Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

BUZZ | HISTORY
A Southern Christmas
Holiday traditions worth keeping
By TIM LOWRY
Pecan Pie is a Southern tradition.
We people of the South Carolina Lowcountry have always prided ourselves
on the keeping of traditions. This is certainly true at Christmas time. However, in recent
years, unorthodox customs, modern songs and foreign foods have crept into our holiday
celebrations. Let me be the first to say that I am not at all personally opposed to elves on
shelves, a rousing rendition of “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas,” or a plate of sushi
sitting next to the oysters at a cocktail party; but we must take care to remember the old
ways. After all, it said that Charleston, South Carolina is “where history lives.”
If that slogan is to ring true, than old customs
must be practiced, not simply relegated to
display boards in the Charleston Museum or
filed away on the shelves of the South Carolina
Historical Society.
I could go on and on about the importance
of maintaining cultural distinctives in
an age of homogeneity, but often find it best
when explaining such things to my own children
to simply say, “Traditions are the things
we do to keep the world from falling down;
and we wouldn’t want that consequence to be
your fault, now would we?”
Thus endeth my sermon. Don’t you wish
your priest was so concise when delivering
the homily at Midnight Mass?
That is the first of those old traditions
that should be maintained—church. Charleston
has plenty of them, over 400 houses of
worship. Pick one, go inside, it’s Christmas!
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,
PHOTO PIXABAY
54 | CharlestonLivingMag.com