Christmas eve day. As a kid in my family, this was one of the most anticipated days of the year, and came with assortment of "rules".
#1) You cannot leave your room until you can see all four corners in natural light
This first rule is presumably to allow more sleep for the grown-ups, and is a precursor to the infamous "Christmas Eve Gift". The basic premise consists of telling someone "Christmas eve gift" in any manner, voice, phone, telegram, or otherwise before they get you. If you were "Got", you are required to procure a small gift for the party that did the getting. Once you have been "Got", you are immune to further "getting". After everyone's up, rule number two comes into play.
#2) A family pancake breakfast is THE Christmas eve morning meal
After eating, my family goes about their day as normal. Some of us visit friends. Some have last-minute shopping to complete. Others just relax. As evening approaches, the gifts referred to earlier are dispersed. These usually consist of some sort of oddball candy and a book. Everyone hangs out for a while enjoying their candy and company until dinner, which leads us to rule three.
#3) Dinner has been, is, and always will be shit-on-a-shingle
My father refers to his biscuits and gravy as shit-on-a-shingle. Everyone sits 'round the table laughing and joking, eating a warm hearty meal. At the end of the day, food, camaraderie, and celebration makeup the traditions of my family's holidays.
