Thanksgiving was last week, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to give thanks for holiday traditions in this first edition of “Rant or Rave?…with Eloise.” 

Holiday traditions, whether big or small, will always make you feel loved and joyful no matter how you celebrate. Personally, I love New Year’s Eve because it means that my friends and I get together to commemorate another great year. Whether you like celebrating with friends or family, big crowds or small, parties out or nights in, we can all agree that celebrating any holiday with a tradition is something that just can’t be beaten.

One of the biggest aspects of holiday traditions that I’d like to rave about is the diversity of them. Not only can you have different variations of the same traditions, but you can have totally different traditions for the exact same holiday! All over the world people are celebrating the same holidays in millions of different ways. If you gathered a group of people from all over the Earth, chances are, many would not share the same holiday traditions. That sheer diversity and uniqueness are amazing!

Speaking of unique holiday festivities, here are some of my favorite holiday traditions from around the world. In Norway, people hide brooms on Christmas Eve to ensure that no mischievous spirits come to ruin their holiday. Christmas and New Years’ is celebrated with dancing bears and caroling in Romania. In Scotland, New Year’s celebrations take precedence over Christmas with fireworks and tests of luck and good fortune. For more interesting worldly holiday traditions go here.

This holiday season, I hope you all will be able to take some time of your own to rave about your favorite holiday traditions, or you could try starting your own unique festivities!

If you enjoyed this edition of “Rant or Rave?…with Eloise” check back here next week for issue two! If you have any suggestions for a rant or rave please feel free to leave a comment!