tra·di·tion | \ trə-ˈdi-shən
noun
1. the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the act of being passed on in this way.
Example: a Chewbacca Christmas ornament
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Each year, our Christmas tree is topped with a six inch Star Wars Chewbacca ornament, the most unlikely tradition for this holiday season.
In 2010, my husband and I lived in a small apartment in the middle of Los Angeles. It was our first Christmas together as a married couple.
On our tiny kitchen table, the one that was only big enough to fit the two of us, we put up a two-foot Christmas tree. At the beginning of the holiday season, my mother-in-law had sent a box of my husband’s childhood Christmas ornaments. As we decorated our miniature tree, he pulled out each one, nostalgia flooding back to him.
When we got to the last ornament, my husband smiled with childlike glee in his eyes as he opened the box containing his Chewbacca. This ornament was probably from the 80s, made out of plastic and featured the classic Star Wars character holding a gun.
The loving newlywed wife that I was, obliged and let him put Chewie on the top of the tree, not really having many other options but secretly hoping that our future held many large fir trees with a giant star or beautiful angel decorating the tops.
But, year after year, it is Chewbacca that finds his way to the top of our annual tree. Maybe it is just a tradition I can’t let go of because of that memory of our first Christmas together, two young kids madly in love needing only each other to find joy that holiday season or maybe it’s simply because I am outnumbered in a house with 4 boys.
Each year I debate whether we should switch to something more classic or “normal,” but it is Chewie, gun and all, that tops our tree. Proportionally he is the absolute wrong choice. Our living room can now hold a 7-foot tree, one suited for a very large tree topper, but this 6 inch ornament reins supreme and has proven to hold his own amidst big bows and twinkling lights.
Chewbacca has been with us as we moved from our tiny apartment, to our first house and now our current home. Three different sets of little boys’ fingers have grasped this ornament and positioned him at the top of our trees. He has watched us as we’ve added more ornaments to our collection, like baby’s first Christmas and homemade preschool keepsakes.
Who knows what Chewbacca will see in our future, but one thing is certain, this unusual Christmas tradition, one that might not have seemed believable to myself as a young newlywed, will forever hold a place on our tree.
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Traditions sometimes come from the most unlikely of places.
What special Christmas traditions do you and your family share?
I just love everything about this!