BUCKING THE SYSTEM: CHRISTMAS TRADITION CELEBRATION OF AULD LANGE SYNE

Should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind

Should old acquaintances be forgot in days of auld lang syne

For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne

We'll take a cup of kindness yet in days of auld lang syne.

Every year on Christmas Eve some eight adults and about 15 kids of various ages meet at either the DeMyers, Fitzgerald, McDowell or Zellars household for a Christmas party. This started as a get-together some 30 years ago for the four couples, who all lived near each other and were transplants from Mississippi and Tennessee.

The party's changed a lot over the years. Once upon a time it was just our families who attended, but now we also include friends, fiancees, in-laws and just about anybody else who just wants to spend time with us around the holidays.

The festivities always begin with everybody calling around to see who's hosting the party and what time are we expected to arrive. Now, in 30 years of parties you would think we'd have established a schedule for hosting and arriving, so it always boggles my mind how everybody acts surprised when it's their turn to host the thing.

Once people start arriving, we all grab a plate of food and then the kids and adults break off into different rooms. There's a lot of laughing and talking and reminiscing, especially now that we're no longer seeing each other on a daily basis.

This aspect of the party has also changed over the years. I can remember when we were little how Clarissa and I, along with George, Felecia, Anthony, Tracy, Juri and William all crowded around a bedroom window and tried to figure out if what we were seeing was actually Rudolf's nose or not. It turns out it was the flashing light at the top of the radio tower, but we didn't know that at the time.

Around 8 or 9 o'clock the caroling starts. We all squeeze into the room occupied by the adults and Uncle Mac starts passing out music to fill the next two or three hours. He's a music teacher and taught most of the kids in junior high school choir, so there are no excuses for not participating. When he tells you to come on up, you might as well get up and start singing.

Oddly enough, the parents are the ones who have the hardest time adjusting to this concept.

After awhile, the family carols start. Each family is required to show solidarity by performing one carol as a group; no one is allowed to send up a representative or to opt out of the performance. This is almost the funniest part of the evening (I'll tell you the funniest part later).

My dad's favorite song is "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), which we always sing, some years better than others. The DeMyers family is always good because they cheat by practicing before they come to the party, and the McDowells and Fitzgeralds really just want the thing to be over with.

The funniest part of the evening is the Mama song as performed by Portia and the Rockers. This is when my mom, Mrs. D, Aunt Max and Mrs. Fitz show they can still "get their party on" by performing "Jingle Bell Rock." Mom leads the song, and they all do this act that I can't even describe.

Everybody laughs a lot during this performance, and we all try to help our mom become the best dancer. It was really funny when the MC Hammer dance was out and they all tried to do it (unsuccessfully) to this song that was never meant for rhythm-and-blues dances.

For those of you who know the women I'm talking about, trust me: No picture you've formed in your mind is as funny as the real thing.

The evening ends with everybody joining hands and singing "Auld Lang Syne." I especially like this tradition because it represents all the good times we've shared.

We're not blood relations, but we're all family. Even though we're scattered across the country, and even if not everybody makes it home every year, we've got these ties that bind us together.

This annual event is my chance to share love and laughter with my closest friends and family. Here's hoping all of you have similar opportunities.

It's a gift, and one you should cherish.

~Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.