Christmas Celebration 2015

The creche without the baby Jesus.
Right: The tray of cheeses and other things to grill.
The boiled potatoes.
Below: The grill for melting the cheese 

It is Christmas Eve, and as per our tradition, my family will gather to celebrate together. Our meal consists of Raclette, a dish from Switzerland where melted cheese is poured over boiled potatoes and eaten with pickles, olives, and other relishes.

We begin the evening by attending a Christmas Eve service at a local church, then we return home for the repast. Our Christmas is a mixture of Swiss, Mexican and US American customs, representing the three regions of the world where at least one of us was born. 

The creche, which has been up since the beginning of Advent, does not have the Infant Jesus in the manger. In Mexico, most families wait to put the baby Jesus in the manger until midnight on Christmas Eve, so we do it as well as close to midnight as possible.

When he was yet a child, my son wondered why the Wise Men were at the scene

of the birth, if they had to travel from afar to get there. So he began the tradition of placing the Magi in the farthest corner of our house and moving them a little closer each day during Advent until they reached the manger on January 6 when the church celebrates Epiphany. 

Before beginning our celebration, we light the real candles that we put on our tree. This tradition comes from Switzerland. We found some electric facsimiles to reduce the danger, but we still use a number of real candles. 

Real candles deck the tree.

Traditionally, we read the Luke 2 passage about the birth of Jesus in three different languages; English, Spanish and German, and listen to carols in the three languages as well.

After the readings and a prayer, we open our gifts. The last thing we do before we go to bed is to place the baby in the manger and proclaim, as they do in Mexico: "the God-child has come." 

We wish you a very Merry Christmas,

The Clymer family