Close your eyes. Sniff the sweet fragrance of a fresh-cut Douglas fir. Giggle at the mess of decorating sugary shapes warm from the oven. Feel the uncanny stillness of Christmas Eve.
Despite the oversaturation of the American holiday season, no other time of year compares in still evoking deep emotions through relatively simple rituals. What about Halloween costumes or fireworks? Nope. Groundhogs or green clovers? Not even close. But mere mention of worn stockings and cheap plastic lights stir dormant sensations of love, grief and wonder. No matter how you slice the holiday ham, traditions still have power in today’s world. Proving the point, these Bellevue Club members and staff celebrate with unique twists on timeless holiday classics.
LA BEFANA In Italy, Saint Nicholas isn’t the only one who pays a visit to children during the holidays. Bellevue Club members Linda and David Stanchi proudly carry on the tradition of La Befana, a smiling witch-like character who typically shows up at the start of the Festival of Epiphany. Celebrated in liturgical Christian traditions, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus. Both active Bellevue Club Masters swimmers, Linda and David originally met while swimming on scholarship at the University of Arizona. Linda, now a registered nurse, grew up in Omaha, Neb., and David, now a software design engineer, was raised in Valenza, Italy, before coming to the United States to swim. A throwback from David’s own childhood, La Befana “visits” houses on the eve of Jan. 6 to fill children’s stockings with a lump of coal—because every child has been bad at least once—and a gift.
“David has been doing this since they were born,” Linda says. Although Linda and David’s three children, Paulo, 16, Michael, 13, and Marco, 12, are older now, David still makes sure La Befana pays a visit to them every year. “He always writes a letter from La Befana in Italian and posts it on the fireplace,” Linda says. The entire family speaks both Italian and English, and they spent a year in Italy in 2001. “Even at their ages, they still get excited about La Befana,” Linda says.
THE CHRISTMAS EGG The Albright family loves to gather together every year and celebrate with a nice Christmas egg. No, they’re not confused. They just liked their Easter egg game so much they figured, why not extend it to Christmas? “We used to do it just at Easter, but we had so much fun we made it into a Christmas Egg too,” says Claire Albright, 10. The rules are simple, but the preparation takes a deft hand. Claire’s “Auntie E” had this role until she passed away four years ago at age 90. Now, Claire’s mom, Shama Albright, is carrying on the tradition. “My mom takes an egg and blows the yolk out through a little hole,” Claire says. “When the egg is dry, she fills it with either Christmas stuff or Easter stuff. Everything is really small. This year she had 35 things in the Christmas Egg.”
Later, their entire extended family comes over and they take turns guessing what’s in the egg over desert. “Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom, my dad, my brothers and I all play it together and laugh,” Claire says. This past year, Claire’s brother, Bailey, won. “My favorite thing that was in it this year was a little Santa,” she says.
CARVING THE CARP According to Bellevue Club Assistant Tennis Pro Zuzanna Brogdon, there’s nothing like getting together with family and friends and gathering around a delicious Christmas carp. “It’s a national holiday tradition in Czech,” she says. Zuzanna was born and raised in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) before coming to the United States at age 15 to play tennis. Breaded and fried, the bony freshwater fish, typically shunned by U.S. fishermen, is a national symbol of Christmas in the Central European country. During the Christmas season, Czech street-corner vendors display large tubs with live carp, allowing patrons to choose their specimen. Although Zuzanna hasn’t imported the bony tradition to Bellevue, she frequently visits her homeland over Christmas where she and her husband partake of the carp. “It’s kind of crazy for him,” she says. Adventurous eaters beware—Zuzanna points out some safety issues with the national dish. “A lot of people end up in the hospital on Christmas Eve because the bones get stuck in their throat,” she says.
FOR THE KIDS Love and logistics go hand in hand for Bellevue Club members Janna and Adam Snyder. With family spread throughout Bellevue, Bellingham, Hawaii and Texas, making time for family involves some serious holiday planning—but they love every minute of it. To start with, they throw a children’s Hanukkah party for their young relatives in the area, even before they had a child of their own. “We just decided to do it for fun. We’re really social and like to celebrate,” Janna says. They make potato pancakes fried in olive oil called “latkes,” spin the dreidel and give out chocolate coins to the little kids. Although they took the past few years off, they’re starting it again this year because their son will be two. Closer to Christmas, the Snyders go to Bellingham to celebrate with Adam’s family, and then ski at Whistler-Blackcomb on Christmas Day.
“We’re avid skiers,” Janna says. And, to top it all off, they fly out to Houston to visit Janna’s sister for New Year’s. “We just want our kids to grow up knowing each other,” Janna explains. Does all that family time ever become too much? “A lot of people just dread get-togethers, but with us, it’s the total opposite. We love it.” Whether you partake in a crispy carp or receive a lump of coal in your stocking from La Befana, the holidays are a time to unwrap a few traditions of your own—whatever they may be.
