New Family Brings New Traditions

Two families come together as a giant family to share the holidays and form new traditions.

By: Tyler Sekula

Whether it is getting together at specific family member’s house or a secret pumpkin pie recipe passed down for generations, every family has yearly traditions they practice around the holiday season.

However, as families continue to grow and change, so do many of these traditions.

After years of searching for his perfect match, Nicholas Sekula finally met and married the woman of his dreams in Jessica Rapp earlier this year. The lovely couple exchanged their vows during a beautiful ceremony on June 23, 2012 at the Edson Hill Manor in Stowe, Vt. in front of over a hundred friends and family members.

“We both wanted to see our families on the holiday but didn’t want to have to choose which side to visit, so we thought having everyone over would be the best,” Jess explained. “That way, everyone would be happy.”

As planned, the two families joined together at the couple’s house and spent the holiday cracking jokes and reminiscing about all of their family traditions.

The Rapps

Originally from the beautiful town of Stowe, Vt., the Rapp family is a rowdy family of four that appreciates every one of their family traditions. 

Every year, Kenneth, Gayle, Chris, and Jessica enjoy spending quality time together cutting down their Christmas tree as a family at a particular tree farm close to their home. Although they stumbled upon the farm by accident, they have made it a yearly tradition to return to this particular farm.

“One year, we went to pick out a Christmas tree at the farm we had always gotten our tree from only to find that they no longer allowed you to cut down your own trees,” Ken explained. “On our way home we found another farm close to house and decided to give it try and came across a wonderful Greek restaurant. Every year since then, we have returned to make a day out of cutting our tree and enjoying lunch together as a family.”

Another important tradition that is a yearly staple in the Rapp family is waking up early on Christmas day and enjoying breakfast while they open their stockings.

“We always get up Christmas morning and I make Cinnamon rolls and we have breakfast,” Gayle stated. “Then we get out our stockings and take turns opening them while we eat. It’s always a good time.”

As for many families, faith is also a very important part of the Rapp family tradition when it comes to the holiday season. After attending church on Christmas Eve, the entire family takes a yearly photo in front of the tree and engages in a family bible verse reading.

“We always had a family devotional that we did during Christmas where we would sit around and read a bible verse and discuss it’s meaning as pertaining to the holiday,” Gayle explained. “Then we all sang a few carols.”

The Sekulas

Much like the Rapp family, the Sekulas are very appreciative of their yearly family traditions around the holiday season.

Ever since moving into their house in Grantham, N.H. nearly 12 years ago, David, Gina, Nick and Tyler had made a made it a tradition to wake up early the day after Thanksgiving every year and tag their Christmas tree as a family. Every year, with the expectation of one, they have attended Nichol’s Tree Farm in Lyme, N.H. as part of their yearly tradition.

“Every year we wake up early the day after Thanksgiving and pick a tree as a family,” Gina stated. “It’s a lot of fun because we have gone to the same farm for so many years that the owners have gotten the chance to watch the kids grow up.”

Another important tradition in the Sekula family is exchanging gifts on Christmas day as an entire family. After opening gifts from their immediate family, they invite some extended family over for dinner and additional gifts.

“We have a tradition with our cousins every year where we give ornaments based on how close we are in age,” Nick explained. “My cousin Zach is really close to my age and my cousin Greg is close to my brother, so we exchange ornaments to the cousin who is closest to us in age.”

After exchanging gifts, the cousins take a picture in front of the tree as a way to remember every Christmas.

“It’s really fun because we always try to ruin our parents picture by making funny faces,” Nick explained. “No one ever took it serious until they threatened to take something away from us.”

New Traditions

After sharing holiday traditions, experiencing interesting family recipes and enjoying the pre-Thanksgiving dinner routing for opposite football teams, the two families joined together for a well-prepared meal. While enjoying the food, everyone took the time to give thanks for important things in their lives.

“ This year I am thankful for family. I am thankful for the amazing woman that I have married and have gotten to spend as long as I have with,” Nick stated. “I am thankful for having a job, in this day in age, in this economy, it’s definitely hard enough thing to keep a job”

 Following the delicious dinner, both families agreed to make it a new tradition to join together as a giant family for Thanksgiving every year at Nick and Jess’s house.

“It was wicked successful,” Jess happily exclaimed. “I'm just glad everyone got along really well and there were no awkward moments for the night. I honestly couldn't have asked for it to be any better.”

Additional Links:

Cinnamon Roll Recipes

Inspiring Family Traditions

Sources:

Jessica Sekula (Rapp) - 603 (504) -6167
Nick Sekula 603 (359)-6165
Gina Sekula 603 (504) 4561