Making Traditions
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. I hope you all had an amazing year and can look back on 2015 with joy, satisfaction, and a feeling of accomplishment.
Allow me, if you will, to depart from dentistry and reflect on the season upon us. This is the time of year that our thoughts turn to our families, whether near or far, and the holiday traditions that make this season so memorable. I feel that as adults far removed from the giddy enthusiasm of our youth related to the Holidays, we yearn for the traditions that are dear to us.
It is a bittersweet time of year for me. On the one hand I get to live in my absolute favorite place, the Flathead; But on the other hand this places. me almost 1,000 miles from the rest of my family in Northern Arizona. I remember Thanksgiving in my hometown, where we used the volunteer fire hall every year because not only is the Miller family very large, but because anyone in town who did not have any family near was also invited to celebrate with us.
I remember Christmas Eves, when every year without fail we would deliver plates of my Mom's famous "Crunch" toffee to over 200 houses before all meeting back at the house to open one present before going to bed. It was always the same present that each kid chose on Christmas Eve: a book of lifesavers candy from my Grandpa Fairbanks in Alberta, each book containing a $20 bill. Then, the next morning on Christmas we would all gather in my parent's room before my dad led us on goofy military-style march through the house.
During this march we had to mimic every move and noise that my Father made, and his moves and sounds were absurd. For a few minutes my dad turned into Captain Robin Williams. The purpose of this march was to drive us kids crazy. The anticipation of having Santa's gifts revealed to us grew as we marched our way through every nook and cranny of the Miller house.
We grew older and older and more and more jaded toward the thrill of Christmas morning, but we still marched...because it is TRADITION. Now, 35 years since the inaugural march, five families march ridiculously through their houses each Christmas morning. To us, it wouldn't be Christmas without it.
Finally, after spending the early Christmas hours together as a family, the entire Miller contingency would meet Grandma and Grandpa Miller's for pancake breakfast. Looking back on the holidays now, I don't remember how great Thanksgiving dinner tasted, or what presents I received from Santa; I remember the traditions that we shared as a family and a community. It is because of our traditions that even as adults, we still get excited about the Holidays.
What wouldn't give to deliver "Crunch" on Christmas Eve to my neighbors and friends in Joseph City, AZ and wish them all a Merry Christmas; To mimic my goofy Father (fake knees and everything) once again during the Christmas morning march and giggle with my brothers and sisters; To sit and eat pancakes with Grandma and Grandpa Miller with all of my cousins.
The giggles I hear now are from my own kids, lined up behind me marching through the house. And that makes me smile.
Read Making Traditions and other Smile Montana articles by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazines.