Christmas Eve

Growing up, I was never really drawn to traditions. I prefer inventive and fresh to repeated and consistent. Many things in our house were constant and repetitive, like dinner together each evening and doing laundry on Mondays. But for some reason, holidays didn't seem to fall into that category. I seem to remember more consistency from when I was a small child, but by the time I was a teenager, every Christmas was different from the one before. Some years, we would have Christmas dinner at our house. Other times, we would go to Grandma and Pappy's. Sometimes one or both of my brothers would come home and other times, we would travel to them.
For many years, it never really bothered me, but as I got into my mid-twenties, I started to itch for my own traditions. I've tried coming up with different rituals, but most things haven't stuck. I decorated my apartment, complete with garland, lights, a tree and even mistletoe three years in a row. But, this year, I just didn't feel like I had time so I didn't. I decided one year that I would go to the National Christmas Tree every year. So far, I'm 2 for 4. Last year, I decided I would start getting a real tree each year at Eastern Market. That lasted one year. It's hard to have consistency when every year, I'm living in a different place and/or spend Christmas in a different way. I have some ideas of ways I can start spending Christmas when I'm staying in DC. I would hang a stocking on the fireplace, get my real tree again, go to Christmas Eve service and then go to the Capitol Christmas tree on Christmas. I would walk down by the skating rink and eventually make my way back up Pennsylvania Ave, stopping at any place that was open for hot chocolate. Then, I'd come home, watch Love Actually and wait for relatives to call me.
But, until then, I do have one tradition that I seem to have held onto for a long time. Every year on Christmas Eve, I sit by myself in front of the tree and read the Christmas Story from Luke 2. After all, that's what we are celebrating. Even I, a girl self-proclaimed as pro-Jesus, can forget that all too fast. Then, I sit and stare at the lights on the tree until they get blurry and I decide to go to bed. In fact, that's pretty much where I am right now.
And so, with this one, lone tradition in my pocket, I'm off to bed. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?