"Traditions keep us connected..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Day)

"Guest-blogger Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the

 ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years..." Today she talks about  the traditions
of her Jewish family at the Christmas time of year... Happy New Year! Enjoy...  ;D)

Traditions keep us connected

All through the year we celebrate holidays with our traditions we have continued through the years; as we age and our families change size and location, these can morph into new traditions.  

Ever since I was a small child old enough to enjoy a movie on the big screen, our family would always choose a family movie to attend on Christmas day; while  many  of our non Jewish friends were opening up their gifts around the tree, we were searching for the perfect movie to go to.  

My immediate family would always go at that age and at times we would include other family members if they were available. When I got married we continued the tradition of attending a movie and would always default to a Chinese dinner afterwards since at that time those were the only restaurants open on Christmas day. As the years went by, we had children that would join in as well as friends.

  Over the last few years there have been more restaurants that have opened up such as Friday’s chain etc.  I think the idea caught on that it was a shoe in for a packed restaurant this day of the year and a way to ring up a ton of sales.  

It has also become a social gathering at the movies as we always run into people we know with the same idea; movie and Chinese afterwards.

It’s a nice way to spend the day relaxing, enjoying others company and filling up on Chinese food.  We have no tree to dispose of, and no mess to clean up, just a fun way to spend the day and tomorrow its back to work as usual.  

So…. belated merry Christmas to all our friends celebrating and happy new year to all!! 

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...