Family in Liberty clings to 6-decade-long Christmas tradition

Family in Liberty clings to 6-decade-long Christmas tradition

By Karl Henkel

khenkel@vindy.com

LIBERTY

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

It’s been more than six decades since the start of the Christopher family annual Christmas celebration.

Not much has changed — including the menu, the kitchenware and even the dining room table.

It’s just gotten a whole lot bigger over the years.

It was 1950 when the Christopher family Christmas first began.

There were 12 attendees: Edith and Glenn Christopher, their two sons, John Alden and his wife Grace Rochford, Byron and his wife along with a handful of others.

Slowly but surely the family grew, but the tradition stayed the same.

At its most recent gathering, on Sunday, more than 50 family members packed the Liberty Township house of Jason and Kristen Rock — Kristen is one of John Alden and Grace’s 27 grandchildren — for the latest get-together.

They have now hosted for four years, but the location is one of the few changes in past decades.

In fact, the Christophers have remained true to their longlasting traditions.

The menu is the same: turkey, dressing mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, rolls, Christmas pudding and a family special — pineapples with sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

“We found the menu is appetizing to all ages,” Grace Rochford said.

The traditions are also the same. Grace Rochford buys each of the children a subscription to National Geographic, a tradition originally started by her mother-in-law and original host, Edith.

The family even uses the original dining table from 1950, though it’s fragility makes it more iconic than practical in the more than 60 years after its debut.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.