If there was any doubt in the matter of Neil Gaiman being a good egg, it was dashed a while ago when he mentioned that an age-old tradition can be instantly instigated in a family if it is done once with the proper conviction.
This is precisely how many of our family’s traditions have come about. For example, at some point in my relatively early teen years, we had pizza for dinner on Christmas Eve. The next year we had it again, because it was Tradition (“But we ALWAYS have pizza on Christmas Eve!”). And now, twentyish years later, it really *is* Tradition. I think in the past two decades I’ve only not had pizza on Christmas Eve once or twice, and I’ve bemoaned the lack.
The thing about marrying a chef, though, means that he’s not especially satisfied with *ordering* pizza. It came as quite a surprise to us when he, having accepted the Pizza Tradition as wrote, *made* pizza for dinner. (I was, mind you, equally surprised the time I said, wistfully, that I’d like to have tacos for my birthday, and Ted put together an entire Mexican feast for dinner. Tacos, enchiladas, refried beans, and something else I can’t remember right now. We were all stunned. :))
So everybody’s coming down for Christmas, and I’m making dough, and in a couple of hours, Ted will make the Traditional Christmas Eve Pizza Dinner, and it will all be wonderful.
I love my family. :)
Thin crust, thick, or deep dish?
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and happy one year (give or take a few days)in Ireland.
I think one may up deep dish, ’cause we only have 2 cookie sheets; the third will be baked in a roasting pan. So that’ll probably be deep dish. Thinnish crust for the other two, I hope, as that’s my favorite! :)
Merry Christmas! :)
Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you, too!
Traditions are cool that way – if you look at them headlong, they’re nearly infinite; if you go at them sideways, they might not stretch back as far as you would think.
Pizza is a good tradition. For us, it’s stuffed shells on Christmas Eve. I’m looking into the possibility of a traditional Christmas goose for next year – never had one! =)
I married into the “Halloween Lasagna” tradition. It’s Sick and Wrong(tm). Halloween is about candy. Lasagna is not candy. Q.E.D.
If Ted has a brother, can I have him? Happy Holidays!
Awwwww . . . give my love and holiday best to the Ted and the rest of the family that remembers me. :)
We have a tradition of going out to our local Chinese/Malaysian restaurant on Christmas Eve. At least, it’s a tradition now – we just got back from the second occasion – so I agree with Neil.
Lovely family. Speaking of which, that icon makes me so nostalgic, my grandfather always wore a hat like that.
A continued merry christmas to you all :)
Our Christmas day tradition (which we’ve been doing for probably 5 years now) is to go for a nice hike, pig out on cheap Chinese food (though any Asian cuisine is fair game), and then go watch a movie. It’s excellent, even if some of the hikes have been very chilly. I’m just waiting for the year we’ll need snowshoes, but it hasn’t happened yet.
I like that Fiddler on the Roof song! Have a great christmas! And Christmas eve pizza!
I read somewhere that Pizza is tradition in most American households on Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving Eve.
My family on the other had celebrated with a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner that consists of 12-14 special dishes, with many of them eaten in a specific order. Following dinner would usually be a trip to midnight mass and then bed.
Having Christmas by myself this year, I didn’t go all out on the traditional dinner…I had leftover pizza. ;-P