On this most holy night we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This joyful day is one that makes us especially grateful for the blessing of our loved ones and time spent together. We are so happy to have you as a part of our Relevant Radio family, and pray that your Christmas season is full of joy and laughter.
In honor of Christ’s birth, we’d like to share how a few of our Relevant Radio associates from different parts of the country celebrate Christmas with their loved ones:
For the Madrids, Christmas is all about faith, family, and fun. Patrick shared a goofy Christmas tradition from years past: “On Christmas mornings, when my sons were kids, pranking them with gag gifts (like a bag of potatoes) wrapped in the package of a very expensive, nonexistent gift (like an X-Box game system). Good times.”
“It is Christmas Eve and all my family, about 40 of us, gather together in a big circle. My mom brings a baby Jesus and puts Him at the center on a table and starts distributing cards, one to each family member. We cannot read the card until it is our turn. The oldest grandchild starts reading it out loud. Each card has a phrase with a gift from baby Jesus: his joy, his Blessed Mother, his humbleness, his peace, his charity, his light, and so on. The person who has the card that says: ‘I am staying with you. Keep me in your heart, talk to me, love me, and share me with others. – Jesus’, will take baby Jesus and bring Him to their home for a year.
Both my parents are from a port city in northeast of Mexico called Tampico, located on the Gulf of Mexico. We spent many summers there and that’s why we are all seafood lovers. Every year for Christmas we would have Mexican style codfish (bacalao) and stuffed crabs (jaibas rellenas), traditional from Tampico and we have apple salad for dessert.”
Gabriela Herrera, Director of Spanish Broadcasting
Christmas this year is extra special for the Dolan family, who gathered to celebrate the 90th birthday of their mother, Shirley. Pictured are Lisa, Bob, Deb, Pat, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan with their mom at her birthday party.
Bob Dolan, Director of Network Growth
The Allex family has lots of fun family traditions to make the Christmas season extra special. The seven kids partake in a Secret Saint Exchange: each picks the name of one of their siblings so during Advent they are a saint in a special way for the person they picked – doing nice things and praying for them daily. They also do extra jobs around the house to earn money to buy that sibling a Christmas gift.
They join in prayer with listeners across the country during the Relevant Radio Christmas Family Rosary Novena, and on Christmas the older kids get to go to the candlelit midnight Mass with dad. Christmas as a family includes curling up by the fireplace, drinking hot cocoa, and playing games together.
Preston Allex, Accounting Director
For the Cardin family, the moving presence of a nativity makes a big difference in their Christmas celebration. “Since I am a convert to Catholicism, my celebration of Christmas growing up only referenced the birth of Jesus through a small nativity set in the background of our family celebrations. Thirty-five years ago I began to understand what the beautiful day is all about. Now my many nativity sets are the first things to get set up when decorating and when my children were young it was a highlight to place the baby Jesus in the manger when we returned from Mass on Christmas Eve. It is now my grandchildren who enjoy placing baby Jesus and moving around all of the figures to adore Him, even the animals,” explained Nicole.
Nicole Cardin, Senior Advancement Director
All of us at Relevant Radio wish you a merry and joyous Christmas season! May the birth of the Christ Child fill you with faith, hope, and love.
