Star Tribune
What are Minnesotans’ most meaningful Christmas Eve traditions?
If you happen to step outdoors in Olivia, Minn., this Christmas Eve and hear the sounds of voices lifted in a very, shall we say, unusual chorus, don’t worry.
It’s just Shanon Gass and her family, taking part in their annual tradition.
“After we eat and before we do presents, we all — parents, kids, grandparents — run and romp around the block no matter the weather, off-key singing Christmas carols,” said Gass. “If we are each singing a different one at the same time, all the better.”
As the holiday approached this year, Gass was one of many Minnesotans who shared their Christmas Eve traditions — from silly to sentimental — with the Star Tribune.
Whether it’s been 50 years or five, doing (and eating and watching) the same things each holiday becomes an anchor of sorts — a moment of connection to look forward to all year. Gathering to eat tamales, or Swedish meatballs, or potato soup or ravioli made from scratch.
Or, if you’re a member of Kelli Snyder’s family, it’ll be homemade pizza with a “ton” of choose-your-own toppings.
“It started back in the early 1990s when my mom burnt the real meal,” said Snyder, who is from St. Paul. “I don’t remember what we were supposed to eat, but it was probably some sort of meat-and-potato dish. At the time, no stores were open Christmas Eve night, so my dad went to a convenience store to see what he could scrounge up, and he found a homemade pizza kit. The rest is history.”
Solveig Kleven of Minneapolis spends Christmas Eve at her grandma’s house, where they have a lefse party, with the whole family pitching in to make the potato flatbread, which they eat that very night.
For Brianna Kocka, Christmas Eve with her mom’s side of the family is a night for Boston clam chowder, Latvian pīragī and deviled eggs. She always tries to recreate her late grandma’s punch, even though she never gets it quite right.
“We re-live our family memories, from Christmas plays the cousins put on as kids, to watching old slides from family vacations, to reminiscing and laughing about when one of us fell into the Christmas tree and knocked it over one year,” said Kocka, who lives in Columbia Heights. “It’s so special to be able to live into the memories of the past, while making new memories together as well.”
Olivia Suddath, whose parents own the local chain of Mallards seafood restaurants, spends the holiday in the kitchen. Inspired by an Italian tradition, her family serves a multi-course Christmas Eve “Feast of the Seven Fishes.”
“For us, it’s like opening our home to other families and we all get to celebrate together,” she said. “My dad spent some time in Italy and fell in love with the culture, so this was one of many things he came back excited to try.”
Growing up, Suddath’s family got Chinese takeout, listened to Nat King Cole and watched the same movie year after year.
“As far back as I can remember, we’ve always been watching ‘Christmas Vacation’ as a family, because there is no better Christmas movie,” she said.
Movies were a common thread for many. In addition to the 1989 Chevy Chase classic, Christmas Eve favorites include “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Story,” the is-it-or-isn’t-it holiday fare “Die Hard” and, for at least one horror film enthusiast, “Christmas Evil.”
Linda Middendorf and her family alternate between “A Christmas Story” and “Christmas Vacation,” but only after church.
“Following that, we have steak and shrimp fondue, along with potatoes, rolls and salad. Christmas cookies or grasshopper pie for dessert,” she said.
They also have another tradition: “The men in the family do the dishes afterwards.”
Like most everyone who shared their traditions with us, Middendorf and her family open presents on Christmas Eve. That would lead us to believe Minnesotans buck the national trend of waiting until Christmas Day, according to a 2022 Statista survey.
Sometimes, families suddenly take up new traditions — granting a child’s request to roast hot dogs in the fireplace, hosting a holiday music dance-off or practicing the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflód, exchanging books and chocolate and reading the night away.
Before they were married, Kate Nyquist and her then-boyfriend went on a Christmas Eve date to Welch Village near Red Wing to go downhill skiing. They’ve gone nearly every year since, she said, and this holiday they are bringing their 9-month-old along.
Others keep up traditions that stretch back from before they can remember. Singing “Silent Night” by candlelight at church. The whole family playing cards. Reading “The Night Before Christmas” out loud.
When Justine Vance and her family gather in Brainerd on Christmas Eve, Santa always stops by before bedtime — and sticks around for a visit.
“Santa reads the story of Rudolph, the kids tell him what they want, and then he hands out the Christmas presents,” she said. “It’s pretty extravagant, but we have been doing this tradition since before I was born, so it’s pretty special to my family.”
Two men are dead and one woman was injured in a shooting at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, police said. It was the second shooting at a Minneapolis encampment this weekend.
At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported shooting in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks at the small encampment between Snelling and Hiawatha avenues. At the scene, officers found two men with fatal gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Garrett Parten Minneapolis Police spokesman. Responders rendered aid, but both men died at the scene.
A woman was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was being treated Sunday night, he said. Police have yet to say whether the three were living at the encampment.
Officers detained three people, who Parten said have since been released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No suspects had been identified as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The shooting is the second at a southside homeless encampment this weekend. One man died and two were critically injured early Saturday at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. On Sunday, the man was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We don’t know if there’s a connection between this homeless encampment shooting and the one that occurred yesterday,” Parten said on Sunday. “That is a consideration of the investigation. We can’t rule it out.”
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of the shooting Sunday afternoon. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.
During Sunday’s Twitch stream, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez played Madden while discussing making homebuying more accessible, building affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt and raising the federal minimum wage.
After the match, Walz showed off his Sega skills in a round of “Crazy Taxi,” the Y2K-era racing game where gamers play as a taxi driver picking up passengers and taking them to their destination for cash.
Walz called himself a “first-generation gamer” and recalled playing “Crazy Taxi” when he bought a Sega Dreamcast. He also mentioned the Minnesota Star Tribune’s coverage of how his old game console was sold and ended up with a Plymouth resident, who still has it.
Afterward, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez watched a short clip of Trump denying on Rogan’s podcast that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won that year.
Ocasio-Cortez during the livestream also showed viewers her farm on the cozy, indie game Stardew Valley. Walz said the game reminded him of Minnesota: “You’ve got mining,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture. You’ve got snow.”
Before Walz headed out to a rally in Nevada, he pleaded with viewers to vote. More than 12,000 viewers tuned into the livestream on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel. More watched from Harris’ channel.
”Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly ”MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. ”And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Declared Hogan in his characteristic raspy growl: ”I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
Trump has denounced the four criminal indictments brought against him as politically motivated. He has ramped up his denunciations in recent weeks of ”enemies from within,” naming domestic political rivals, and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has called Trump a ”fascist.”
The arena was full hours before Trump was scheduled to speak. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were overflowing with Trump supporters in red ”Make America Great Again” hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
In the crowd was Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump backer from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up. The 64-year-old said it was appropriate for Trump to be speaking at a place bills itself as ”the world’s most famous arena.”
”It just goes to show ya that he has a bigger following of any man that has ever lived,” D’Agostino said.
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