Happy 1st December and Merry Christmas to all! I've been eagerly waiting and waiting for this day to come because if you hadn't already guessed, Christmas is my favourite time of year! Everybody has their reasons for however they feel about this time of year and if you're not a fan, then I'd advise turning away because this post is all about why I love Christmas as much as I do.
Growing up my whole family made a huge song and dance about Christmas. I know for a fact that I get my obsession from my Mum and I'm very grateful for it because it truly is a part of who I am. I was raised in a Catholic family and although I don't practise or assign myself to any particular religion now I still hold a lot of the values that I learnt as a child, to how I act as an adult. It taught me to be grateful, not to disrespect anybody's beliefs about the holiday season, and to be kind to all. This is what Christmas is all about.
I don't know about other families but in ours, we had one person who taught and guided us all. That was my Granddad. He has always been the most important person in my life. Whenever I make a big life choice, or reflect on my life I always think to how he would've handled the situation and how he would guide me to the right path. He's always in our hearts and, having such a generous, selfless person in my life has always helped to feel safe. Sadly he passed away many years ago, but he's still my idol and a man I still look to for guidance. Now that's enough with the sap story.
As a little girl, Christmas at Granddads was always a massive deal. It would last all month long and everyone who visited left with the festive spirit echoed in their hearts. Candles burning, food cooking, Christmas music playing. The whole song and dance. It was always magical. There would always be atleast 30 people in the house at once. I couldn't seem to find any photos of us all together at the table but I think they may have been be too special to share.
Christmas Eve was always my favourite. As I said earlier, I grew up in a practising Catholic family and the whole month of December would revolve around this. I have some wonderful memories of mass in December and how jolly and festive it would be. Christmas Eve mass was no different. Usually we would all gather at Granddad's for food and festivities before the service. Fire burning, food flowing, laughter bubbling. And this would include, without fail, watching It's A Wonderful Life. To this day this is still my favourite Christmas movie. It has everything you could ever want. I still can't watch this movie without getting emotional.
Nowadays, even though he's gone, he still plays a massive part in everyone's life. Especially at Christmas. Growing up, most years we would gather at a relatives house for food and festivities and again, without fail, all squish onto the sofa to watch It's A Wonderful Life. Then, at around 11pm we would all trudge in the freezing cold to Church for the Midnight Mass service. Unfortunately now that I've moved out, and moved counties, we all haven't been in my hometown at the same time for years. It makes me sad to think that that era of my life is probably at an end, and although i'm incredibly grateful to my in-laws for the chance, again this year I won't be there to share in the festivities.
I love my family. And that is ultimately what Christmas means to me. Sharing in all the joy with my family and friends. Sharing in the years laughs, woes and celebrations. Putting all grudges and gripes aside for the time that you're together. No matter your religious beliefs, I think we can all agree it truly is a magical time. I will always cherish those memories, each and every Christmas was phenomenal and each one has it's own specific set of emotions. And now that me and Ryan are moved out and settling into our own home, maybe next Christmas we'll be able to start making our own memories and traditions.
I really hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Do you have any Christmas traditions that you cherish? Let me know in the comments! And remember every day leading up to Christmas I'm posting something festive-themed! Be sure to check out my social media links below and follow me on bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!
Merry Christmas!
XO
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