Simplicity and Normalcy

Manuel Calana Vega, Staff Writer

My family doesn’t really have any unique traditions to ourselves. We usually do different things every year but most of those things are really special because it’s normal stuff like going out to eat or showing visiting relatives the state. The closest thing my family has to a tradition is a big dinner every year on Christmas Eve. Who hosts it changes every year although it is usually one of our grandmas or great aunts. I have a very large family so sometimes we have upwards to 20 people in one house at a time. 

My family is really loud so I can usually hear everybody’s conversations at all times. They mostly talk about sports, what’s happening in the family, and politics. I just ignore most of those conversations and go to one of the corners of the house to relax and play games. Sometimes I’m joined by my cousin who I play games with a lot but most of the time it’s just me. Although the house and who hosts the dinner changes every year, the food is always very good. My family doesn’t have any strict recipes or signature dishes that are always prepared, we mostly eat different food every year though there is always rice. I don’t eat a lot of different things myself so I usually stick to rice and meat. 

Afterwards we go home and I sleep until Christmas morning. And that’s about it. Not too much unique and great like other families have but the normalcy is nice and I don’t have to worry about much. I like the simplicity behind our traditions and I get to enjoy some pretty good food from my grandma and relatives. I also like the time spent with my family and although I hardly show it I am genuinely happy during the holidays.