An extensive Christmas display that includes lights synced to music is a treasured tradition of the DePasquale family of Edison. Pictured are (l-r) Emilio, 10, Tony, Michelle and Anthony Jr., 12. SCOTT FRIEDMAN Whether in celebration of Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, the season inevitably brings family and friends together to engage in the traditions that give the holidays their meaning.
Most are familiar with the requisite presents, adorned trees and religious traditions, which include the lighting of the menorah to celebrate the miracle of lights during Hanukkah, and the celebration of Christ’s birth during Christmas.
But beyond the customs shared by those who celebrate each of the respective holidays are the traditions that personalize celebrations for individual families.
For Tony DePasquale, an Edison resident, this means stringing up lights, and lots of them. Starting in 2008, when he moved to the township with his wife Michelle and sons Emilio, 10, and Anthony, 12, the audio-visual technician — and selfproclaimed “computer geek” — has been adding to his elaborate Christmas display each year.
The holiday season is a time for a plethora of festive traditions — Diwali is the festival of lights for Hindus, who light diyas and fireworks as part of their celebrations; for Hannukah, Jews eat traditional foods like latkes and light one candle of the menorah for each of the holiday’s eight days; Christmas brings visits from Santa Claus, who leaves toys under the tree for children; and for Kwanzaa, African Americans light a candle for each of the holiday’s seven days to represent seven principles, including unity and faith. “I start working on the Christmas show in September,” he said, adding that after the preliminary planning, he begins work by October and has everything up and running by the day after Thanksgiving.
“It’s an ongoing process,” he said.
It would have to be. With more than 75 blow molds, a moving train with lights and smoke, and 32 channels of lights synced to music that one can tune in on their car radio (102.5 FM), the setup is one not for the faint of heart.
DePasquale’s technical knowledge and hard work help bring holiday cheer to many passersby every year.
For those who can’t make it over to 2 Pine St. to enjoy the show firsthand, De- Pasquale has set up video cameras, on which live feeds can be accessed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/christmas-lights-on-pine. “My motivation is really cheering people up around the holidays,” he explained. “All the work I put in is really miniscule when a parent comes up and says, ‘My kids really loved your lights.’ ”
Although the display is meant to bring joy to all who see it, DePasquale has a certain group in mind when putting it all together.
“I actually have a banner on my fence that says, ‘This show is dedicated to the special-needs children of Edison,’ ” he said.
Of course, his own kids enjoy it, too. Every night, he and Emilio spend some time outside taking it all in.
“[The holiday] is really a big deal to all of us,” said DePasquale, who, as his father did, plays the role of Santa for local kids. “It’s kind of all about the spirit of Christmas.”
For those of the Hindu faith, holiday lights have a meaning all their own. Diwali, known as the festival of lights, is a five-day holiday that, among other things, involves the lighting of clay lamps called diyas, which are believed to drive away evil and welcome prosperity and growth.
Like other Hindus, the family of Yash Nevatia, a fourth-grader at John Adams Elementary School in North Brunswick — where teacher Maureen Carter invites students to share their holiday traditions in the classroom each year — celebrates Diwali by praying together, wearing new clothes, enjoying sweets and snacks with loved ones, and welcoming the goddess of wealth for the coming year.
As part of the celebration, fireworks — or sparklers, for the Nevatia family — are lit to keep evil away from one’s home.
Nancy Bull, another one of Carter’s fourth-grade students, also partakes in family traditions during the holiday season.
“The reason we celebrate Christmas is because of God, and having fun with … family,” she said. “The day before Christmas Eve, I’m going to my grandma’s house, and we’re going to make a gingerbread house. I’m going to leave milk and cookies for Santa. My mom and I always have hot cocoa with marshmallows and watch ‘Home Alone.’ ”
For Ann Marie Lewis Norby of Freehold, Christmas is not the only holiday she celebrates on Dec. 25. It is also her birthday. Although some would assume that her special day would be overshadowed by Christmas, Norby said this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I have such wonderful memories of Christmas and my birthday, because my family made it so special,” she said. “Christmas morning was devoted to just Christmas. … At dinner, it was birthday time, and I got presents and always had a cake that was in the shape of a candy cane, Santa, a Christmas tree [or something else Christmas-related].”
Special holiday foods are integral to all holiday celebrations, it seems. Marjorie Weiss of Manalapan makes her traditional potato pancakes, or latkes, for the whole family to enjoy during Hanukkah.
“I make about 70 pancakes each year,” she said. “The pancakes are gone in five minutes.”
When she was a teacher’s aide in an Old Bridge school, Weiss would also make latkes for the students.
“It made me feel so good,” she said.
This year, she shared her recipe with her six grandchildren, so that they could carry on the tradition in future years.
“I am so excited,” she said in the time leading up to Hanukkah.
Treats come earlier for some than for others. In the case of Patty O’Neill, a resident of Millstone’s Clarksburg section, the first helpings of Christmas merriment come Dec. 6, on St. Nicholas Day.
Not widely celebrated in the U.S., the holiday originated in Northern Europe. For O’Neill, the tradition started with her grandparents, who were from Germany.
“We would hang our stockings — my three sisters and I — and in the morning, would find a treat,” she said. “We would get chocolates, tangerines and nuts. It was a great treat for us, and made it easier to wait the remaining weeks for Christmas.” Those last moments of anticipation that most children endure when they wake up at dawn on Christmas morning were lessened by a second tradition O’Neill and her younger sister enjoyed.
“[We] had a small, white tree in our room, which we started decorating when we were 10 and 7, and on Christmas morning if we woke up before our parents, we would open our ‘little tree’ gifts,” she said.
Not all traditions, however, happen during the usual times of celebration. Sandy Smith, of Plumsted’s New Egypt section, recalled the excitement leading up to Christmas — and the feelings that accompanied the end of the holiday.
“After all the gifts are opened and the last of the eggnog is gone, our spirits begin to droop as the branches of the family Christmas tree,” she said. “But as far as traditions are concerned, our little town in the northernmost portion of Burlington County had a tradition to cure the worst of the doldrums.”
In a tradition dating back to the mid- 20th century, members of the community would gather on the Saturday after Epiphany (or the 12th day of Christmas) at the town’s community center for the annual Burning of the Trees. Families would bring their by-then barren Christmas trees and place them in a pile.
“The event would begin with a welcome speech, followed by a last-chance singing of carols and a blessing of the trees, thanking them for their service to mankind,” Smith said. “Then, with a chorus of ‘O Tannenbaum,’ the local fire chief would set the pile ablaze. And oh, what a sight to see — flames dancing higher, sparks flying to blend with the stars above.”
With holiday traditions as diverse as the rich, vibrant tapestry of people who celebrate them, it’s clear that there is no one way to have a joyous holiday season. As O’Neill said, however, one thing seems universal: “Cherished traditions make the holidays more memorable.”