Life Thru the Macro: Traditions...

The sweet man that married Nate and I gave us quite a wonderful list of marital advice; I wished that we could have written everything down. One thing in particular has stuck in my mind: he told us that now is the time for us to start writing our own "books"... with our own traditions, memories, mistakes, travels, friends, etc.

I thought that this was fantastic advice and Nate and I have had a blast making up our own traditions [pina coladas with Thanksgiving Dinner] and combining our favorite traditions from each of our families. One that has stuck, coming from Nate's side of the family, is to have what they call, the 'Jerusalem Dinner' Christmas Eve. Since Nate and I were in Mexico on Christmas Eve, we had our Jerusalem Dinner right when we got home. It consists of foods that we assume would have been eaten by those in the Middle East during Christ's life. Our favorite items include: Naan bread [or Pita], crackers with assorted cheeses [Havarti, Gouda, Goat], Humus, Olives, Tapinade, Dried Fruits, Figs, Dates, Nuts [Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds] and Grape Juice.

This is one of Nate's favorite meals of the year. It really helps us remember the meaning of Christmas. I LOVE traditions in general... they seem to help us define our family culture and bind us together in beliefs, customs and memories.