Countdown to Christmas - Photo Challenge - Day 24:TRADITION

Is tradition built around Christmas or is Christmas built around tradition?  

A tradition is defined as a custom or belief passed on from one generation to the next.

In the case of my family, tradition seems to be defined as a certain food item being associated with specific times of year and passed around the table from one generation to the next.

Christmas morning was more than just presents and knowing that it was the one morning of the year when we would potentially all get along with each other for a few hours.  It was also the once a year Christmas Tree Bread, Eggnog, fresh squeezed orange juice, and bacon...a combination you have to taste to appreciate.  And we brought out the fancy glass plates with the cup ring built in upon which to dine.  

For years, the Christmas Tree Bread was a breakfast pastry that I tried to just get the trunk part of the tree that didn't have any of the fruited-nut filling and the majority of the frosting.  But as I got older, I became quite fond of the entire ensemble taking a larger fruit-filled piece that filled more of the leaf-shaped glass dish.

I did make the Christmas Tree Bread a couple different times after moving out on my own.  But since I was the only one that actually liked it, I have given that traditional food over for something we all enjoy like scones or caramel rolls to go with the eggnog and bacon.  

For our annual Doppa i Gryta event today, my cousin Janet makes a moist white cake in the shape of a Christmas Tree frosted with the richest, creamiest frosting and decorated with red and green m&m's.  The whole family looks forward to this once a year treat, and I even got to take some home!

Traditions will come and go and change over the years, but the breaking of bread with family should remain.