I think Einstein was right about insanity.

I don't know. Many of our traditions have gone by the wayside due to diabetes. We used to have ribbon candy. Some have gone by the wayside because they aren't special any more. Fruit in a stocking was traditon, but oranges and bananas are so common place now that we don't bother. We started new traditons like shrimp as an appetizer and lots of cheese. Kinds we normally can't afford, but we splurge for the holidays. Fruit salad now has equal in it. I don't need any sweetener at all. We used to always put pineapple on ham, but I have a brother who gets horrible cold sores if he eats pineapple, so if he comes, we can't have pineapple. I'd like to go back to the tradtion of meat pie the night before Christmas. That's one that was lost a long time ago in my family. But then a vegetarian would probably show up.

I always wondered about that too. Like fruit cake. Most people don't like fruit cake, but everyone thinks that it's a great gift to give to people. Where I come from, we say forget tradition, and have anything and everything that you think that people might like, olives, artichokes, pepperoni, sausages (never forget sausage), different types of cheeses, sweet potatoes, yams, the green bean dish with onions, corn, ham, turkey, tamales, posole, menudo, grilled bell peppers (a mixture of red, green, and yellow bell peppers with olive oil and they are grilled)... okay it's pretty much a combination of Italian food, Mexican food, possibly Filipino food, American food, Irish food, Scottish food, German food and English food. People make anything that they like and bring it. I have a big multicultural family. This year, we were thinking of bringing lemon cakes and chocolate chip cookies (my grandmother bakes them and they really are the best because we grow our own lemons and add them to the lemon cake mix). We are even thinking of bring over tamales if we can get a hold of some. Tamales make everything better. You all need to break some of that tradition and start adding things to it. Go nuts! Have people bring in what they love.

Hi... It ain't insanity my friend.. These people, these followers of the tradition, we need to understand that they have been raised like that... They have grown up on those principles and so they will behave like that... So, don't get irate with them.. :) Take care..

Maybe you could add up how much money she's wasted buying Brussels sprout and Christmas pudding and suggest she should spend her money more wisely, or better yet, save it. Tell her that kind of tradition is over rated.

same like us too we type here over and over hoping something different would happen

Hi hvedra: It's funny how people could make things more complicated that how they really are. At least in my house, and in my family case, we just prepare the things that we love to eat on Christmas Eve and not just because "it's tradition". I mean, knowing each other better we can be happier and enjoy the day with our families which is basically the spirit of Christmas. ALVARO

Different people will place different priority on the traditional aspects of Christmas. Of course we are all interested in the food available - we want plenty of the foods we like the most. By the way, I do like brussel spouts. I am not familiar with the Christmas pudding foods.

Yes, I know what you mean. It isn't only about Xmas dinners, but about other things also. Many families get stuck together with relatives in the same houses and they seem to do it year after year, and there seems to another tradition - a tradition they probably do not want but keep playing through over and over... The tradition of the family row! And then it's on top of travelling miles and miles in what must be the worst time of year for weather contions.. It's because it's Xmas.. I didn't realizing that arguing and fighting could be so enjoyable and worth the effort! _Derek

Traditions are deep seated in memories. And then reality hits and no one has had any of the beans or pudding and makes a person mad. Human nature is something that has many fassets and some are very hard to understand. Without certain things a situation is just not right.

That has become our tradition. We must try to understand more and change them as necessary. What we do today will become the tradition of our next generation. So we must think about the generations and choose. We should decide whether to be blind-followers or far-seers.