When I think of ritual, I think of tradition. When I think of tradition Christmas automatically comes to mind. I have always loved Christmas time, spending time with my family, putting Christmas lights on the house, decorating the tree, and everyone seems to be more jolly around that time of year. The way Christmas day would go in my family is on Christmas Eve, I remember being excited for what Christmas day would bring. So I would never really get much sleep that night and would always be up early the next morning. Most times when I was younger my mom had to work on Christmas, so my brother and I would be anxiously waiting for her to get home. So Christmas could really start. As soon as she got home we would all open our gifts, we would always start with our stockings which would be filled with candy and all kinds of good stuff. Then we would open our gifts and I remember always being happy with what I had gotten. Most of the rest of the day was spent together as a family appreciating what we have and how good we have it. Of course, part of that day was spent preparing Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner was not like dinner on normal days, we would have a festive table cloth on the table, nice plates put out, some kind of Christmas decoration in the middle, and candles. Our Christmas dinner gave us a chance to appreciate our company and be thankful for our lives and what has been given to us.

My own personal understanding of ritual, is something that you cherish and look forward to every year or however often the ritual is done. Whether it be a tradition that was created by your immediate family or something your family has done for generations. Tradition is meant to bring people together and celebrate life.