Handing down Christmas traditions to our children and grandchildren is one way to stay connected to our ethnic roots and also to take us back to our own childhood and the joy we experienced.

Maryellen Kostilnik of Hampton celebrates Christmas with her granddaughters Kate Kostilnik (left) and Amy Kostilnik

By Barbara A. Killmyer

In the popular play and movie Fiddler on the Roof, the main character sings a song about the part tradition plays in our lives. Whether it is about religion, holidays, birthdays, or any other important event, we are sure to include something that involves a tradition.

The holiday that is most associated with tradition is Christmas. When children are grown and have families of their own, it is the traditions they carry on that take them back to their own childhood.

So many of the customs we use as part of our celebrations stem from an ethnic background.

In Poland, Christmas is usually referred to as Gwiazdka, which means Little Star. On Christmas Eve, a special rice wafer called oplatki is broken and the pieces are shared by all. This is followed by a twelve-course meal, one course for each of the apostles. An extra place is always set at the table in case a stranger or the Holy Spirit should appear to share the meal.

In Italy, the season lasts for three weeks, beginning eight days before Christmas when children go from house to house reciting holiday poems and singing. Gifts are not exchanged until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany.

In some homes in Germany, a room is locked before Christmas. On Christmas Eve the children go to bed but Maryellen Kostilnik of Hampton celebrates Chrsitmas with her granddaughters Kate Kostilnik (left) and Amy Kostilnik are awakened at midnight by their parents and taken to the locked room. The door is opened and they see the tree all lit up, with piles of parcels on little tables.

There are many more ethnic traditions handed down through families, some with variations of the original. My friend, Jean Sieber, says that in her parents' home, no one was permitted to go downstairs on Christmas Eve until her father went to make sure Santa had gone. Jean said that there is a ten year difference between her and her younger brother so she was twenty years old and still had to wait upstairs for the all-clear from her father so that her younger brother could enjoy the family tradition, which was a form of the German tradition of the locked room.

Another tradition in Jean’s house, one that has been handed down to her grandchildren, is that on Christmas day each person receives a cupcake with a candle on it and all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

My parents would attend Midnight Mass at St. Mary’s church in Sharpsburg, after which they would come home to enjoy ham sandwiches, potato salad, cookies and many other goodies. I love ham, especially on sandwiches, but I don’t think the taste of it the rest of the year can compare to that Christmas Eve sandwich.

Handing down Christmas traditions to our children and grandchildren is one way to stay connected to our ethnic roots and also to take us back to our own childhood and the joy we experienced. It was not only the gifts we received that made the holiday so special, but it was the happiness and excitement of everyone with whom we came into contact.

May you once more experience the joy of the season and spread that special joy to everyone you meet.

Merry Christmas.

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