SECOND SLICE: WHO’S DANCING WITH THE WATERMELON THIS YEAR?

The following was posted on the blog last year, but in the spirit of holiday tradition, I’ve decided to post it again. Enjoy!

As far as unusual holiday traditions go, this time of year probably has more than all of the other holidays combined. What would you expect from an occasion which asks you to cut down a tree, drag it into your house, drape in lights and gaudy decorations and place wrapped gifts under it? Pretty strange but, then again, that’s part of what makes the holiday so special.

One of the relatively normal traditions that I always looked forward to at my house when I was growing up, and one that I plan to carry over into my own family, was the ceremonial “Dancing with the Watermelon” each Christmas Eve eve. (That’s right, Christmas Eve eve.) It was followed, of course, by the “Chopping and Eating of the Watermelon” the following day, which is pretty self-explanatory. Both events have been observed in my family for decades.

For the Dancing with the Watermelon on December 23, the children of the household would gather in the center of the living room around the largest watermelon we could find at the local market. When all the children are assembled, the adults of the household stand around them while wearing Santa Claus beards and clap and whistle that family’s traditional “Watermelon Dance” song. The song can be whatever you’d like. In my house, it was the polka classic “Polka Till You Can’t Polka No More” until I was about 10 years old, and then we changed it to a song my little brother wrote called “Watermelon: I Love You!”

While the adults are clapping and whistling, the children take turns showing off their best dance moves around the watermelon. The tradition works better in families with lots of kids, because until my brothers were old enough to learn some steps, it was kind of awkward being the only kid dancing with the watermelon.