Do you ever wonder where some of your traditions came from? There is so much that can come from the littlest things, like your mom packing your lunch. Traditions come from family, friends, and memories, they can live right under your nose. I got curious and I had decided to interview my mother and how her Christmas had come to be.  Sometimes, all you really have to do is ask, and that’s exactly what I did. When you think about Christmas what comes to mind something like a fireplace? My mother’s Christmas’ was nothing like that. My mother had lived in Mexico for the entirety of her childhood. While she was happy something that had always loomed over her was the fact that she was in deep poverty. My Mothers’ family had always tried to make the best of it, making whatever food they could and surviving off old hand-me-downs. Christmas was never overdone or expensive, but it was always full of love. Every one of her family members would come over and they made a fake tree, even try to make the fanciest food they could. When my Grandfather had moved away, he had made it his job to send back money whenever he could. He would work in the US and leave the entirety of his family behind. But, when the holidays had rolled around again, my mother was finally able to get her Christmas tree. But, while she got a tree, it was the first year one of her family members was missing; my grandfather. Now that my mother is older, we're able to live in the US. While my grandfather isn’t here anymore, she now has a family of her own and is able to celebrate Christmas with both a tree and her family. 

– Jocelyn Ayala

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant