Traditions and Routines
The Holiday Season is officially upon us. For many, increased stress, anxiety, and tension come with the holiday season - it’s enough to make you understand why the Grinch wanted to live alone in the mountains with his dog. But for me, well, I’ve always excitedly awaited the holiday season like the Whos down in Whoville.
I love everything about the holiday season. I love the colder weather, the music, the sparkly lights, the food, the family, and most of all the traditions. From the time I was a very little girl my mom created special and meaningful holiday traditions that I carried on and adapted once I had children of my own. I love the holidays so much I got married the week before Christmas!!
One of my favorite holiday traditions is getting up on Thanksgiving morning to eat cinnamon rolls (I share my recipe below) and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (I’ve never missed a year - and I’ve carried this tradition on to my own children who have also never missed a year). After the parade we get busy with food prep, and every Thanksgiving night we watch Miracle on 34th Street (the original 1947 black and white version). These are things I’ve always looked forward to, for me they signify the official start of the holidays. And now my teenaged kids have become so steeped in this tradition that they’d never let us miss a year. Weeks before Thanksgiving they start checking in……:”are we making cinnamon rolls for breakfast?”, “what time does the parade start?”, “we’re gonna watch Miracle on 34th Street, right?”.
We keep up the traditions the very next day. On the Friday after Thanksgiving we all go out and pick a Christmas Tree (sometimes we cut our own, sometimes we buy from a lot), bring it home, blast the holiday tunes, and turn our home into a warm, inviting, and magical Christmas retreat. I love my home all of the time, but I especially love it during the holidays. The warm glow of lights, the light sent of a fresh cut pine tree, and the heirloom holiday decorations that my mom has passed on to me that remind me of Christmas as a child.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve we make sure to watch all of our favorite holiday movies like, Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (all versions), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Dasher, A Christmas Story, and of course the classic television versions of Frosty The Snowman and Rudolph.
A tradition that Rob and I started with our kids that has become one of my favorites happens on Christmas Eve. Just before we set out milk and cookies for the big guy and head to bed we all dress in our pajamas, make a batch of hot chocolate to go, pile into the car, and drive around listening to Christmas music looking at holiday lights. We’ve found some really amazing light displays over the years!
On Christmas morning I wake up early (I have ever since I was a little girl), sit by the tree and wait for my parents to come over. When I was a child my grandparents were always at my house on Christmas morning before I got up, and they stayed all day! I was always so grateful that I got to stay home in my pajamas all day on Christmas day, unlike most of my friends who had to spend their Christmas days visiting one relative after another. When I had kids I knew I wanted to give them the simple gift of a slow and relaxed Christmas day at home. So, my parents all come over before the girls wake up, we sit by the tree, drink coffee and chat, waiting for the girls to run downstairs to get their presents. After presents we eat breakfast together, and spend the rest of the day watching movies, playing games, reading, and enjoying each others company.
These holiday traditions bring me so much peace and joy. They bring back old memories, foster the creation of new ones, and bind our family together. These holiday traditions are an annual routine that mark the passage of time, celebrate the cycles of nature, and provide a grounding foundation to support a joyful, balanced, and stress free holiday season. My mom didn’t know it at the time, but in creating these traditions for our family she was observing one of āyurveda’s foundational principles - establishing routine. Rhythm and routine bring harmony and balance, and offer structure and support during the destabilizing vata season. These annual traditions support us in the same way that dinacharya (daily routines) support our day to day wellbeing. Strong traditions give us an anchor, they create predictability, and in this way help support healthy functioning of the nervous system, the digestive system, and a number of other physiological processes.
What are some of your family’s holiday traditions? Do you appreciate these traditions? How does it feel to view them from an āyurvedic perspective, as anchors and support systems to stabilize you during this time of year, rather than as obligations? What new traditions can you create that would bring more peace and joy into your holiday season?
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Our Thanksgiving morning traditional breakfast.
Make these the afternoon before, let them rise on the counter for several hours then place in the refrigerator, covered, overnight. Set them out the next morning while the oven preheats.
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
3 tablespoons warm water
1 cup non-dairy milk
2 tbs Earth Balance margarine
3 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 Tbs melted margarine
Mix yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl, stir to dissolve yeast and set aside until the mixture becomes frothy. Heat milk and margarine over low heat until warm, then remove from heat. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg and pinch of cinnamon in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn on mixer briefly to combine dry ingredients. Slowly add milk and margarine mixture, followed by active yeast mixture. Continue to knead in mixer until dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Turn dough out into a well oiled bowl and cover to let rise, about 1 1/2 hours, or until double in size.
Punch down dough and let rest for about 10 minutes. In a small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and roll into a 12x16 rectangle. Brush dough with melted margarine then spread cinnamon sugar mixture on dough, leaving about 1 inch at one end of the dough.
Tightly roll the rectangle, pinching dough as you go (the width of your roll should be 12 inches). When you get to the uncovered end, brush with margarine and press to seal roll. Cut roll into 12 equal parts, and lay them in a well greased baking dish, with as much distance as possible. Cover dish and allow to rise for about 45 minutes, or until all rolls are touching. If using the next morning, cover baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350. Brush tops of rolls with melted margarine and bake for 30 minutes, or until rolls are slightly browned. Allow rolls to cool slightly, then frost while still warm. (I like the icing melted, and the rolls warm. You could cool the rolls completely to keep the icing from melting if you desire.)
Cinnamon Roll Frosting
1/4 cup Earth Balance
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs non-dairy
Beat Earth Balance with a hand mixer until soft and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar in 3 batches, beating in between. Continue to beat margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add extract and soy milk and beat until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.