The holiday season

Chatterbox: Down to Earth

The holiday season

The holiday season is basically upon us!

*tosses menorah and Christmas tree shaped confetti*

I'm really excited for Channukah. (Or Hanukkah. However you spell it.) I wait ALL YEAR for latkes and gelt and dreidels and lighting the menorah and 

I also celebrate Christmas, but I like Channukah more. A lot of my family on my mom's side is Christian, though, so we do it mostly to connect with them. Traditions and whatnot.

Basically, we do Channukah but have a Christmas tree and get presents on the 25th from relatives. My parents only give my brother and me gifts on the eight nights of Channukah, but our multitude of relations are only too happy to supply...

We usually have family in on Christmas, and this year four of my aunts and uncles plus some cousins are dropping by. We're all pretty close in age, and it's always fun running around, playing cards, and building elaborate pillow forts.

Also, food! My mom likes... experimenting with traditional holiday dishes, mostly by adding a Vietnamese twist. Last year we had barbecued spare ribs. You think you've had good spare ribs? Ever had them the Vietnamese way, fresh-grilled and piping hot, with spicy-sweet sauce and sharp green onions and a side of crazy-juicy watermelon?

If you have, please let's obsess over them together. 

What holidays to you guys celebrate? Special traditions? Are you super-insane excited like moi?

submitted by Abigail S., age 12, Nose in a Book
(December 18, 2016 - 7:27 pm)

back to the Down to Earth

YES I'M SUPER-INSANE EXCITED LIKE TOI! (That's you in French :D)

Special traditions...well I spoke about gingerbread mixed and neighborhood lights on Leeli's Christmas thread, but here I'll put something special my family does that's unique to our culture.

The past two years we've invited relatives over for a New Mexican Christmas Eve dinner. My mom is from New Mexico. They have their own kind of Hispanic food, different from Mexican or Tex-Mex or Spanish. Everyone pitches in to cook it: my mom, my dad, my little brother, and me.

We make enchiladas (some with green chili and some with red), three types of tamales (a tamale is a corn husk stuffed with meat or vegetables and masa which is mashed up corn), chili, tacos, posole (it's like super puffy corn, kind of), and tortillas. And biscochitos, a type of cookie either cinnamon, sugar, and anise. We make normal cookies too--chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. 

My mouth waters just thinking of all of this food! 

submitted by Owlgirl, age 13, Texas
(December 18, 2016 - 11:53 pm)

Food and family: In my opinion, the greatest things about the holidays. *sighs happily*

Wow, all that sounds amazing! I've never had biscochitos, but they sound delicious.Tamales are— in my opinion— way better than tacos and burritos and yet don't get have the press! My family sometimes goes to the local farmers' market and there's this great little booth that sells made-right-there tamales. So. Good. *drools*

submitted by Abigail S., age 12, Nose in a Book
(December 19, 2016 - 12:43 am)

IM SUPER INSANELY EXITED AND I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN HOLD IT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We don't celebrate Hanukkah, we celebrate Christmas, but they're both great! I have a Christmas Thread in CaC that I probably should have put here because if all the real-life stuff, but what ev's. 

submitted by Leeli
(December 19, 2016 - 9:11 am)

I celebrate Hannakah, and I am SO EXCITED!!!! Hannakah is SO much fun, and I can't wait! I think it's funny that it starts the same night as Christmas! I love holidays!

submitted by Cockleburr
(December 19, 2016 - 5:43 pm)