2️⃣ If your family celebrated a holiday when you were a child, do you still have an ornament, decoration, or ritual item that was used when you were a child? If so, what is it and its significance to you?

This is me answering to a prompt on the ladies of hive about the festival or Christmas season

When I was a child, Christmas holiday was always one of the most exciting moments of the year for me. In my family and in my community as a whole,we had a very unique way of celebrating the holiday—one that has stayed with me throughout my life. Every year, around the 20th to the 24th of December, I would watch my parents and some neighbors cut tall palm trees. These palm branches were used to decorate the roads close to our home. As a child, seeing those fresh green palms lined up along the roadside made me feel like the whole community was preparing for something big and beautiful.

But the most unforgettable part came on the 31st night—Crossover night. All the palm trees that had been used for decoration were gathered and burned. I remember standing there, watching the flames rise high into the night sky. At first, I didn’t fully understand why we did it, but as I grew older, the meaning became clearer and more powerful to me.
The burning of the palm trees signifies ;

1: The end of everything the old year brought—every pain, struggle, disappointment, and hardship. It was our way of letting go and freeing ourselves from anything that weighed us down. It was a reminder that no matter how difficult the year had been, we had survived. We were still standing. And now, we were stepping into a new year with hope.

2: This ritual also signifies something deeper: renewal. Just like the flames consumed the old decorations, it reminded us that sometimes we need to let things go in order to make space for something better. The burning represented cleansing, purification, and a fresh start. It showed us that a new year is not just a change of date—it is a chance to reset our minds, our goals, and our spirits.

3: Another significant part of this tradition was the unity it created. The whole community would gather around the fire. There was singing, laughter, and prayers. In those moments, I felt a deep sense of belonging.

It made me appreciate the strength of coming together as a people, sharing the same hopes, the same dreams, and the same desire for a better future.
Even though I am older now, the memory of that tradition still lives in me. I may not have a physical ornament or decoration from my childhood, but this ritual remains one of the most important “spiritual decorations” in my life. It shaped the way I view new beginnings. It taught me courage, hope, and the importance of letting go of the past so I can walk confidently into the future.
So whenever a new year approaches, I still carry that childhood ritual in my heart—the reminder that no matter what happened before, I can burn away the old and look forward to a fruitful year ahead.

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