ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Question: What is your favorite Christmas, or other holiday, tradition?
“It’s hard to narrow it down to a single tradition. I love taking my three sons to Opryland Hotel every year to see the lights, and reading their ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas pop-up book to them on Christmas Eve is always a favorite, too. Also, I have a small tree that is dedicated to my grandparents, who have all passed. It has ornaments with their pictures, as well as ornaments that they made or that belonged to them. I love having a part of them still spending Christmas with us.” – Brian Casey, ENOVIA Administrator/Developer, BCITS
“Every New Year’s Eve, my husband and I watch the short comedy called ‘Dinner for One.’ It was originally recorded in 1963, in English, by a German TV station, and has become a tradition to watch on New Year’s Eve in Germany. It has now become a tradition for us, and we love sharing it with others. Hopefully, you will enjoy it, too. You can find the short 18-minute comedy on YouTube.” – Tracey Shepherd, Project Controls Scheduler, TOS
“Our family traditions start on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, when we begin nightly Advent readings. Since we are a large family, we draw names for gift exchanges. During the month, we make Lebkuchen (a traditional German holiday cookie) to gift our neighbors and friends. We also enjoy making and decorating traditional gingerbread men. Christmas Eve is very special. We attend a local church candlelit cantata and a bedtime reading from Luke 2. After the kids are in bed, my wife and I exchange our gifts for each other. Christmas morning the kids join us downstairs for gifts then a huge breakfast. The rest of the day is playing and experiencing all our new gifts together. If the weather is nice, we enjoy a family hike then return home to lamb stew and fresh baked bread for dinner. This is an Austin Family Christmas.” – Jason Austin, Chief of Public Affairs, Air Force