This is me. Has been for at least a decade.

[hunter]

19. It was always a religious war in my family.

My four grandparents couldn't agree how, when, or if Christmas should be celebrated.

I had one grandmother who believed in the traditional U.S.A. Christmas celebration and she usually won, but only because she did 90% of the work and gift buying. I remember three Christmases not celebrated at her house as disasters, and one at my parent's house that was a huge fight because my parents hadn't bought a Christmas tree. My grandfather went out on Christmas Eve and found a tree abandoned at a lot. We decorated the tree with handmade ornaments and popcorn strings while my mom and her parents sulked at first, but it actually turned out sort of magical.

After my Christmas-loving grandma passed away, Christmas became less formal. Once me and my siblings were out of the house and on our own my parent's had a big piece of driftwood in their house that they'd hang Christmas cards on and that was pretty much the extent of their Christmas celebration.

I'm not big on Christmas but my wife is and it's always been a source of friction in our marriage. I have one brother who has made it his family's annual Christmas tradition to be out of the country lounging on a tropical beach somewhere. I'm a little bit jealous.