Organizations, individuals, and families establish rituals that give meaning to holidays. For instance, when our family puts up and decorates the Christmas tree every December, Christmas music must be playing on the boom box. After we open gifts on Christmas Eve, the family sits around tables to share all sorts of hot and cold appetizers and other snacks and drinks while playing Scrabble or putting together jigsaw puzzles. Another ritual is that thank-you notes for opened Christmas gifts are written that night.

What are some of the rituals you share with coworkers or family members on various holidays?

We also open presents on Christmas eve. Our family has kind of mixed the German traditions with a bit of the Canadian ones.

In Germany St. Nick comes on Dec 6. You place your boot outside your door and if you're good you get chocolates and other treats, if you're bad you get sticks or coal.

Kristkind (the christ child) comes on Christmas eve, usually while everyone's away at church (which we don't do). In order for Kristkind to come to our house, hubby usually takes the kids for a walk around the block while I pretend to get supper ready. They come back and surprise, surprise, Kristkind was here while I was busy in the kitchen. I didn't hear a thing ::wink, wink::

Of course there's always a present from Santa under the tree Christmas morning.

Xmas eve, after the kids are in bed, hubby and I sit down by the fire place and watch White Christmas on DVD. I drink egg nog, he drinks pepsi (not at all festive).

I love Christmas time. Now I've got the spirit. Thanks Wondergirl. :)

Our Irish-Catholic family primarily celebrated Christmas Eve as well. Years ago people fasted prior to mass in the Catholic faith, and the family tradition began to not eat until after midnight mass and then have a middle-of-the-night feast on return from church - primarily food that is common in Ireland such as leg of lamb and sea food - herring, smoked fish, oyster stew and things of that nature.

In more recent generations, we have maintained the tradition of getting together on Christmas Eve, but we now eat before midnight mass, which we attend in a huge family group. We open gifts within the more immediate family before the extended family arrive, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and we typically have lobster bisque and homemade cheddar bisquits for our lunch, with a glass of champagne as we "kids" are all now adults.

We have a new tradition of sleeping very late on Christmas Day, and going to a movie as a family in the afternoon - after which time we grill (yes, in the cold) a great dinner- usually something a little better than usual fare like salmon, or filet of beef or whole pork tenderloins or duck breast or something else really great. Food is a big part of our celebrations but family is bigger - the huge extended family for our big party, and the next day, more intimate, relaxed time together in our jeans, just eating unbelievable food and relaxing with great movies.

It used to be a tradition for us as well to go the weekend prior to Christmas to have lunch in the Walnut Room at Marshall Field's State Street in Chicago. We'd take the train down, spend the morning taking in all the holiday shop windows, do some last minute shopping, have lunch, then we'd do some more shopping. Sometimes we hung around for a late pizza dinner at one of Chicago's famous spots like Lou Malnatti's or the original Uno's.

As kids, we did this lunch after going to my grandfather's pen shop on State Street to watch the Christmas parade from his second floor office windows on the street below - great view for kids, and as we were standing on his radiator covers, we were really warm!