04 Dec Christmas with the Chalker Family

This may sound cliche, but Christmas is my favorite time of year. It always has been, and I think a large part of that is due to my mother, and her obsession with the holiday. Like any family, we have our traditions, and that is what I want to talk about today.

In Newfoundland, December 23rd is a holiday called Tibb’s Eve, and it is a time to spend with family and friends, have a beer, and go to a shed party, which is exactly what it sounds like. People gather in a shed, decked out in coats and hats, surrounded by snacks, beer, and a warm fire. There is likely an older man strumming a guitar, or playing an accordion, and everybody joins in with the classic Newfie songs that we all know. I used to hate singing them, but the longer I am away from home, the more I crave the sense of belonging I feel when I hear them.

Next we have December 24th, which to most is just known as Christmas Eve, but it is also my Nannies birthday. Every year my family hosts the party, which means that everyone we hold near and dear comes to our house to celebrate the holidays, as well as my nan. I love this night because it gives me a chance to spend time with my favorite people, eat my favorite snacks, and celebrate the birth of my favorite person – my Nanny. My mother always makes a yule log cake from scratch, and we have spiced rum with eggnog. As the evening comes to a close, my immediate family are the only ones left. We always watch White Christmas with a cup of tea, wearing our newly unwrapped Christmas jammies, and head to bed to await the next morning.

Christmas day will forever be my favorite day in the world. I wake up and spend the entire day with the people that mean the most to me. I couldn’t care less about how many gifts I get, because all that I really want to see is the faces of my family around me as we sit around the Christmas tree with a cup of tea, the haze of sleep still surrounding us.