For me, Christmas is full of tradition. I’m Italian and grew up with many of the Italian traditions that I continue today.
On Christmas Eve, we eat lots of fish. We usually start with linguine with clam sauce. The second course includes a white fish with lemon and olive oil, calamari, shrimp, smelts, oysters, and mussels. With all of this food, most of the night is spent around the table and you don’t need many Italians to have a party. We love our food and time together.
A break is taken from the table to go to church and then it’s back home for dessert — cannoli, struffoli (honey balls), and Italian three-layer cream pie. We each open one gift and call it a night.
On Christmas Day, we gather again after everyone has opened their gifts and it’s another day of food. It’s not a Christmas Day dinner without antipasto and lasagna. The second course consists of salad and chicken cacciatore.
When we’ve finished dinner, we serve a bowl of fruit and mixed nuts. If that’s not enough food — remember, I said we love our food — we then have coffee and dessert, which is normally a repeat of the dessert from the night before.
Christmas Day is a day of fun and laughter. I look forward to this time of year because of the traditions.
What are your traditions?
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Jennifer Britt 
All of that Italian food sounds amazing!! I too love traditions. I always make my grandmother’s egg soufflé the night before to have for breakfast. We also open one gift on Christmas Eve. I typically cook your very traditonalChristmas meal, but maybe next year I’ll try Italian.;) We always try to one thing each Christmas to change things up a bit. This Christmas we are going to see Star Wars. I can’t wait because Christmas truly is about spending time with those you love. It’s a great day in our home. Have a very merry and blessed Christmas!!
The soufflé sounds delicious. I’ve seen Star Wars and it was fabulous. You’ll love it. Merry Christmas!