There’s nothing quite like caroling. What could be more whimsical than walking the streets on a cool, dark winter night, going door to door to deliver genuine holiday spirit?
Though the tradition started in England – when peasants would sing outside the homes of wealthy folk in exchange for a hot meal – the practice, still going strong, is more festive and celebratory.
Michael Martina / The Herald
In fact, it’s become quite a tradition in the Riverside neighborhood in Everett, where every year since 1996 members of the community and the Riverside Neighborhood Association (one of the largest in Everett) walk the streets and sing.
But instead of hinting around for handouts, carolers give out candy canes and entertain homeowners with traditional holiday songs as well as goofy selections such as “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”
“It’s just that kind of neighborhood,” said association member Judy Corcoran. “It’s people who really care about what happens in the neighborhood and really want to make it better place to live. It’s pretty cool.”
This year, a smaller group rehearsed on multiple occasions just to make their big night a hit with more in-tune singers than not.
“We’re not the world’s best caroling people,” said association chair M.J. Donovan-Creamer. “But we make a lot of noise, and we love doing it.”
Each year, carolers walk along neighborhood avenues such as Rainier, Virginia and Baker, spreading cheer with one gregarious member dressed as Santa.
“It’s great spirit-building thing for people in the neighborhood,” Corcoran said. “It makes you feel more part of the community. It’s kind of old-fashioned.”
The Riverside neighborhood’s tradition is one of many special activities that families in Snohomish County bring back every year.
Check out what other families are doing to celebrate their holiday spirit.
Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to reunite with beloved family members every year for the holidays, but Sharon and Kirk Quintoa of Arlington have found their own ways to celebrate for the time being.
“Because most of our family lives in California, my husband and I have created new traditions such as visiting the Warm Beach Christian Center’s Christmas light display every year. We also visit Leavenworth, La Conner and like to drive around looking at private home decorations,” Sharon Quintoa said in an e-mail to The Herald. “We usually celebrate Christmas on Christmas morning by talking to our family members and friends on the phone. When my husband retires, we hope to spend time with our family in person. Until then, we will enjoy the holidays spending time with each other.”
Sharon Quintoa especially enjoys getaways to the quaint villages of Leavenworth and La Conner.
“They just tend to put me in the spirit, so to speak,” she said. “They are small towns with a grand way of decorating and celebrating the holidays. Leavenworth is just great, probably one of the most festive places we have visited during the holidays.”
Indeed, traditions have to start somewhere, and as Linda Jessen’s family grows, their special rituals are changing, too.
“For the past three years, we have started a new Christmas tradition,” Jessen wrote in a letter to The Herald. “My two grown daughters, 4-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, and myself take the Amtrak train from Everett Station to Seattle for some shopping and fun.
“Olivia rides the carousel at the Westlake mall, we have lunch, shop and then take a horse-drawn carriage ride around downtown Seattle. We catch a taxi to King Station and take the train back to Everett.
“We plan to continue this tradition indefinitely with Olivia and her soon-to-be baby brother!”
Ramona and Robert Fletcher of Everett make every holiday season unique by celebrating a different religion or culture as well as the traditions that go with it as part of their winter solstice party the weekend before Dec. 25.
“We decorate accordingly, often wear costumes representing our subject, prepare and serve traditional foods, and teach our children and grandchildren to appreciate others’ beliefs,” Ramona Fletcher said in an e-mail to The Herald. “Regardless of the chosen subject, we always include a candle-lighting tea ceremony where we share the results of our last year and our hopes for the following year. We always sing ‘Imagine’ and other songs of peace and cessation of prejudice. This year, we will celebrate the traditions of the American Indian.”
Nurturing a Nativity Jyl Elsea of Snohomish grew up with a special tradition surrounding her parents’ Nativity scene.
“Each evening we were allowed to put one piece of straw into the empty manger,” Elsea said. “Come Christmas Day, baby Jesus had a nice soft bed.”
Now as an adult with her fiance, Daniel Brook, and his two girls, Rachel and Morgan, she is beginning the ritual anew.
“We have a lovely wooden barn, paper angel and leather manger thanks to Daniel, stuffed cloth characters of Mary and Joseph (my creations) and clay animals, wise men, shepherds and baby Jesus thanks to the girls. It is an ‘interesting’ collection of artistic expression and a wonderful beginning of an old tradition.”
Santa Claus isn’t just for kids, he’s for kids at heart too.
That’s certainly the holiday policy at the home of Dave and Shelli Olin of Arlington, where Santa (Dave Olin’s brother-in-law, Paul Meade) arrives every Christmas Eve in a Santa suit.
“Now that the kids are all grown, it doesn’t seem to make a difference. He still comes and we all look forward to his arrival,” Shelli Olin said in an e-mail. “My kids are now 22, 22, 18, 15 and 11. You never get too old for Santa!”
At the home of Patricia Burke in Everett, Christmas is, in fact, a birthday the whole family can celebrate.
“Since our children were very small, we have had a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Day to end our celebration,” Patricia said in an e-mail. “As they have grown and have had children of their own, we continue the tradition. We have Christmas Day celebration at our house with children and grandchildren and we end the day by holding hands around the dinner table, singing ‘Happy Birthday, Jesus.’ Our youngest daughter now does the honors of baking and decorating the birthday cake.”
Bob Hayman of Seattle is notorious in his family for ill-timed holiday cards, often sent out between Easter and Memorial Day.
“When we couldn’t get cards sent out by Christmas, we started targeting New Year’s Day, then Chinese New Year, then Roman New Year, and then the Fourth of July,” Hayman said in an e-mail to The Herald. “This year I sent the greetings out in September. Much later, and I’ll be able to say that we’re early for the next Christmas.”
Bringing the story to life
Chantelle Gleed of Bothell wrote The Herald about her large family’s tradition. Every year, all seven siblings and their respective families gather for “dinner and a show.” But the “show” isn’t a movie.
“The show, of course, is the re-enactment of the night of Jesus’ birth, starring all the grandchildren, all the way down to whatever newborn we have in the family being a ‘live’ baby Jesus,” Gleed said. “Our immediate family opens one Christmas present on Christmas Eve, saving the rest for Christmas morning, to combine and celebrate with what Santa brings.”
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@ heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
