7 Traditions for Cafe Writing December Project

[This list was written for Cafe Writing's December Project.]


List seven traditions - big or small - that you and your family observe.


1) Potato Latkes and Pork Chops
When Chanukah comes around, that lovely holiday where it is tradition to eat fried foods, at least once during the 8 days we make potato latkes (potato pancakes). I love our homemade applesauce with them. I grew up in a part of the country where a lot of people raised hogs and I had only one Jewish parent. I, too, have a mixed marriage (and I don't keep kosher). We almost always have pork with our potato latkes. Applesauce goes with pork, too.

2) Unwrapping Christmas Presents
When we open Christmas presents at my in-laws' place, everyone takes turns unwrapping presents, one package for one person, then one package by another person, and so on. It can take hours! Especially if there are a lot of clothes, because we pause for the recipient to try on each new garment.

3) Pizza for New Year's Eve
My wife makes homemade pizza dough and we put our own toppings on pizzas to have on New Year's Eve. Some years we have champagne, other years, we stick to soda.

4) Our Own Haggadah for Passover
Years ago I wrote my own haggadah for Passover (this is the book that guides you through the evening of ceremony and prayers for the first two nights of Passover). We continue to use it (or versions of it) every year.

5) Summer Vacation
We spend our summer vacation in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York nearly every year. On the night we get home, we go out to dinner (especially good since there's nothing in the refrigerator since we've been away for 2 weeks).

6) Grilled Pizza
During each year's summer vacation we have personal-sized grilled pizzas one night - homemade dough, lightly cooked on one side, even lighter on the second side, favorite toppings go on the more-cooked side, then back on the grill to finish the second side and melt the cheese. Yum!

7) Lobster for Me
My wife takes me out to have lobster for my birthday every year. She doesn't eat lobster, but she says she gets a kick out of seeing me eat the thing (making a big mess as I do it).

I guess a lot of our traditions have food involved!