Life

Lynette Fay: It genuinely pays to make the time for some Christmas traditions

The ultimate Christmas soundtrack for me is Charley Pride’s Christmas album – that’s my Mother’s fault. She played it on repeat at Christmas time when we were younger and it has stuck

Lynette Fay

Lynette Fay

Lynette is an award winning presenter and producer, working in television and radio. Hailing from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, she is a weekly columnist with The Irish News.

The greatest tradition of all is the excitement of Christmas Eve and the anticipation of waking up the next day, having received presents from Santy
The greatest tradition of all is the excitement of Christmas Eve and the anticipation of waking up the next day, having received presents from Santy The greatest tradition of all is the excitement of Christmas Eve and the anticipation of waking up the next day, having received presents from Santy

IN PREPARING for Christmas this year, I did something that I haven’t done for a long time: I bought and wrote some Christmas cards and posted them. The cards were to family members. They were gratefully received.

I was delighted with myself for taking the time to do this for others. It’s the first time I have done so in quite a while.

The Christmas tradition of sending and receiving cards is dying out. We now send digital messages and with this I think that we have lost some of the magic of Christmas. Digital messages don’t look so good on a fireplace.

In these final days before Christmas Day, traditions associated with this time of year will inevitably take up a lot of time on radio and television as well as column inches. Here’s my tuppence worth!

I enjoy the days leading up to Christmas more than the day itself, Christmas Eve being my favourite. I never sleep well on Christmas Eve and there’s always so much to do on Christmas Day, so once dinner is served and eaten I am one of those sad people who just wants to go to sleep.

Societal traditions have been handed down from generation to generation. Some have died out, some have stood the test of time. We also create our own as we go along. They may not be universal, but within a family/friendship unit, these are special happenings for this time of year.

I’m not a total stickler for tradition but there are a few things that I look forward to each Christmas. A post-midnight Mass feast of lamb fresh from the oven with mint sauce on Christmas Eve is one thing, calling to my friend’s house to see what Santy has delivered the night before is another. (Yes, I purposely wrote SantY because I meant it, that is what he has always been called in our house.) A nice walk after dinner is always good if the weather permits it. Helps with the cabin fever.

I remember as a child, that I really disliked the fact that the adults all seemed very tired after dinner – when we were still full of energy, eager to show off our new toys. I now understand the tiredness.

There has been much talk over the last few weeks of favourite Christmas games, films, songs, food. There was a time when I would not have missed the Top of the Pops Christmas Special. Now I’m happy to re-watch The Royle Family and Father Ted Christmas Specials, despite knowing the dialogue of both off by heart

Films – for some reason my two favourite films to watch at Christmas are Labyrinth and The Princess Bride. Before you shake your heads, I know that these aren’t Christmas-themed films but for some reason I love to watch them at this time of year. Perhaps the fantasy of the stories brings me back to my childhood.

The ultimate Christmas soundtrack for me is Charley Pride’s Christmas album – that’s my Mother’s fault. She played it on repeat at Christmas time when we were younger and it has stuck. In her defence, and mine, there are a few catchy numbers on there.

We’re not great on games in our house, but I’m going to try to rectify that this year and create some new traditions. Suggestions welcome and wish me luck.

Traditions just won’t be the same in many households this year. Many face into the days of Christmas grieving the loss of a loved one, many will spend Christmas alone, others will grieve for the family they didn’t or don’t have.

Whatever it is about this time of year, as much as we give and receive gifts and encourage goodwill to all, the coming days can highlight what is missing or lacking in our lives.

The magic of Christmas lies with the little ones, and the greatest tradition of all is the excitement of Christmas Eve and the anticipation of waking up the next day, having received presents from Santy – if you have been good, of course.

However you’re spending this Christmas, whatever is going on in your life, I hope that you can have a pleasant few days. Guím Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi mhaise oraibh uilig. A very happy Christmas to you all.