I like to create an Advent Calendar every year so we can count down the days from December 1st through 25th. I started this tradition in 2020 and have continued it every year since. The first year I had different things written on pieces of paper folded in origami shapes--each day was something different! Some days it was a small gift (like stickers), some days it was a new recipe to try (like golden milk eggnog), and some days it was a task to accomplish (like decorating the tree). In 2021 the calendar was focused on "getting in the Christmas spirit" and had a different question to answer each day. The questions were things like: What's your favorite and least favorite Christmas carol, what is a Christmas memory that involves an animal, and what's the most memorable Christmas gift you've ever given. This year each day is a photo challenge--you have a color and an adjective and have to take a picture of something fitting that description. The pictures are placed together in a grid and at the end all the photos will come together to create one large mosaic picture. Who knows what I'll come up with for next year! I'm thinking a scavenger hunt of some sort...
My favorite tradition while growing up was pulling the seats out of our family van, piling in blankets and people, and driving around singing carols about Christ while we looked at the lights. The whole experience helped us focus on the saving light that came into the world when Jesus Christ was born. 
I cherish that time with my parents and siblings.
We'd watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve - the plus of my dad's laughter during the movie made it even better. I've added The Muppet Christmas Carol to that with my own household. I find the music and message very uplifting.
Lastly, unlike some households I'm aware of where the kids have to wait for parents to finish sleeping in so the kids could saunter down the stairs in an organized procession (video/picture purposes), my parents let the excitement of the day have its sway - whoever woke up first could get everybody else and we'd open presents. Wake-up times averaged a range between 1-4 AM. 🤪
As part of the holiday tradition, I like to watch how the stores are decorated with shiny lights and tall Christmas trees that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling. The one tradition that I admire the most while staying away from family is meeting all your near and dear ones.
The holiday feasts with loved ones! 
Christmas trees are THE most treasured tradition that I do every year. We always have a "star-of-the-show" tree adorned with family and heirloom ornaments -- it's scrappy, but full of love and memories. Both of my children now have their own 5' trees in their rooms that they decorate (and re-decorate lol). I love catching sight of a sparkling tree as I walk by a room!
Besides celebrating with my immediate family one of my favorite holiday traditions is watching movies like Elf and Home Alone.
My favourite Finnish celebration has been the Independence day. It is celebrated on December 6th (another one was just yesterday).
Traditional way of celebrating includes:
Lighting 2 white and blue (in colours of the national flag) candles in the window in the evening. They symbolise home and fatherland.
Watching the Unknown Soldier movie
Watching the Presidential Independence day Reception "Linnan juhlat" (and surely gossiping who wore what 
)
One of our favorite holiday traditions is tree shopping and an annual game of hide-and-go-seek for the kids when they should be helping pick out a tree. Now that they are older they still don't help us pick and still play a little hide-and-seek, everyone watches the tree get marginally secured to the roof rack and then we head home, fingers-crossed on every sharp turn, to find out we picked too tall a tree, again.
Jaarlijks kook ik voor mijn studentenjaarclub en hun aanhang en maak een heerlijke kerstmenu.
Watching 'Home Alone' and eating a lot of yummy food along with friends and family is one thing that I really look forward to every Christmas!
My dad is great at keeping with the holiday spirit. He's a really active member in the business community in my hometown, and every year they rents out a large theater. Next, they find families who might be struggling financially during the holidays and invite them to a free movie with a visit from Santa. My dad wires Santa up with a microphone, and while the movie plays, everyone runs around town buying anything the kids wished Santa for. When the movie ends, the viewers emerge to find a huge pile of presents addressed to them!
My favorite tradition is making homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch for our family to eat Christmas morning as we open presents. My four kiddos love it and always double check each December to make sure I don't forget to make them.
As I've gotten older and families have blended and spread out it has been harder to have too many Christmas traditions. With a split household, we never consistently have the children for any holidays - only if they fall on our "days." And then sometimes we give them up for most of the day if they want to spend it at church with their grandparents (a different religion than I grew up in). But one thing that I can always do is my Advent Calendar. It comes out every year and was made by my grandmother. She hand sewed the whole thing. I sent her a picture Dec 1 this year and it "made her day" to know I was thinking about her and still using the calendar she made me as a baby.
Oh gosh, we have lots of things we do during the holidays every year...which I suppose makes them traditions!
- Decorating the house with the kids on the day after Thanksgiving. Our Christmas tree is full of ornaments that "mean something" to us (like Mickey ears for the year we went to Disney or a violin for the year my daughter started playing). It's not a designer tree - and in fact is pretty chaotic - but pulling each ornament out of the box is a trip down memory lane and looking at them all season makes me ridiculously happy.
- Christmas at the Zoo - wandering around looking at the beautifully decorated zoo, popping into the indoor exhibits to keep warm
- Christmas on the Prairie - I live virtually across the street from a living history museum. At Christmas, you can wander through the settlement and discover how the folks in the 1800s would have celebrated. So neat.
- An evening of wrapping with my husband - we make a pot of spiced wine, put on a Christmas movie after the kids are in bed, and wrap wrap wrap wrap wrap until we're done!
- Coffee cake on Christmas morning - this one is a carryover from my childhood; delicious, nostalgic for me, comforting, and easy for mom to eat while she's in the chaos of Christmas morning!
I love the Dec holiday shutdown tradition my company has adhered to for quite some time . We ( the whole company globally ( 22+K strong) except essential to keep the lights ) get a full week off (sometimes more depending on the day Christmas falls). It's so refreshing to not stress about the number of emails or requests in your inbox while away since almost everyone is away, so no one is emailing anyone for anything. Most employees come back from the break refreshed and ready to tackle the new FY23 challenges present and coming .
Hello!
In India, we celebrate Diwali and people do wait for it whole year.
A lot of traditions like shopping , making Rangolis, meeting your neighbors and relatives whom you have not met for a long time as you are living out of town, eating a lot of SWEETS!!! and yes eagerly looking out for different dishes that going to be served as we hop from one house to another. I also do admire the Christmas time here, as we see beautiful decorations on shops, malls and i have this tradition from last 2 years that i watch every new Christmas movie on Netflix in Dec. I am obsessed about this and my family keep sending me recommendations if i have missed any movie. Just completed Scrooge and 48 Christmas wishes this week.
I have no idea how this became a tradition in my family, but somehow after Christmas dinner, around mid-afternoon we end up singing and dancing around to Feliz Navidad blasting out the speakers and it never gets old - we still kill ourselves laughing every time!
I just love to spend this time around with my Family and Friends. We plan a dinner on the Christmas Eve with some desserts and gifts. We also have some fun games and Carol singing at our offices.
Overall a great week before we start with the New Year.
Watching A Christmas Story with the family.
The holy month of Ramadan alternates between fasting and feasting. 30 days when the worlds best foods brought to the table. We really look forward to exchanging our food with neighbors, to multiply our table-spread, as also share our bounties with the poor and needy. To top it off, we have the Eid day to signify end of the month. What an amazing season!
Favorite "old" tradition: singing Chanukah songs and dancing after we light the menorah each night
Favorite "new" tradition: Giving the gift of charity on night (of the eight) where each family member picks their favorite philanthropy and we make a contribution as a family.
I love making memories with my kids. Watching movies like Elf, baking cookies, and helping out those more in need.
