always be on Christmas Eve. We'd attend church together, participating in our respective parts, and then drive the five minutes over to Nana and Grandad's house on Mariposa for all the good food and fun.

Nana never had a tree. She had a plastic, light-up Santa that served as a stand-in. We kids would be sent to the enclosed "back porch" while the adults served up the food and drinks in the kitchen. Accompanying the tamales and chili were sides of chips and dip, Little Debbie brownies, and chocolate covered cherries, Nana's favorite! Do you know that to this day, I serve the same exact things! We've added a few other items in as time's gone on, but the bones of the feast are always the same.

Tradition is important. It bridges the gap between past and present. It helps to solidify what "family" means. Traditions can come in all different shapes and sizes, depending on the family. That's not important. What IS incredibly important is establishing those connections. Our family connects well around the table, so food is a vital part of our tradition. For others it might be watching certain movies together, driving around to see the lights, or staying in your pajamas all day on Christmas.

My very favorite tradition surrounding Christmas, however, has nothing to do with food. It's something we established as a family from the get-go... something my parents established when I was a child. We always worshiped together on Christmas Eve. Before the family gathering, before tamales and chili, and before presents... we were there in the pews... together each Christmas Eve, worshiping the One who was our greatest gift of all.

As a kid, the church (Concordia on Basse) seemed magical with the beautifully lit trees up front and the candles of the Advent wreath glowing. I loved everything about the service, but my very favorite part, and I suppose one of the things I miss most, was when the adult choir would surround the congregation. The lights in the sanctuary would dim, and the choir would stand at the ends of each pew, candles lit, singing, "Jesus, Jesus, rest your head...." It was beautiful and poignant, and brought our thoughts to the single most important thing about Christmas. Hope was born. Salvation had come.

As I said, by necessity, some of the ways we observe our family traditions have morphed a bit, but they remain. We still manage to gather and stuff our faces with those wonderful tamales. More importantly, we still gather, each of us on Christmas Eve to worship our Savior and to celebrate His birth. We may not any longer all be under the same roof, but we all worship together under the same heavens. It's the most important tradition of all; the only one that will carry through to eternity.

It bridges the gap between past and present, and it too defines what it means to be "family."

May you and your precious families enjoy your own special traditions this Christmas, and may we meet under the same heavens this Christmas Eve.