Raise a Glass

Today is the day before Christmas Eve, and for many people, that means it's the last working day of 2010--or, at least, it's the last working day before a couple of days off.

And, for a whole bunch of folks, today also means that there's only one shopping day left before Santa comes down the chimney. Expect a panic at the disco. Uh, I mean, mall.

If your family is like my family, it also means that there will be cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents coming in by the truckload over the next two days.

Being that we're really in the heart of the holiday season now, I figure it's appropriate to talk tradition.

We all have our little (or, in the case of my family, enormous) holiday traditions, and I'm always interested in hearing about other people's. Some like small trees, others--like my father--enjoy the 12-footers. Some people open gifts on Christmas Eve, others on Christmas Day. Still others open some on Christmas Eve and the rest on the Day.

I'm Italian, and one tradition we have for Christmas Eve is to serve seven fishes throughout dinner--though we usually only make it to three or four.

Now, while family traditions are great, I'm also interested in the little, personal traditions we all have at this time of the year. I have a couple that I've talked about in the past. Sometime after dinner on Christmas Eve, I cozy up by the tree and read a stack of holiday-themed comics.

But before that, during the day, I have my very favorite tradition of the entire year.

My favorite comic series is Eric Powell's The Goon. Anyone who's read this blog even only a handful of times knows that. I have all of the single issues, and all of the trades.

And the trades (and three hardcovers) sit on a shelf for 11 months and 23 days out of the year, unread. I save reading the entire run of The Goon--through to whatever the latest, uncollected issue may be--until my last day of work for the year, when I have a few days off.

I've done it each of the past four years. It's like a reward to myself for getting through the year. And, waiting for me at home is volume one, to be followed by hundreds and hundreds of pages of Goon goodness.
How about you guys? Any weird/quirky/awesome personal traditions you'd like to share?